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India mulls scrapping costly sulfur emission plan: India is reconsidering a USD 30 bn plan requiring coal power plants to install flue-gas desulphurization (FGD) systems to reduce sulfur emissions, according to a document reviewed by Reuters. The move is motivated by slow uptake from mines’ operators and studies showing that the systems had little impact on curbing pollution.
The details: So far, only 8% of plants have installed the required FGD systems, which take months to install and are expensive to operate and build. The study also showed that Indian coal has low sulfur content and that pollution from particulate matter byproducts is a bigger issue. India was the world’s largest emitter of sulfur in 2019, mainly from its widespread coal plants, Reuters reported, citing a Greenpeace study.
A shift in strategy is coming: Officials are now considering using cheaper electrostatic precipitators to tackle particulate pollution — such as dust and smoke — instead of FGDs. The approach will cut costs by 80% compared to FGD systems. However, environmental groups have blasted the government efforts as unsustainable, calling for a plant to phase out coal altogether.
