The Ministry of the Environment has agreed that it will no longer control the ash content of coal used by thermal power plants. On Thursday, the Ministry released a notification that reversed its January 2014 rule, which made it compulsory for all coal-fired power plants located 500 kilometers or more from the pit or coal mine to use raw or blended or gained coal containing no more than 34% ash.
Under the new standards, thermal power plants will be able to use coal regardless of the ash content and will be responsible for the proper disposal of coal ash and for meeting the emission standards set by the Central Pollution Control Board.
The notice emphasizes the use of thermal energy emissions management technologies to meet the emission requirements for particulate matter. It also laid down guidelines for the disposal of waste at laundry facilities, the management of ash ponds and the disposal of ash by power plants. The new law makes it mandatory for coal to be transported in covered vehicles - freight trains and trucks.
Limiting particulate emissions from coal ash was primarily the responsibility of coal-fired power plants. The 2014 notification was an effort to ensure that power plants were in the best condition to do so. Limiting the ash content of coal that could be used in power plants was an attempt to ensure a lower level of particulate pollution. The notification effectively made it mandatory for coal producers to extract impurities from coal before shipping it to end consumers, such as thermal power plants. This meant that the coal companies needed to invest in setting up washeries at the pit head or near the mine.The latest notice eliminates this implied condition for coal producers.
Subsequently, to help ensure compliance, the Ministry of the Environment has simplified the clearance process for the establishment of coal washers. The ash content standard has been implemented in four phases. Starting in June 2014 with coal-fired power plants in urban areas and ecologically vulnerable regions, and ending in June 2016 when they became applicable to coal-mining plants located between 500 and 749 km.
The aim of the 2014 notification was to address pollution and emissions from the high ash content of domestic coal in India. The ash-content standard, along with the tighter emission and water-use requirements for coal-fired power plants, was intended to demonstrate India 's efforts to balance its pledge to reduce emissions and tackle pollution, while also making it clear that coal would continue to be a crucial component of the energy mix.
The 2020 notification retains this emphasis on reducing emissions caused by the use of coal as fuel for power plants. As in 2014, the new notification sets the standards for coal-fired power plants.However, the 2014 resolution mandating a cap on the quality of ash made it incumbent on coal producers to ensure that their products meet the requirements. The current notification does not place such demand on the part of coal producers, instead of dealing with pollution due to high ash content, on the part of power plants.
Compliance with the 2014 order was patchy. “Many coal producers were not washing coal. There were also instances of coal washeries contributing environmental problems like pollution of water sources,” said an official involved in the discussions on the notification.
It is borne out by the Comptroller and Auditor General 's report on the environmental effects of Coal IndiaNSE 2.79% Limited and its subsidiaries, which was submitted to Parliament in December 2019. The performance audit for the period 2013-14 to 2017-18 found that the average ash content of the coal generated by the Hingula, Jagannath, Basundhara (W) and IB Valley mines of Mahanadi Coalfields Limited ranged between 40.1% and 43.8% and the supply mines of Central Coalfields Limited exceeded 34%. The audit also found that the Kathara CCL washes were contaminated by the Damodar River.
The audit report also found that , despite implicitly making coal washing mandatory, the capacity to wash coal was not sufficiently increased. For example, even before the 2014 notification, Mahanadi Coalfields Limited had plans to set up four washers for the supply of the benefited coal to thermal plants, although these washers have yet to be commissioned.
Experts point out that the ministries of power and coal have consistently viewed environmental standards as a source of irritation, obstruction and cost-effectiveness. It is therefore no surprise that the coal ministry argued that the COVID-19 pandemic has led to “immediate requirement of utilization of domestic coal by stimulating coal sector demand for power generation in the country”.
In view of these issues and stresses, sources suggested that there was a agreement within the Ministry of the Environment to concentrate on reducing emissions from coal ash in thermal power plants. "Like the 2014 notification, this notification concerns pollution from the use of ash from coal by power plants. The new guidelines have been set out to ensure full compliance. Putting power plants to deal with emissions as a result of coal ash contamination will boost compliance, "Environment Secretary CK Mishra told ET.
Power ministry officials argued that the high ash content of 34% ash in coal was forcing thermal power producers to import coal and to push up the cost of electricity.
Niti Aayog, the government think tank, tried to examine the problem from the point of view of washers, coal mining, transport and power plants. In its study, Niti Aayog found that coal wash increased water usage, effluent production, and the adverse environmental effect of waste disposal. It concluded that the 'washing cycle raises the cost of producing electricity, with no corresponding environmental advantages.' It recommended that "it would be wise to establish and implement environmental and emission requirements, to comply with the power generators, rather than to limit the amount of ash in coal."
The reduction of the ash content of coal has important environmental and health benefits. India's domestic coal reserves have a high ash content of up to 40 to 45 per cent. As a result, more coal is required to produce one kilowatt hour of electricity. That, in turn , means higher emissions. Reducing the amount of ash would mean that lower volumes of coal would be burned for every unit of electricity produced, so this will mean lower emissions of pollutants.
Coal wash is one potential way to address the issue of high ash content in coal. Experts claim that the effect of washing coal on the price of electricity is less than 10 per cent as washed coal burns longer and provides more energy. It has the added advantage of lower carbon emissions.
The use of flue gas desulphurization (FGD) systems is another option for dealing with ash. Used in conjunction with the use of electrostatic precipitators, GDs may address particulate pollution from coal-fired power plants caused in part by high ash content. It is this choice that the Ministry of the Environment has now chosen to tackle the problem emerging from the high ash content of domestic coal. "Those producers who provided washed coal can continue to do so," said Mishra, explaining that coal washing will still remain a viable option to reduce ash for coal-producing companies.
“The notification ties in the requirement to tackle particulate matter pollution with the SOx and NOx emission norms,” said a ministry official. The expectation is that there will be greater compliance since the pollution control board monitors the emissions.
The feasibility of pursuing this route to deal with carbon ash particulate pollutants lies in thermal power plants meeting emission requirements by the 2022 deadline. Thermal power plants have been dragging their heels on these requirements since the first proposed in 2015. According to a recent study by the Delhi-based advocacy group and the Center for Science and Environment think tank, almost 70% of thermal power plants will miss the deadline.
For the time being, the Ministry of the Environment seems to have found a different route to fulfill its mandate to address air and water pollution, but it remains unclear how it will manage to stem particulate matter pollution from coal ash. It is this lack of certainty that led to the questioning of the efficacy of the May 2020 notification.
