119.8 MW natural gas combined cycle power plant exports electricity to Tamil Nadu’s grid displacing electricity from power stations operating on fuels like coal, lignite, oil and naphtha. Project is helping to overcome the State’s demand/ supply gap, while enhancing its economic growth and development.

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A brief description of the contribution of the project activity towards ‘Sustainable Development of India’ is discussed hereunder.

 

1. Environment Wellbeing

 

The project activity is a clean fuel power project, which uses Natural Gas as a fuel for power generation and export the clean power to TNEB grid. This power generation substitutes the power generation by TNEB which is predominantly operated with coal as fuel. Since the Carbon Dioxide (CO2) emission due to combustion of Natural Gas is substantially less as compared to combustion of coal, lignite or Naptha, the project helps in reducing GHG emission.

 

Indian economy is highly dependent on “Coal” as fuel to generate energy and for production processes. Thermal Power Plants are the major consumers of Coal in India, and yet the basic power needs of a large section of society are not being met. This results in excessive demands for electricity and places immense stress on the environment. Changing coal consumption patterns will require a multi-pronged strategy focusing on demand, reducing wastage of energy and the optimum use of Clean Energy Sources like Natural Gas.

 

Since this project activity is based on natural gas, it will positively contribute towards the reduction in (demand) use of coal and increasing its availability to other places where natural gas is not available.

 

The project activity, by feeding clean power to grid will reduce CO2 emissions, which would have been otherwise generated by coal dominated power plants. This project activity therefore has excellent environmental benefits in terms of reduction in carbon emissions and coal resource conservation. Also, gas based power plants would not lead to production of huge quantities of solid waste (like ash in thermal power plants) and hence reduces the burden of solid waste disposal.

 

2. Technical wellbeing

 

The project activity also consumes comparatively lesser quantity of water than coal based power plants and hence conserves scarce resource and also due to the installation of air cooled condensers in place of water cooled condensers. The project also uses the latest available technology for gas based power generation using FA type of gas turbines.

 

3. Social wellbeing

 

Project activity is providing direct employment to about 60 persons and indirectly creating business opportunity for stakeholders like bankers, consultants, suppliers, manufacturers, contractors, traders, caterers etc. Also, plant management is involved in several social activities like conducting health camps, setting up of artificial limb centre etc.

 

4. Economic Wellbeing

 

Implementation of project activity would encourage the economic development in the region and also improves the economic wellbeing of neighbouring villages by providing direct and indirect employment opportunities in the region. The project implementation also improves the power supply situation in the state which in turn help industry to improve their productivity due to reduction of power cuts.

 

Overall, this project activity will contribute to the Environmental & Social issues locally and globally by:

• Exporting 113.2 MW to TNEB and thereby eliminating the generation of same quantity of power by a fossil fuel based power plants, which would have been installed to meet the increasing electricity supply and demand gap in the state;

• Conserving Coal, a fuel used by masses in India for daily living needs; 

• Making coal available for other important applications;

• Reducing GHG (Carbon Dioxide) emissions; and

• Providing direct employment to about 60 persons and indirectly creating business opportunity for stakeholders like bankers, consultants, suppliers, manufacturers, contractors, traders, caterers etc.

• Space requirements per MW for a gas based stations are less than coal based stations.