Amidst the clamor surrounding the intensive use of coal in China and India, one may not realize that these nations have some of the world’s largest renewable energy installations. In fact, I hail from the Indian state of Tamil Nadu which is often compared to Scandinavia for its large number of wind farms. Accounting for 25 percent of the country’s wind capacity, the state has the largest share of such generating assets in a nation of 1.3 billion people. Yet even Tamil Nadu relies heavily … [Read more...]
India’s Coal Proliferation Contradicts Global Climate Drama
We have a crisis in India, and it is not with the climate. Power plants for the world’s second-largest consumer of coal are running out of stock, leaving a billion people at the risk of blackouts and forcing industries to close facilities. To resolve the situation, the Indian government has authorized increased importation of thermal coal, removed all import duty on coal, is reopening hundreds of closed coal mines, and has asked existing domestic mines to produce at unprecedented … [Read more...]
Wary of the new green wave, India continues to increase its coal capacity
A steady stream of anti-fossil policies has been introduced across the world since the inception of Paris agreement in 2016. Be it the reduction in consumption of fossil fuels in some countries or the rapid increase in renewable installations across Europe and Asia, the changes forced by those policies have been quite tangible. There were some major exceptions to this movement. Trump’s stance against anti-fossil energy policies, Australia’s continued export of coal, India and China’s … [Read more...]
China and India are growing their coal ambitions
Contrary to the perception of the mainstream media, China and India are increasing their coal capacity, and not moving away from it. On multiple occasions in 2020, soldiers from China and India engaged in border skirmishes resulting in casualties on both sides and months of trade uncertainty. The Indo-China border tension appears to have eased now, but did the heightened tension between the Asian energy giants impact the trade and growth of the Fossil fuel sector? China … [Read more...]
India Crafts Fossil-Fuel Pathway to Secure its Future
India is on the way to become a fossil fuel-based energy powerhouse of the 21st century. India’s developmental goals for the future are quite ambitious. They ought to be: From tackling the surging poverty rates to providing affordable utilities, the country faces a steep challenge. The key to achieving any of its developmental goals is a strong energy sector. India is the third largest energy consuming nation and is following the fossil fuel pathway (like the West did during the 20th … [Read more...]
Nations Go Big on Coal Amidst COVID-19 Economic Uncertainty
The economic forecast this year is bleak, no matter where you are. When faced with an uncertain future, economies usually opt for their best bet. For many countries, when it comes to energy source, that safe house is coal. Yes, the dreaded fossil fuel that doomsayers believe to be the planet destroyer. Coal is being treated as an economic elixir. The fossil fuel industry has made some staggering advancements that the mainstream media conveniently ignore, while promoting the “end of oil” … [Read more...]
Battery Storage—An Infinitesimal Part of Electrical Power
Large-scale storage of electricity is the latest proposed solution to boost the deployment of renewables. Renewable energy advocates, businesses, and state governments plan to use batteries to store electricity to solve the problem of intermittent wind and solar output. But large-scale storage is only an insignificant part of the electrical power industry and doomed to remain so for decades to come. Last month, Senator Susan Collins of Maine introduced a bi-partisan bill named “The Better … [Read more...]
No Signs of Slowdown: Australia Approves Country’s Biggest Coal Project
Even as the American media were busy covering the news about Joe Biden and Elizabeth Warren’s endorsement of fossil fuel phaseout, other countries across the Pacific embraced fossil fuels in an unprecedented manner. In a big move, Australia’s Queensland province has given the green light to the Adani group’s billion-dollar Carmichael coal mine project. The Queensland Government’s Department of Environment and Science sent the official communique detailing the final environmental … [Read more...]
Emergence of the Coal Alliance
A year ago, no one could have predicted the emergence of a coal alliance. Not when the leader of the most powerful country—President Obama—was crusading against coal. One year later, the coal alliance has arrived! During his presidential run, Donald Trump pledged that the US would pull out of the Paris Agreement—the poster child agreement of the climate alarmists who advocate for the shutdown of coal plants. Trump also indicated that he would bring major reforms in national policies … [Read more...]
Sushi, Sake, and Coal: Japan’s Peculiar Response to the Climate Conundrum
We all know that the Japanese love their sushi. Japan is also famous for sake, a rice wine unique to the country. Lately, the Japanese have shown unrestrained love for a commodity that is increasingly demonized by climate groups: coal. Global warming alarmists blame coal for causing dangerous global warming. But the Japanese beg to differ. They have revived their love affair with coal. Why? That’s an interesting story. Soon after the Fukushima nuclear incident, public sentiment towards … [Read more...]
