NEW DELHI: India’s coal demand growth is expected to be the fastest in the world at 7%, followed by the European Union’s (EU) 6% and China’s less than 1% as global consumption is poised to hit a record 8 billion tonne this year, the International Energy Agency said on Friday.
The agency’s annual coal market report listed higher consumption for power generation as the primary reason propelling demand for the dry fuel. It said post-pandemic revival in electricity demand, low hydel output and EU switching to coal-fired power amid gas crunch shifted the burden on coal.
“Global coal-fired power generation is set to rise to a new record of around 10.3 terawatt hours this year, while coal production is forecast to rise by 5.4% to around 8.3 billion tonnes, also an all-time high,” the report said.
