Last year, India’s demand for coal reached 652 million metric tons, 70 percent of which was used in coal-fired generation. But since India only mined 540 million metric tons, the nation had to import 112 million metric tons — nearly equivalent to what it pulled out of Chhattisgarh’s mines that year. Though the non-fossil-fuel sector currently makes up 23 percent of electrical generation, big changes will not come until 2030, when non-fossil-fuel energy generation could reach 39 percent and coal-fired power could shrink to 58 percent. In the interim, however, coal-fired electrical generation is expected to drop just 1 percentage point, to 69 percent, by 2017. In other words, India is counting on its coal reserves to fuel most of its electrical power plants for the foreseeable future. (Image © Keith Schneider / Circle of Blue)