Once Thar coal is available, plants will not be able to use it and Pakistan will be forced to import millions of tonnes of coal to run them or spend millions to convert them to Thar coal spec. DESIGN: FAIZAN DAWOOD
Thar coal, however, is not the ideal kind of coal. It is less energy efficient and it is also less environmentally friendly than other kinds. But it can — theoretically — solve Pakistan’s energy crisis. If Pakistan can solve the energy crisis, it can literally jump-start its stalled economy. Dams take time to build, time that subsequent governments have wasted. Nuclear power is expensive, and again, it needs time. The geographical footprint of alternative energy solutions, like wind and solar, is just too big for these to be practical.
So, coal is the answer, but we have no plants that run on coal and the Lakhra Power Plant is currently inoperative. The Asian Development Bank (ADB) had promised Pakistan $900 million to convert the 600-MW Jamshoro Power Plant to coal and to construct another 600-MW plant. But the ADB insists that these plants run on imported coal, of a different spec than Thar coal, because they would then be more environmentally friendly.
But once Thar coal is available, these plants will not be able to use it and Pakistan will be forced to import millions of tonnes of coal to run them or spend millions to convert them to Thar coal spec.
The government has been trying to convince the ADB to fund the import of coal which is of a similar spec to Thar coal so that the cost of conversion is not wasted. On the insistence of the government, the ADB assured the Sindh chief minster last year that it had no issue with funding these projects to run on Thar coal.
But now, it seems, the ADB has convinced the government to agree to its conditions and import coal of a different spec, or risk losing the funding. The about-turn in this case is not by the government, but the ADB. We will be more environmentally friendly, but at what cost?
Published in The Express Tribune, February 18th, 2013.
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Pakistan is a resource deficient country, short on gas, power generation and soon we will be short on water as well. The answer — if one is to trust the feasibilities and surveys — lies in coal. Thar coal to be precise.
the statement looks like one made by a complete fool. The answer is not "Coal". It is people itself. People of Pakistan should look into themselves and correct their lifestyle. Have less children, waste less water and power. Have less non-vegetarian food etc.
Thar Coal hasn't been developed because it's BTU content is low - so low that even transporting it might take more energy that it will produce. As such - a power generation facility at the mine is required and unfortunately Thar is located in the middle of nowhere and you need to build long distant transmission lines to bring the power to a suitable distribution network.. To top it off - much of Thar Coal is underwater which makes the cost of extraction exorbitant which is why "coal gasification" always comes up. Coal Gasification is considered experimental technology and to my knowledge there isn't a single operating large scale commercial facility using coal gasification. Pakistan will never make progress on it's energy issues unless it takes an objective look at the alternatives.
Thar coal has just 1% sulpur which though high is not over polluting. Worse coal in heating value is being used in countries like Germany and Greece. India has extracted same quality coal from Gujarat but then these countries do not depend on ADB funding. Environmental issues can be taken care by adding FGD (flue gas sulphurizer). lets hope that GOP becomes serious. By mid this year our circular debt will reach 600 billion which is enough to develop 3000 MW plant at Thar. Our future generations will not forgive us.
shams, karachi
The quality of the coal to be decided by the experts . if Thar r coal is usable for power generation at a cheaper cost , it must be pursued ( after giving due consideration to environment)
the coal provided by Thar has high sulpher content that is why it is not acceptable to ADB. The high sulpher content is poison to the enviornment and secondly the coal is burned to produce energy. If the coal provided by Thar is used then due to high sulper content; the burner will destroy more quickly adding more cost to the whole project. Secondly; Thar had devised a plan to extract sulper content from its coal and it is more costly then to import coal. Imported Coal is good due to price and the quality.
the coal provided by Thar has high sulpher content that is why it is not acceptable to ADB. The high sulpher content is poison to the enviornment and secondly the coal is burned to produce energy. If the coal provided by Thar is used then due to high sulper content; the burner will destroy more quickly adding more cost to the whole project. Secondly; Thar had devised a plan to extract sulper content from its coal and it is more costly then to import coal. Imported Coal is good due to price and the quality.
if thar coal is that bad then how come Indian state Gujrat is using the same Lignite coal which is the the same thar coal extension is using it to generate electricty? The only problem with Pakistan is lack of Planning and understanding matters related to politics or economics. We have Reko diq but i really doubt it that it will ever be explored...just like nothing will happen to Thar coal. Leaders of Pakistan are not sincere in exploiting these resources.
If you think ADB funding is bane, the choice is clear : don't take it. No country is required to accept loans which it feels are not to its own benefit.