Over on our sister website, www.worldcoal.com, Editor Jonathan Rowland has listed five reasons why India’s coal imports are set to grow. This comes at a time when the Ministry of Coal and Planning Commission has projected a supply gap for 2014 – 2015 of more than 85 million tonnes of coal, as demand hits 551.6 million tonnes. According to recent reports, as of 29 June, out of 100 coal-based power plants monitored by the Central Electricity Authority, 44 had a coal stock of less than 7 days, of which 26 power plants had less than 4 days supply in stock.

Alok Sanghi, Director of Sanghi Industries, wrote an article for India’s Economic Times this week in which he states that the government needs to change its policy on the utilisation of waste to encourage the cement industry to replace coal with alternatives. “Currently, municipal corporations charge for waste utilized by companies. However, in developed countries, government encourages waste utilisation through payment to companies against successful waste recycling,” he said. "Only if there is any incentive to recycle waste, it is viable and feasible for cement companies to replace coal for energy production." 

With coal shortages looking like a serious possibility, and prices therefore likely to continue rising, alternative fuels could certainly fill a gap in the market. Perhaps the new government will take this into account, given that it plans to build more concrete roads – thus boosting cement demand. Another solution could be waste heat recovery, which is already being utilised at some cement plants in India and is being promoted by Wärtsilä as a means of bringing down electricity costs and emissions.

We'd love to hear your thoughts and experiences over on our LinkedIn group: 'Cement industry: India & Pakistan'.

Read the article from World Coal here.


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