Environmental Impact of the coal Industry

Coal is the only natural resource and fossil fuel available in abundance in India. Consequently, it is used widely as a thermal energy source and also as fuel for thermal power plants producing electricity. India has about 90,000 MW installed capacity for electricity generation, of which more than 70% is produced by coal-based thermal power plants. Hydro-electricity contributes about 25%, and the remaining is mostly from nuclear power plants (NPPs). The problems associated with the use of coal are low calorific value and very high ash content. The ash content is as high as 55-60%, with an average value of about 35-40%. Further, most of the coal is located in the eastern parts of the country and requires transportation over long distances, mostly by trains, which run on diesel. About 70% oil is imported and is a big drain on India's hard currency. 

In the foreseeable future, there is no other option likely to be available, as the nuclear power programme envisages installing 20,000 MWe by the year 2020, when it will still be around 5% of the installed capacity. Hence, attempts are being made to reduce the adverse environmental and ecological impact of coal-fired power plants. The installed electricity generating capacity has to increase very rapidly (at present around 8-10% per annum), as India has one of the lowest per capita electricity consumptions. Therefore, the problems for the future are formidable from ecological, radio-ecological and pollution viewpoints. A similar situation exists in many developing countries of the region, including the People's Republic of China, where coal is used extensively. The paper highlights some of these problems with the data generated in the author's laboratory and gives a brief description of the solutions being attempted. The extent of global warming in this century will be determined by how developing countries like India manage their energy generation plans. Some of the recommendations have been implemented for new plants, and the situation in the new plants is much better. A few coal washeries have also been established. It will be quite some time before the steps to improve the environmental releases are implemented in older plants and several coal mines due to resource constraints.

Renewable Energy

"The term renewable energy generally refers to electricity supplied from renewable energy sources, such as wind and solar power, geothermal, hydropower and various forms of biomass. These energy sources are considered renewable sources because their fuel sources are continuously replenished."

- Key renewable energy sources:

o Hydropower, hydraulic power or water power is power that is derived from the force or energy of moving water, which may be harnessed for useful purposes

o Wind power is the conversion of wind energy into a useful form, such as electricity, using wind turbines. is becoming increasingly popular and production costs are dropping rapidly, making it increasingly competitive to fossil power production

o Solar power is by far the Earth's most available energy source, easily capable of providing many times the total current energy demand

o Biomass energy is the term used to describe the generation of energy from organic sources. The energy stored in plants can be captured for energy generation by several different methods such as decomposition, combustion or gasification

o Geothermal energy involves using the earth's heat to supply power. Geothermal heat pumps can be used nearly anywhere

- Advantages of Renewable Energy:

o We can use it repeatedly without depleting it

o Can help reserve fossil resources for future generations

o No contribution to global warming or greenhouse effects

o No polluting emissions

o Since their sources are natural the cost of operations is reduced

o Saving on health and its costs

- Disadvantages:

o It is difficult to produce the large quantities of electricity their counterpart the fossil fuels are able to.

Since they are also new technologies, the cost of initiating them is high.

Energy Conservation

Energy conservation is the practice of decreasing the quantity of energy used. It may be achieved through efficient energy use, in which case energy use is decreased while achieving a similar outcome, or by reduced consumption of energy services. Energy conservation may result in increase of financial capital, environmental value, national security, personal security, and human comfort. Individuals and organizations that are direct consumers of energy may want to conserve energy in order to reduce energy costs and promote economic security. Industrial and commercial users may want to increase efficiency and thus maximize profit.

Energy conservation is the reduction of quantity of energy used. Energy conservation supports the eco friendly lifestyle by providing energy, which saves your money and at the same time saves the earth. When you decrease the amount of energy you use you automatically make efforts to reduce increasing global warming.

What is Energy???

Can you imagine life without lights, fans, cars, computers and television, or of fetching water from the well and river? This is what life would have been like had man not discovered the uses of energy – both renewable and nonrenewable sources.....

"Energy lights our cities, powers our vehicles, and runs machinery in factories. It warms and cools our homes, cooks our food, plays our music, and gives us pictures on television."