BENGALURU: The central government’s announcement in the budget to shut down old thermal power plants that do not meet carbon emission norms has given a shot in the arm to the Karnataka government’s efforts to set its own house in order.
Experts in the state have welcomed the move to shut down old power plants that cause environmental harm. Land freed up by plants thus shutdown would be put to other use, finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman said on Saturday.
The Raichur Thermal Power Plant - Karnataka’s first - is at risk of being shut down due to problems with its functioning. At any given time, only half of the plant’s units operate, according to an expert. "The announcement in the Union budget is a good move as the maintenance cost will be higher than the cost of the operations," he said.
The department of power and energy had called for tenders worth Rs 600 crore to set up flue-gas desulphurisation (FGD) plants to remove sulphur dioxide from fumes emitted by fossil fuel-based power plants. Now, the department is keen on speeding up the process so that old thermal plants do not have to be closed down.
"Though all our thermal plants have some minor technical issues, they are not obsolete. Normally, the entire exercise of calling for tenders and installing FGD plants takes around 18 months. We will now speed the process up. The efficiency of the plants is not an issue, it is the new environmental rules which have to be complied with. So, instead of concentrating on Raichur thermal power plant, installation of FGD plants will be done at all thermal plants," an energy department official said requesting anonymity.
The Karnataka State Pollution Control Board also has its work cut out. "The other polluters are sulphur monoxide, nitrogen monoxide and certain particulate matter. Although regular monitoring is done by the Board, so far not much attention was being paid. Now, the new pollution norms will be put in place to check emissions and then issue closure orders, if necessary. But this can be done, once the budget proposal becomes an order," said a KSPCB official.