The Tamil Nadu Power Generation Corporation (TNPGCL) successfully berthed the coal laden ship from Vizag at the Kallamozhi offshore captive coal jetty in its maiden attempt to supply coal to the Udangudi supercritical thermal power plant which is yet to be inaugurated.
The cargo vessel which ferried 74000 tonnes of coal had been berthed with the guidance of Tamil Nadu Maritime Board (TNMB) after obtaining all statutory clearances from various central and state agencies.
The Kallamozhi offshore jetty is Asia's first facility which is located 7.9 km off the coast. TNPGCL has constructed a 555-metre-long and 24-metre-wide main berth capable of handling two coal-laden vessels.
The cargo was unloaded into the hopper, which fed it to a closed conveyor system and reached the crushing unit in thermal power plant, for the test trial.
"Over 1200 tonnes of coal per hour is being discharged from the jetty to the plant, which are located 8 km apart. Further, the coal has to be transported 6 km from the shore to reach the coal yard. The actual capacity of the conveyor system is to evacuate 2,000 tonnes per hour", said a senior TNPGCL official.
Speaking to TNIE, TNPGCL chairman and managing director Dr J Radhakrishnan said "It is for the first time in the country that TANGEDCO is operating such a facility, and it is a milestone achievement in the power sector.
Unit 1 will be inaugurated once power production is stabilised. We are not rushing up because power stabilization is paramount", he said.
Another official said that electricity production was stabilised at 330 MW during the trial run, which is 50 percent of the unit's total capacity. The unit was tripped multiple times and restarted to check the functions of the boilers, turbines and production units.
"We will increase the load supplied from the coal jetty from Wednesday so as to increase the electricity generation further, " an official from BHEL told TNIE.