Coal to remain backbone of India’s energy mix as per capita demand set to triple, ETEnergyworld

Coal will continue to anchor India’s energy mix even as the country accelerates its clean energy transition, with affordable and reliable baseload power remaining critical as per capita energy consumption is expected to triple on the path to Viksit Bharat 2047, Vikram Dev Dutt, Secretary, Ministry of Coal, said at the India Energy Week in Goa on Thursday.

Speaking at the leadership panel ‘Coal’s evolving role in a secure energy mix: charting a balanced and pragmatic approach’, Dutt said that the need for realism in energy transition narratives.

“Coal is not going away in a hurry. For India, affordable and dependable baseload power is not a choice, it is an imperative. The approach is not ‘phase out’ but ‘phase down’ in calibrated steps aligned with ground realities,” he said, adding that coal will continue to underpin India’s development even as renewables scale up alongside climate commitments.

Kyle Haustveit, Assistant Secretary for Hydrocarbons and Geothermal Energy at the US Department of Energy, said coal remains vital for energy security worldwide.

“Coal powered the modern world and it is not going away. Reliable, affordable and secure energy matters, and coal provides stability regardless of weather or market volatility,” he said, pointing to strong potential for India–US cooperation in clean coal technologies, coal gasification, carbon utilisation and trade in high-quality metallurgical coal.

B Sairam, Chairman and Managing Director of Coal India Limited, said coal would act as a bridge fuel in India’s transition. With India’s per capita energy consumption still about a third of that in developed economies, he said coal will provide firm, dispatchable power as demand rises and renewable energy and storage technologies mature. Higher domestic coal production, he added, can also help curb imports and conserve foreign exchange.

Panelists highlighted emerging opportunities in coal gasification, coal-to-chemicals and clean coal technologies.

Dutt said government support, including viability gap funding and pilot projects in surface and underground coal gasification, is helping accelerate adoption. Revenues from coal, he added, can also be leveraged to fund green energy infrastructure, enabling a more balanced and pragmatic transition.

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