ALAPPUZHA: When the state is facing a power shortage, the Rajiv Gandhi Combined Cycle Power Project (RGCCPP), Kayamkulam, a unit of the National Thermal Power Corporation (NTPC) and the only thermal power station of the state, signed an agreement with the Bharath Heavy Electrical Limited (BHEL) to generate electricity from methanol on an experimental basis. This is the first time a thermal power station in the country is experimenting with methanol. If it becomes successful, the company will begin commercial production of electricity using methanol.
A top officer of the NTPC Kayamkulam unit said that an agreement was signed with BHEL to install equipment to begin electricity generation on an experimental basis.
“We have already implemented power generation from Naphtha and Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG), but the cost of production is high and the plant has been lying idle for the past few years. After that, we implemented diversification utilising water bodies in the compound of the company. We installed solar panels generating around 92 megawatts of electricity. Now we decided to use methanol as fuel as it is cheaper than Naphtha. It will take one year to install the equipment and procure methanol. Slight modifications will also be needed in the existing plant to begin experimental production. The Hyderabad unit of BHEL is implementing the project,” said the officer.
The country does not use methanol as a fuel for power generation. However, many foreign countries are using it because of its low environmental toxicity and its lower price compared to other fuels.
NTPC’s Kayamkulam thermal plant has the capacity to produce 350 MW of energy. It was installed in 1998 to address the electricity shortage in the state.
The price rise and shortage of Naphtha increased the production cost. Later, the company shifted to LNG after a plant was launched in Puthuvype in Kochi.
Around Rs 33 crore was spent on the modernisation, but the transportation of LNG from Puthuvype to Kayamkulam became a hindrance.
Earlier, the company planned to lay a pipeline through the sea. However, resistance from fishermen communities and environmentalists forced the NTPC to drop the idea. Later, it was decided to transport LNG via jhankar or road, but it was not successful. Meanwhile, the cost of production of electricity reached around Rs 14 per unit.
Later, the KSEB stopped the procurement of electricity from the plant and it has been lying idle for the past eight years.
However, the state government allotted Rs 200 crore per year to NTPC as the fixed cost prescribed by the Central Electricity Regulatory Commission for running the plant as per an agreement between the state government and NTPC at the time of setting up the unit in 1999.
Later, in 2020, the agreement was revised, and the amount was reduced to Rs 100 crore.