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New UserRenewable push may hit thermal power plants: Experts
28 Sep 2016
Various power sector experts, including those at Central Electricity Authority
(CEA), have warned that the unprecedented surge in renewable energy capacity in the next
few years will severely stress thermal power plants, but power secretary PK Pujari remains
upbeat about the sector.
Thermal power plants are operating at an alltime low of just over 50% of their capacities,
triggering a debate within the industry on whether the country really needs the planned
addition of 175 gigawatts of renewable energy by 2022.
Industry fears that largescale addition of renewable capacity will further erode the margins
of thermal power projects. According to industry sources, CEA, which has made various
demand projections in different scenarios up till 202122, has projected that national average
operating capacity, or plant load factor (PLF), of thermal plants could drop below 50% if the
targeted renewable energy generation is added by 2021 and the 50,000 mw under various stages of construction power plants come on
line.
Pujari, however, doesn't share these concerns, saying it's an international norm that countries with high renewable energy generation
capacity have thermal power projects operating at lower levels. "On an average PLF will come down. But that is not a concern," the power
secretary said. "Even the power transmission lines are always built as two for backup. Whether low PLF is good or bad is a subjective
statement. Internationally most thermal power plants operate at 60%. It might be negative for individual companies, but as an aggregate
the surplus power is required. This is a cyclical scenario," he told ET. "The average PLF numbers are more complicated than simply
looking at the national average," he said.
Pujari said the national average PLF might be low but the thermal power plants may get to operate above 60% during night in the absence
of wind and solar electricity generation.
Source:Economic Times