Thermal Power Plants

THDC enters thermal energy sector, begins ops of 660-MW unit at UP plant

THDC India has started commercial operations of a 660-MW unit at its Khurja Power Plant, marking an entry into the domestic thermal energy sector, the company's CMD R K Vishnoi said. Until now, the company was generating 1,424 MW from hydro, 113 MW wind and 50 MW solar energy. THDC India Ltd (THDCIL) is setting up a 1,320 megawatt (2X660 MW) super thermal power project (STPP) at Bulandshahr district in Uttar Pradesh (UP) at an investment of around Rs 13,000 crore, Vishnoi told PTI. "We have achieved a monumental milestone in our commitment to strengthening India's power generation capacity. Unit 1 of 660-MW has started commercial operations from the midnight of January 25, 2025," he said. The second unit will also be operational soon. The date is being worked out, after which the whole project will be operational, the official said. Sharing the details of the greenfield project, he said the foundation stone for the project was laid by Prime Minister Narendra Modi on March 9, 2019.

Sufficient stock to meet summer demand: Coal Minister G Kishan Reddy

210 mt of coal likely from commercial mines in FY26

L&T bags over Rs 15,000 crore NTPC order for thermal power plants

This is one of the biggest order wins for the company in the domestic market

Mahagenco-NTPC emerges as top bidder for Sinnar Thermal at Rs 3,800 crore

The Mahagenco-NTPC has outbid at least seven others including Adani Power, Vedanta Group, Jindal Power, Orissa Metaliks, and Singapore-based VFSI Holdings

19 coal mines allocated to thermal plants for fly ash disposal, says govt

The government on Tuesday said 19 coal mines have been allocated to 13 thermal power plants for disposal of fly ash. The Ministry of Coal has undertaken a significant initiative to ensure proper disposal of fly ash by allocating mine voids. A Central Level Working Group (CLWG) under the chairmanship of Additional Secretary, Ministry of Coal, was formed in 2023 for this purpose. The interested Thermal Power Plants (TPPs) applies for the allocation of mine voids to the Central Electricity Authority (CEA), which is eventually discussed in the CLWG meeting. "In this proactive move, a total of 19 mines have been allocated to 13 TPPs," the coal ministry said in a statement. This allocation addresses environmental concerns associated with fly ash disposal and promotes sustainable practices within the coal mining sector. "Fly ash" means and includes, all forms of ash, such as electrostatic precipitator ash, dry fly ash, bottom ash, pond ash and mound ash, that is generated. Its compositi

Thermal power plant load factor to remain healthy at 70% in FY25: ICRA

Thermal plant load factor or capacity utilisation is expected to remain healthy at 70 per cent in FY2025 on power demand growth of 6 per cent, ICRA said on Thursday. ICRA's outlook for the thermal power segment is "Stable", following the improvement in the thermal plant load factor (PLF) and healthy demand growth, thereby improving visibility on signing of new power purchase agreements (PPAs), an ICRA statement said. Also, it stated that the implementation of the Late Payment Surcharge (LPS) scheme enabled an improvement in payment discipline from state distribution utilities (discoms) to power generation companies from August 2022. However, it stated that ICRA's outlook for the power distribution segment remains "Negative" amid limited tariff hikes and continued loss-making operations. According to the statement, ICRA projects the all-India thermal PLF level to rise marginally to 70 per cent in FY2025, from 69 per cent in FY2024, led by the growth in electricity demand and limited

Thermal PLFs to remain healthy amid power demand-supply mismatch: Ind-Ra

India Ratings and Research on Wednesday maintained a neutral outlook for the power sector, noting that thermal PLFs (plant load factor or capacity utilisation) will remain healthy amid demand-supply mismatch in FY25. "India Ratings and Research (Ind-Ra) has maintained a neutral outlook for the power sector for FY25, as it believes the overall plant load factor of thermal power plants would continue to improve and reach closer to 70 per cent in FY25," an Ind-Ra statement said. This is attributed to continued higher power demand, a ramp-up in domestic coal production, slower capacity additions and continued dependence on coal-based generation till sufficient storage capacity is built up for energy transition towards renewables, it added. "Ind-Ra continues to see a demand-supply mismatch in the power market, which would lead to a continued uptick in plant load factors of thermal plants and elevated merchant tariffs," said Bhanu Patni, Associate Director, Corporate Ratings, Ind-Ra. Pat

