State-run Coal India plans to start operations at five new mines and expand capacity of at least 16 existing ones to address growing demand for the fuel, its chairman told Reuters on Wednesday.
India has increasingly relied on coal to address record power demand in recent months, with the rise in coal-fired power output outpacing renewable energy growth for the first time since at least 2019.
A record output by Coal India – the world’s largest coal miner whose profits and share price have surged since early 2023 – is set to boost inventories at power plants running on domestic coal by 16.1 per cent year-over-year to 40 million metric tons by end-March, Coal India Chairman P.M. Prasad said in written response to questions.
