BANGALORE: The National Thermal Power Corporation (NTPC) on Tuesday said the first unit of the Super Thermal Power Plant (STPP) at Kudgi in Bijapur district, expected to generate 800 MW of power, would be commissioned in May 2016. The subsequent units will also start production within a gap of six months each.
The Phase 1 of the project will have a total capacity of 2,400 MW. Coal will be sourced from Jharkand and Chattisgarhh mines and around 13 million tonnes of coal will be required for this phase. However, the tariff per unit is expected to go up from the initial estimate of `4.50 per unit of power to about `5, according to officials.
At a press conference, Balaji Iyengar, General Manager of the Kudgi plant, said, “We are using the latest technologies which will function at 99.97 per cent efficiency. This means that for every1 kg of fly ash generated, only 3 gm will be released from the chimney at a height of 275 metres. At this height, it will be disbursed immediately and there will be no harm to water bodies. We are well within the state and central limits.”
R Venkateswaran, Regional Executive Director (South), NTPC, said, “We are well within the standards for suspended particulate matter as well and there will be monitoring stations around the plant.” The plant’s work, which was stalled repeatedly as environmentalists protesting against NTPC approached the National Green Tribunal and the Supreme Court, will be commissioned in 2016 and currently disbursement of compensation for acquired land totaling 3,300 acres is underway.
The NTPC has till now spent close to `6,000 crore out of a total of `15,000 crore allotted for the project.
According to A Sathyabhama, General Manager (Technical Services), the compensation for one acre of land is `10 to 11 lakh for wet land and `8.5 to 9.5 lakh for dry land.
Expansion plans for two additional units of 800 MW is awaiting coal allocation, Venkateswaran said.
“We are creating the common infrastructure to handle units up to 4,000 MW. Currently, the Hydrostatic Test for the boiler is scheduled for December and the turbine will be ready in three months time. We have scheduled boiler light up in May next year and commissioning will be one year from then,” he explained.
Solar Thermal Power Project off?
NTPC’s plans to set up a 1,000 MW solar thermal project in Mulwad in Bijapur district might not take off as feasibility studies have advised against the project, R Venkateswaran, Regional Executive Director (South), said. Speaking to reporters, he said the Union Government PSU was open to projects in the wind and solar sectors in Karnataka and was currently looking at Guledgudda in Bagalkot district for wind power projects. “We have done assessment studies and are planning to install a 100 MW of wind power plant in Guledgudda. However, there is a catch 22 situation since without bidders for the tender that we have put out, we cannot go ahead and get Forest Department clearance,” said S S Mani, General Manager for Renewable Energy Projects. According to Mani, the problem is because the Forest Department clearance requires micro-siting of land to be leased which can be done only when a bidder submits a proposal. However, most bidders are staying away because the clearance could take a long time. he said.