Ananth Chikkatur (left) and Ambuj Sagar

"Center’s Energy Team Works with India on Clean Coal Policies"

Newsletter Article, Belfer Center Newsletter, Belfer Center for Science and International Affairs

Summer 2008

Belfer’s Energy Technology Innovation Policy (ETIP) research group is in the midst of an exciting initiative, engaging with Indian government, industry, and academics, on addressing various challenges in the Indian coal sector.  Because of coal’s abundance, it plays a critical role in India’s energy, while at the same time contributing to its social and environmental problems. Led by Research Fellow Ananth Chikkatur, in collaboration with Senior Research Associate Ambuj Sagar, ETIP’s work is helping chart an environmentally responsible way forward for the Indian coal sector.

For months, Chikkatur and Sagar have been meeting with members of the Indian Planning Commission, the Administrative Staff College of India (ASCI), Indian coal companies, various energy and environment ministries, and other relevant agencies in an effort to identify and address the various gaps in the Indian coal sector.  Familiar with the details of Indian coal, from resource evaluation to extraction and combustion, they are working with India to find ways to maximize the coal sector’s efficiency, while minimizing social and ecological impacts of the nation’s reliance on coal.

One major result from their work in India has been a series of high-level workshops, convened by the influential Indian Planning Commission and ASCI. The overall goal of the workshops is to assess the current state of knowledge about India’s coal reserves, determine a plan of action for filling knowledge gaps, assess key processes and technologies for more efficient and cleaner coal extraction and power generation, and to develop a coherent roadmap for the coal and coal-power sectors for the coming two to three decades. The workshops have been very successful, with wide-ranging and energetic contributions from the participants.  “The imprimatur of the Planning Commission and participation of the relevant ministries and agencies,” Chikkatur says, “ensure that key outcomes of the workshops will get appropriate policy attention.”

A Chikkatur and Sagar roadmap for cleaner coal-based power generation in India is available at http://belfercenter.ksg.harvard.edu/publication/18186.

For more information about this publication please contact the Belfer Center Communications Office at 617-495-9858.

For Academic Citation:
Communications Office. "Center’s Energy Team Works with India on Clean Coal Policies." Cambridge, Mass.: Belfer Center for Science and International Affairs Belfer Center Newsletter (Summer 2008).