Adhunik power plant

Adhunik Power and Natural Resources has set up the first unit of its 540-MW thermal plant, the biggest of its size in Jharkhand. India has experienced severe shortages in energy and peak power requirements for a long time. Just last year, the country recorded an energy deficit of 11 per cent, a consequence of slow progress in the development of additional generation capacity. The low per capita consumption of electric power in India compared to the world average presents significant potential for sustainable growth in the demand for electric power. And the recent Budget announced plans to augment domestic coal production, a possible hike in power price and rail freights to meet excess demand. Thus, it is heartening news that Adhunik Power and Natural Resources (APNRL) has commissioned the first unit of its planned 540-MW (270 + 2) coal-fired thermal power plant in October 2012 in the Saraikela-Kharsawan district of Jharkhand. APNRL is the first company to have successfully commissioned a power plant of such a size in Jharkhand. The big players The company will operate the power project by utilising coal from its captive mines at the Ganeshpur non-coking coal block, which is expected to start mining operations from December 2013. In the interim, the company has obtained tapering coal linkages from Coal India for approximately 2 million MT. Besides fuel assurance, the plant also has state-of-the-art equipment along with the latest technologies and control system/automation of the entire plant with minimum manual intervention during operation. The boiler, turbine and generator (BTG) along with station C&I are supplied by Bharat Heavy Electricals (BHEL) and the balance of plant (BoP) has been sourced via split package method from reputed suppliers such as ABB, Nagarjuna Construction, Gannon Dunkerly, Macawber Beekay, Elecon Engineering, Gammon India and BGR Energy. The plant has zero water discharge and is designed to reduce pollutants. Power will be transferred to the National Grid through the Power Grid Corporation of India's (PGCIL) 400 kV substation at Ramchandrapur, Jamshedpur, which is about 2 km from the site. The company has already entered into a firm, long-term PPA (power purchase agreement) for aggregate power sale quantum of 435 MW comprising 100-MW PPA with Tata Power Trading Company; 100-MW PPA with West Bengal State Electricity Distribution Company Ltd; 100-MW PPA with Power Trading Corporation; and another 135-MW PPA with Jharkhand State Electricity Board. State support Jharkhand, which holds around 40 per cent of the nation's mineral reserve, is suitable for setting up a power plant. The advantage of the location is the key to regular supply of raw materials and fuel to the plant. Jharkhand has improved its basic infrastructure in the past couple of years and is on the path to industrialisation. "Being an industrial belt, both skilled and unskilled manpower is easily available at reasonable wages," says Manoj Kumar Agarwal, Managing Director, Adhunik Metaliks. "Jharkhand will soon emerge as the power hub of the east and setting up a power plant in the state came as a natural choice to us." The first independent power producer (IPP) in Jharkhand, the enthusiastic state government was actively involved in the implementation process. "The state government recommended allocation of coal mines as well as tapering linkage, which was granted to us," states Agarwal. "The state government also facilitated land acquisition for the project. Other infrastructure facilities like approvals for construction power and water were also provided in a timely manner." Green steps The company's power plant also boasts of eco-friendly facilities. These include an efficient electrostatic precipitator to limit emission of particulate matter within permissible limit and a boiler design that ensures limiting of stack emission of gases. "Both the coarse ash from the furnace bottom and flyash from the dust collecting hoppers will be properly disposed," reveals Agarwal. "Moreover, all attempts will be made for disposal and selling of ash for commercial utilisation." Adequate dust extraction equipment has been installed at specific locations where there is a high generation of dust in the system. Also, measures have been taken to prevent coal-dust laden water from reaching the drains. The company has adopted recycling methods at the plant and treatment and reuse of wastewater to minimise consumptive water requirements and reduce effluent discharge. An adequate green belt is being developed in and around the project area and efficient ash disposal methods are provided to arrest air-borne dust particles and create a noise barrier. "The company will undertake regular monitoring of pollutants in different environment disciplines like air, water, etc, during the post-operational phase of the plant," assures Agarwal. "The station will also be equipped with all necessary instrumentation, equipment and manpower required to ensure effective monitoring." Fuelling the project Currently, the company has executed a fuel supply agreement and is procuring a majority of its requirement under linkage from Central Coalfields Ltd (CCL). Part of the requirement is also met through coal procured through road transport from CCL mines where surplus inventory have been built owing to inadequate rail transport. "CCL has offered this inventory to companies like us to lift the material through road at linkage cost only," says Agarwal. The balance requirement has been met through spot purchase and e-auction. "Our company can also import coal from Indonesia and Australia to fulfil the gap," he adds. "Once the Ganeshpur coal block is commissioned, we will be self-sufficient and meet our entire requirement from our captive mine." The Ministry of Coal has made a joint allocation of the Ganeshpur non-coking coal block in Jharkhand to APNRL and Tata Steel on equal sharing basis. Substantial progress has been made in the development of the coal block and it is expected to start mining operations from December 2013. This block is presumed sufficient to meet the requirement of ongoing 540-MW power plants. The company has also obtained permission to draw water from Swarnarekha River and approval from JSEB for drawing power for construction. Full steam ahead The first unit of Stage-I (270 MW) has been synchronised with the National Grid and achieved full load in November, 2012. The boiler light-up for Unit 2 has been done with the unit commissioned in March 2013. Considering the minimum requirement of addition and augmentation for Stage 2 of the project, APNRL is planning the expansion of the ongoing project with 1 + 660 MW (Stage-II) at the same location with an investment of around Rs 4,000 crore. The expansion project will be implemented over a period of 40 months from the present date. Project Highlights: Type: Coal-fired thermal plant Plant area: 533 acre Unit capacity: 270 MW (of total 540 MW) Total investment: Rs 3151.51 crore (Phase-1 - 540 MW) Coal linkages from CIL: Approx 2 million MT Boiler, turbine and generator (BTG) consultants, station C&I: Bharat Heavy Electricals Ltd (BHEL). Tel: 011-6633 7000. Fax: 011-2649 3021. E-mail: query@bhel.com Website: www.bhel.com Balance of Plants (sourced via split package method) sourced from: ABB. Website: www.abb.co.in; Nagarjuna Construction. Tel: 040-2326 8888. Fax: 040-2312 5555. Website: www.ncclimit ed.com; Gannon Dunkerly. Tel: 022-2205 1231. Fax: 022-2205 1232. E-mail:gdho1@mtnl.net.in Website: www.gannondunkerley.com; Macawber Beekay. Tel: 011-4222 4222. Fax: 011-4189 2999. Website: www.mbl.in; Elecon Engineering. Website: www.elecon. com; Gammon India. Tel: 022-6111 4000. Fax: 022-2430 0221. E-mail: gammon@ gammonindia.com Website: www.gammonindia.com; BGR Energy. Tel: 044-2433 5958. Fax: 044-2433 8775. E-mail: response@bgrenergy.com Website: www.bgrcorp.com To share your views on this project, write in at feedback@ASAPPmedia.com