Thermal power plants have 68% of normative coal stocks, shows data

As many as 184 thermal power plants with a total generation capacity of 211 GW have 68 per cent of normative coal stock levels amid rising electricity demand due to soaring temperatures in the country. According to the Central Electricity Authority's (CEA) May 3 daily report, 184 plants, that are monitored by the CEA, have 47.78 million tonnes of coal stocks against the normative level of 70.55 million tonnes. This assumes significance in view of power ministry projections that peak demand will be 260 GW during this summer. The peak power demand was at an all-time high of 243 GW in September 2023. Peak power demand met or the highest supply in a day rose to 224.18 GW in April 2024 as against 215.88 GW in April 2023. The highest supply in a day has already touched 223.84GW on May 3, 2024, which is higher than 221.42 GW recorded in May 2023. The peak power demand met was 219.37GW on May 1 and 222.03GW on May 2 this year. In view of the projected high demand for electricity, the powe

NTPC, NGEL look to develop thermal plants, renewables project in Rajasthan

State-run power giant NTPC and its arm NTPC Green Energy signed two separate initial pacts to explore the possibility of developing supercritical thermal plants and renewables as well as green hydrogen in Rajasthan. The MoU between NTPC and Rajasthan Rajya Vidyut Utpadan Nigam was signed to explore opportunities for adding supercritical units to the existing Chhabra Thermal Power Plant, a company statement said. Additionally, the Parties aim to implement measures to enhance efficiency and reduce the generation cost of the plant's existing units. Furthermore, the MoU also includes the undertaking of 15 to 20-year annuity-based Renovation and Modernization (R&M) of old thermal units of RVUNL by NTPC or its affiliates. The MoU between NGEL ( NTPC Green Energy) and RVUNL was signed for development of Renewable Energy Projects and Green Hydrogen Derivatives up to 25 GW and 1 million Ton capacities respectively in the State of Rajasthan.

Ultra-supercritical tech to power NTPC Lara plant in Chhattisgarh

The unit will be powered with ultra-super critical technology, with an efficiency of 1 per cent more at 41.5 per cent than current supercritical technology of 40.5 per cent

Coal India fuel supply to thermal power plants rises by 5pc in Apr-Jan FY24

State-owned Coal India Ltd on Friday said that it supplied 509 million tonnes of coal to thermal power plants in the April-January period of this fiscal, registering a rise of 4.7 per cent. Coal India supplied 486 million tonnes (MT) of dry fuel to coal-fired power plants in the year-ago period. "Staying ahead of the projected demand since the beginning of the fiscal, CIL's supplies to coal-fired plants raced to 509 MT till January," the PSU said in a statement. CIL's increased supplies forming the bulk, ensured stock at domestic coal based power plants hitting an all-time high of 36.2 MT in January, eclipsing the previous high of 34.5 MTs recorded four years ago same month. On an average CIL loaded a record 315.2 rakes per day to all consuming sectors, which is 7.2 rakes higher than earlier 308 rakes record achieved for a month in March 2021. Each rake corresponds to around 4,000 tonnes of coal. Loading to power plants on an average shot up to 288.4 rakes per day during the refer

Coal India's venture into power generation gets Cabinet approval

Rs 5.6K cr equity investments in two thermal power projects also get go-ahead

Punjab govt buys Goindwal Sahib thermal power plant for Rs 1,080 crore

Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann on Monday said the state government has bought a 540-megawatt private thermal power plant at Goindwal Sahib. "It is for the first time that a private power plant is being bought by the government," Mann said at a news conference here. "We have purchased it for Rs 1,080 crore, which works out to a cost of Rs 2 crore per megawatt," Mann said. Punjab State Power Corporation Limited (PSPCL) in July last year filed a bid to take over the 540 MegaWatt private thermal power plant at Goindwal Sahib. The 540 MW thermal power plant is an independent power plant and is spread over 1,100 acres of land in Goindwal Sahib in Tarn Taran.

