Renewables unlikely to surpass coal: CIL chief

Kolkata: Coal India Chairman Anil Kumar Jha on Wednesday said renewables are unlikely to surpass coal as the major source for power generation in the near future and asserted that India's energy migration scenario will be different compared to many other countries.

State-owned Coal India accounts for nearly 83 per cent of the country's coal production. "The question is can renewables take over coal completely in our country? Not in the near future at least. It would not be an exaggeration to state that Coal India Ltd (CIL) is synonymous with India's energy scenario," Jha told shareholders at the company's 45th annual general meeting here.

His remarks also come against the backdrop of increasing focus on renewable energy sources for generation of power in different parts of the world. Jha said the energy migration scenario in India would be "different", compared to many other countries which have been switching to renewable sources. According to him, nine mining projects having a total capacity of 69.88 million tonnes per year have been sanctioned and the estimated cost is Rs 9,093 crore.