India’s thermal coal imports drop to 4-year low as green power rises

(Reuters) - India's thermal coal imports fell to a 4-year low in January-May due to higher local ​output and rising renewable energy generation, commodities consultancy BigMint said.

Overall, ‌thermal coal imports, at 65 million tons in the year till May, declined by an annual 12%, the consultancy said.

India, the world's second-largest importer of thermal ​coal, has been seeking to reduce its reliance on ​imports and aims to cut the use of such coal for ⁠power generation by at least 30% this year.

The country's top ​producer, Coal India (COAL.NS), opens new tab, had asked its subsidiaries to ramp up output as scorching ​temperatures due to the El Nino weather pattern increased electricity use.

Higher prices for imported coal and elevated freight rates due to the crisis in the Middle ​East also weighed on imports, BigMint said.

In January-May total ​power generation increased 5% from a year earlier, while renewable generation grew much ‌faster ⁠at 22%, BigMint said.

India's peak power demand, a measure of the maximum electricity requirement, exceeded the country's expectations of 270 gigawatts on May 21, driven by heat waves.

Power demand in the South Asian nation ​climbed 11.2% to ​a two-year high ⁠in May, data from federal grid regulator Grid-India showed.

Thermal power generation rose 10% from a year ​earlier in the month, the highest since May 2024, ​as utilities ⁠ramped up output to meet round-the-clock electricity demand, the regulator's data showed.

During the month, India's renewable power generation rose 29.31% from the previous ⁠year ​to 27.58 billion kilowatt-hours, accounting for a ​record 17.9% of the country's power mix, according to a Reuters analysis of daily ​government data.