Meja Urja bets on UP's power demand, plans 5.6 Gw thermal capacity

With the growth in renewable energy capacity falling behind the growth of electricity demand, states are going back to coal to build future power capacity

Federal Bank to stop funding for thermal power projects by 2030: Official

Federal Bank, the largest and the oldest private sector lender in Kerala, will completely stop funding for thermal power projects by 2030, according to a senior bank official. As a first step towards its de-carbonisation initiative, the Kochi-headquartered bank will halve its exposure to the thermal power sector by 2025. The bank's green power sector exposure is Rs 5,083 crore across seven to eight projects, mostly solar and wind areas. "We have internally set a target of completely stopping funding thermal power projects/traditional energy sector by 2030. As a first step towards achieving our decarbonisation efforts, we will be halving our exposure to this polluting sector by 2025," Ashutosh Khajuria, the chief mentor at the bank, told PTI here. Currently, the bank's green loan book is Rs 5,083 crore and the sanctioned book of Rs 7,490 crore. "We see our green book crossing Rs 13,000 crore by 2025," Khajuria, who retired recently as an executive director of the bank, said. On the

India to burn 38% more coal every year with new plans for thermal power

About 3.5-4 MT of coal is used to generate 1,000 megawatt (MW) power at 65-75% plant load factor (PLF); with the new plan, total coal usage will increase by 38%

After launching solar projects, Meghalaya scraps thermal power plans

The Meghalaya cabinet has approved a proposal to scrap a 500 MW thermal power project after the North Eastern Electric Power Corporation Limited (NEEPCO) expressed its interest in green energy, Power Minister AT Mondal said on Saturday. The minister said that following the cabinet clearance, an MoU signed with the company will now stand scrapped, though the government will continue to pursue the project with other interested parties in the future to bridge the huge power deficit. The NEEPCO has written to us saying that they don't want to continue with this power project and they want to scrap it, Mondal told PTI. The NEEPCO had told the Meghalaya government they will not invest in thermal projects and they projected themselves as a "green" company, a senior power department official said. On Friday, Chief Minister Conrad K Sangma launched the Rs 500 crore CM Solar Mission aimed at minimising the power crisis in this northeastern hill state. "The people-centric CM Solar Mission wi

Private manufacturing majors may give super-critical thermal plants a miss

This includes distancing themselves from the new and emerging super-critical technology

Govt says no plan formulated to phase out old coal-based power plants

The government on Tuesday said it has not formulated any plan to phase out old coal-based thermal power plants in the country. India has set an ambitious energy transition programme, which includes having 500 GW of renewable energy capacity, by 2030. "No Sir, Central Electricity Authority vide an advisory dated January 20, 2023 suggested that no retirement or repurposing of coal-based power stations will be done before 2030 considering the expected energy demand scenario and availability of capacity in future," Power Minister R K Singh said in a written reply to Rajya Sabha. He was replying to a question on whether the government has formulated any plan to phase out the old coal-based thermal power plants in the country, including in Odisha. Singh said that operators of thermal power plants were also advised implementation of Renovations & Modernisation (R&M) and Life Extension (LE) of their units for running up to 2030 and beyond or operating in two-shift mode to facilitate ..

NLC plans to set up 2,400 MW thermal plant in Odisha for Rs 19,422 crore

NLC India Ltd is planning to set up a 2,400 MW coal-based plant in Odisha. The plant will be set up at an investment of Rs 19,422 crore at Talabira in Odisha, the Ministry of Coal said in a statement on Wednesday. "NLC has planned a 3x800 MW thermal plant in Odisha. This is a pithead thermal plant near Talabira coal mines of NLC with a project cost of Rs 19,422 crore," it said. On the status of the project, the ministry said the land acquisition and other related clearances are at an advanced stage. It is expected that work on the project will commence by the end of this year and will be completed by 2028-29, according to the statement. The plant will supply 1,450 MW of power to Tamil Nadu, 100 MW to Puducherry and 400 MW to Kerala, the ministry said. Tamil Nadu-based NLC, under the Ministry of Coal, operates three opencast lignite mines with a total installed capacity of 30 million tonnes per annum (MTPA) at Neyveli. Besides, it has an opencast lignite mine at Barsingsar in Raj