India coal-fired power plant construction and retrofitting

Coal-fired power plants have been the mainstays of India's energy sector for several decades, providing a reliable and cheap source of energy that fueled India's industrial and urban expansion during its high-growth period. Despite recent global tendencies towards reduced use of fossil fuels, India continues to invest in building new coal-fired power plants and expanding the capacity of existing ones as part of its efforts to meet its growing energy needs. This article addresses India's energy basket share of the coal-fired thermal power plants, concerns regarding their capacity expansion, benefits of retrofitting, and the future direction of action of this industry.

The Supremacy of Coal-Fired Power Plants in the Indian Energy Mix

India relies on power generated from coal, and generates nearly 70% of India's power. Coal power is as robust as anything because, with growing energy consumption on account of a growing population, industrialization, and a better standard of living, coal-fired power plants will never fade away. India has, in recent years, accelerated the commissioning of coal power plants to fill the supply-demand gap. India procured around 5 GW of fresh coal capacity in 2023 and will procure more in the next decade, the Central Electricity Authority (CEA) stated.

But such dependence on coal is logically and environmentally hazardous. India is the second-largest consumer in the world, and nine out of ten domestic demands are never met, and costly imports have to be sought. Power plants that burn fossil fuels also emit huge amounts of air pollution as well as greenhouse gases, both of which are not conducive to meeting the climate goals of the Paris Agreement.

Challenges for India's Coal-Fired Power Plant Construction

Even while the government is attempting to recruit additional power plants to pursue coal, there are a few issues with rapid growth:

l Environmental Rules – Strict emissions rules require sophisticated pollution control systems, increasing the cost of the project.

l Land Purchase – Land for new factories is purchased late due to protests and red tape.

l Financing Constraint – The international financing institutions are no longer able to provide any support to the financing of coal projects, and the developers must turn to local or non-traditional sources of finance.

l Competition from Renewables – Solar and wind have become much cheaper, and in some places, it is equal to coal.

They put off some of the scheduled India coal-fired power plant construction projects, and their legislators have had to revisit them.

Retrofitting India's Coal-Fired Power Plants: A Sustainable Option

New plant development has been the company's priority so far; additional time and effort are going into scrubbing and retrofitting India's current coal-fired power generation plants. The most significant among these retrofitting tasks are:

l Flue Gas Desulfurization (FGD) Systems – They reduce flue gas SOx emissions that allow plants to achieve their environmental goal levels.

l Advanced Combustion Technologies – New turbines and boilers add additional efficiency, with additional coal used per unit produced.

l Carbon Capture and Storage (CCS) Pilot Plants - CCS is in its early stages, yet it is a leader in cleaning up coal-fired power plants.

There are several advantages to retrofitting:

l Cost-Effectiveness – Adding new equipment to existing proven plants is less costly than building new plants.

l Increased Life – More technology in the plants increases the life of the plants.

l Compliance with Regulations – Retrofits keep the plant in compliance with emission regulations to prevent a penalty or plant shutdown.

An example is the NTPC Vindhyachal unit retrofit, which, apart from reducing particulate emissions by 40%, boosted production.

The Future of India's Coal-Fired Power Plants

Even though renewable power is growing at an alarming speed, coal plants will continue to be a dominating source of India's electricity production for the coming two years or so. The government's draft of the National Electricity Plan (2022-32) estimates that although the trend will continue to show growing renewables, coal will still account for ~50% of electricity until as far as 2030.

But it must change if it is to survive:

l Flexible Operations – Coal power plants need to be more flexible to match the variability of renewables.

l Clean Coal Technologies – More investment in HELE units and CCS will be required.

l Phased Transition – Over time, the less efficient plants can be phased out, while the new or upgraded plants can be permitted to operate.

Conclusion

Coal-fired power plants remain on India's energy security radar but with a different purpose. Retrofitting of coal-fired power stations remains playing the role of filling short-run energy gaps, and retrofitting has been offering a carbon-neutral solution to the question of how to make the power station more efficient at zero environmental cost. Smart policy, technological ingenuity, and smart investment will need to put policy and climate objectives into each other's pockets for coal. As India is inclining towards conversion with energy, existing or freshly commissioned coal power plants will be the trend-setters to achieve a safe and cheap source of electricity generation for decades to come.