Coal news and updates

L&T’s Rajpura TPP named India’s best for lowest emission

Centre for Science and Environment (CSE) has named L&T arm Nabha Power’s Rajpura thermal power plant (TPP) as India’s best-performing supercritical coal-based thermal power plant for emission intensity in the below 800 megawatts (MW) capacity category, according to a company release.

In its latest report titled “Decarbonizing the Coal-based Thermal Power Sector in India: A Roadmap,” released recently, CSE evaluated the emission intensity of all coal-based thermal power plants in India and identified Rajpura plant among the top performers.

According to CSE, Rajpura plant achieved an emission factor of 0.84 ton/MWh, a benchmark among all supercritical power units in the country. This is significantly better than the national average emission factor of 0.97 ton/MWh.

The CSE report also highlighted the plant’s auxiliary power consumption rate of 4.62 per cent, the lowest in the sector. Auxiliary power consumption refers to the portion of electricity used by a plant to operate its systems — such as pumps, fans, and other essential equipment. A lower auxiliary power consumption rate indicates higher operational efficiency, as more of the generated power is available for external supply.

Rajpura plant comprises two supercritical units, each with a capacity of 700 MW, bringing the total installed capacity to 1,400 MW. Both the units were commissioned in 2014 and continue to operate efficiently. The CSE report commended the fact that despite operating both the units using domestic coal, the plant is able to maintain emission factors below 0.9 ton/MWh.