Sustainable Technologies for Energy Management to Meet the Coal Demand in the Indian Context

Abstract

The global energy requirement has grown at a phenomenonal rate and the consumption of primary energy sources has had a very high positive growth. This article focuses on the consumption of different primary energy sources and identifies that coal will continue to remain as the primary energy in the foreseeable future. It examines the energy requirement perspective for India and demand of coal as the primary energy source. Economic development and poverty alleviation depend on securing affordable energy sources and the Indian coal mining industry offers a bright future for the country's energy security, provided the industry is allowed to develop by supportive government policies and adopts the latest technologies for mining. It is ironic that in spite of having plentiful reserves, India is not able to increase coal production to meet its current and future demand. The strategies to be adopted for growth and meeting the coal demand are discussed. But such energy is very much concerned with environmental degradation and must be driven by contemporary managerial acumen addressing environmental and social challenges effectively. The article highlights the emissions of greenhouse gases due to burning of fossil fuels and environmental consequences of global warming and sea-level rise. Environmental laws for the abatement of environmental degradation are discussed in this article.