Mark Twain observed, “I'm in favour of progress; it's change I don't like.” Coal dominates Indian energy because it’s available domestically and cheap (especially without a carbon tax). If the global focus is on the energy transition, how does India ensure a just transition? Managing winners and losers will be the single largest challenge for India’s energy policy. Coal is entrenched in a complex ecosystem. In some states, it’s amongst the largest contributors to state budgets. The Indian Railways, India’s largest civilian employer, is afloat because it overcharges coal to offset under-recovery from passengers. Coal India Limited, the public sector miner that produces 85% of domestic coal, is the world’s largest coal miner. But despite enormous reserves, India imports about a quarter of consumption. On the flip side, coal faces inevitable pressure from renewable energy, which is the cheapest option for new builds. However, there is significant coal-based power capacity already in place, some of which is underutilized, or even stranded. Low per-capita energy consumption means India must still grow its energy supply. Before India can phase out coal, it must first achieve a plateau of coal. How this happens cost-effectively and with least resistance isn’t just a technical or economic question, it depends on the political economy of coal and its alternatives. Some stakeholders want to kill coal. A wiser option may be to first clean it up, instead of wishing it away. Across 18 chapters, drawing from leading experts in the field, we examine all aspects of coal’s future in India. We find no easy answers, but attempt to combine the big picture with details, bringing them together to offer a range of policy options.

Derived from the renowned multi-volume International Encyclopaedia of Laws, this book provides a systematic approach to legislation and legal practice concerning energy resources and production in India. The book describes the administrative organization, regulatory framework, and relevant case law pertaining to the development, application, and use of such forms of energy as electricity, gas, petroleum, and coal, with attention as needed to the pervasive legal effects of competition law, environmental law, and tax law. A general introduction covers the geography of energy resources, sources and basic principles of energy law, and the relevant governmental institutions. Then follows a detailed description of specific legislation and regulation affecting such factors as documentation, undertakings, facilities, storage, pricing, procurement and sales, transportation, transmission, distribution, and supply of each form of energy. Case law, intergovernmental cooperation agreements, and interactions with environmental, tax, and competition law are explained. Its succinct yet scholarly nature, as well as the practical quality of the information it provides, make this book a valuable resource for energy sector policymakers and energy firm counsel handling cases affecting India. It will also be welcomed by researchers and academics for its contribution to the study of a complex field that today stands at the foreground of comparative law.

How solar could spark a clean-energy transition through transformative innovation—creative financing, revolutionary technologies, and flexible energy systems. Solar energy, once a niche application for a limited market, has become the cheapest and fastest-growing power source on earth. What's more, its potential is nearly limitless—every hour the sun beams down more energy than the world uses in a year. But in Taming the Sun, energy expert Varun Sivaram warns that the world is not yet equipped to harness erratic sunshine to meet most of its energy needs. And if solar's current surge peters out, prospects for replacing fossil fuels and averting catastrophic climate change will dim. Innovation can brighten those prospects, Sivaram explains, drawing on firsthand experience and original research spanning science, business, and government. Financial innovation is already enticing deep-pocketed investors to fund solar projects around the world, from the sunniest deserts to the poorest villages. Technological innovation could replace today's solar panels with coatings as cheap as paint and employ artificial photosynthesis to store intermittent sunshine as convenient fuels. And systemic innovation could add flexibility to the world's power grids and other energy systems so they can dependably channel the sun's unreliable energy. Unleashing all this innovation will require visionary public policy: funding researchers developing next-generation solar technologies, refashioning energy systems and economic markets, and putting together a diverse clean energy portfolio. Although solar can't power the planet by itself, it can be the centerpiece of a global clean energy revolution. A Council on Foreign Relations Book

India is the third largest coal producer in the world and the eighth largest importer. With annual production of 310 million tonnes and imports of almost 25 million tonnes, coal provides one-third of energy supply in India. The Indian government forecasts huge increases in electricity capacity based on coal, and a financially viable electricity industry will be necessary to support reforms in the coal industry. This report describes the Indian coal sector, and comments on government policies and the performance of India's largely state-owned coal companies. There is a substantial need for reforms in India's coal sector to improve efficiency and competitiveness.

This volume explores opportunities and challenges in articulating and implementing a robust but flexible set of strategies for meeting India’s primary energy needs; making the energy system more resilient, in order to drive India’s economic growth, and more equitable, in order to fulfil the basic energy needs of all citizens in an uncertain future. A range of national scenarios is explored to examine possibilities of fuel and technology substitutions along two time horizons: in some detail until 2030 and also mapping out plausible pathways to 2050. This volume is the first time a tripartite effort has been undertaken by an IOC (Shell) and two reputed think-tanks (CEEW and TERI) to develop a single narrative on energy choices and related issues in India. It combines Shell’s international and energy-specific know-how with CEEW and TERI’s domestic and broader sustainable development experience. Finally, it is unique in its treatment of the energy sector as a whole in India’s development (focusing on both the technology and policy dimensions), and in its engagement with the world (including diplomatic and security dimensions).

Massive private investment that complements public investment is needed to close the demand-supply gap and make reliable power available to all Indians. Government efforts have sought to attract private sector funding and management efficiency throughout the electricity value chain, adapting its strategy over time.