# How big is the brick kiln sector in Punjab, what does it burn, and how much energy goes into a brick?

Canonical: https://senseible.earth/answers/punjab-brick-kilns-3300-units-coal-biomass-energy

Punjab has about 3,300 kilns across Ludhiana, Moga, Ferozepur and Jalandhar, making nearly 19 billion bricks a year on about 1.5 million tonnes of oil equivalent. Most use manual moulding and Bull's Trench Kilns, firing coal and biomass. That works out to roughly 79 g of oil equivalent a brick.

## The sector in numbers

- About 3,300 kilns in the clusters of Ludhiana, Moga, Ferozepur and Jalandhar.
- Nearly 19 billion bricks a year.
- Total energy around 1.5 million tonnes of oil equivalent a year.
- Mostly manual moulding and traditional Bull's Trench Kilns, with a few zig-zag kilns.
- Coal and biomass are the main fuels.
- Mostly solid bricks, with limited resource-efficient bricks.

## Who speaks for the sector

The Punjab Brick Kiln Owners Association and the All India Brick and Tile Manufacturers Federation.

## What it means for a kiln owner

A lender or a buyer who asks for your footprint wants fuel in tonnes and bricks fired. Coal is the biggest line. Keep purchase bills by month and a brick count by firing.

## Energy per brick, from the sector totals (estimate)

- 1.5 million toe is 1.5 billion kg of oil equivalent.
- 1.5 billion divided by 19 billion bricks = about 0.079 kg, or 79 g, per brick.
- A kiln that fires 10 lakh bricks at that average uses about 79 toe.

Rounded totals from SIDBI's assessment of the brick sector, so treat the per-brick figure as an estimate.

## What Senseible does here

Senseible reads coal, biomass, diesel and power bills into verified emission records for a kiln, so you can state a footprint per thousand bricks from your own documents. Verified here means rule checks passed against the evidence, not third-party assurance.

- [Ludhiana brick kilns: coal and energy per brick](https://senseible.earth/answers/ludhiana-brick-kilns-coal-energy-per-brick)
- [Brick kilns by state: count, fuel and energy](https://senseible.earth/answers/brick-kilns-by-state-count-fuel-energy)
- [MSME carbon number](https://senseible.earth/msme-carbon-number)

Sources: [SIDBI, ESIA and ESMP for direct financing, brick kiln sector](https://www.sidbi.in/assets/front/pdf/ESIA_ESMP_Brick_Kiln_English.pdf)

Last reviewed 2026-11-04.