18 August :NTPC’s 2×490 MW coal-based power generating units at Dadri in Uttar Pradesh being established as part of the infrastructure for the Commonwealth Games will be commissioned on schedule by September 2009 and January 2010 respectively.
This was stated by Shri Jairam Ramesh, Minister of State for Commerce and Power, after a visit to the power plant complex of NTPC yesterday. 90% of the power generated will be destined for Delhi and the balance 10% for Uttar Pradesh. BHEL is the supplier of boilers and turbine generators.
Dadri already has 4×210 MW coal-based units operating for a number of years and in 2007-08 these units achieved the highest PLF of 98.02% in the country. Shri Jairam Ramesh complimented the Dadri management for this achievement and also paid tribute to the maintenance protocol adopted at the plant complex which has led to the lowest annual forced outage of 0.26% in the country. He said that Dadri is one of the few power plants in the country where the PLF is higher the availability factor demonstrating the extraordinary efficiency of management at the plant. Dadri has also 829 MW of gas-based capacity which is now running at around 72% PLF largely because of the shortfall in the supply of gas.
Shri Jairam Ramesh said that Dadri’s greatest accomplishment has been in environmental management which should serve as an example to all other power plants in the country. He lauded the establishment of the Ash Utilisation Technology Park as also the creation of the eco-friendly 550-acre ash mound which has led to the emergence of a first-rate nature park in the power plant complex. Over the time, this nature park may well have a positive impact in reducing emissions of carbon dioxide from the Dadri thermal power plant complex. This will need actual measurement and monitoring, Shri Jairam Ramesh pointed out.
Later addressing the engineering staff of NTPC at Dadri, Shri Jairam Ramesh expressed hope that the best practices evident at Dadri will be replicated in all NTPC plants particularly in regard to project management, risk evaluation-based maintenance and environmental management. He wanted NTPC to explore ways and means of reducing land requirements for its future power plants (as, for example, by going vertical in townships). He also stressed the need for NTPC to put in place measurement systems for monitoring emissions of carbon dioxide. In terms of carbon dioxide emissions per unit of power generated, NTPC is the second lowest in the world, although in terms of absolute quantities of carbon dioxide emitted it is the third or the fourth highest, Shri Jairam Ramesh said.