Arnav Kokkirala ’26, Economics

Arnav Kokkirala ’26

Major

Economics

Project Title

Estimating and Understanding the Costs of Closing a Coal Mine: A Case Study of the Rajmahal OCP

Presentation Link

View Arnav's Presentation

Minor(s): Finance

I studied the problem of evaluating the cost of closing a coal mine in the context of net-zero transition (NZT) costs in India, which is part of the transition that has been given little consideration despite being an essential part of the just energy transition framework. It is important to estimate these costs more accurately because if they are of significant magnitude in comparison to the existing known estimates for installing renewable energy, then many NZT frameworks must be reworked. By analyzing and synthesizing data from financial documents on Eastern Coalfields Limited, the owner of Rajmahal Opencast Project in India, I created a hypothetical recommendation for an Indian government pursuing premature mine closure which attempted to make this costly process scalable by delegating the necessary expenses. Additionally, I created quantitative estimates of the closure costs to accompany my framework which can be compared to other NZT costs. Using financial analysis to create hypothetical advice for a government has inspired me to explore climate finance or economics consultation. Additionally, discussions with mentors about topics like climate and energy economics introduced me to new academic fields that I will continue to explore.