Thermal Power Plants in India - UPSC PDF Download

Introduction

• Thermal power plants contribute the largest proportion of electricity into the national power grid of India.
• As the name suggests, thermal power plants generate electricity by using heat from a fuel source. The heat usually generates steam in a boiler which is then used to run a steam turbine connected to a generator. They are classified according to the heat source as follows:
  • Coal-Fired
  • Gas
  • Diesel or Liquid fuel
  • Geothermal
  • Biomass
  • Waste Material
• India mainly uses three types of thermal power plants which are listed below along with their installed capacity as of January 2021:
  • Coal: 206404.50 MW
  • Gas: 24956.51 MW
  • Liquid Fuel(Diesel): 509.71 MW
• The total capacity of thermal power plants as on January 31, 2021, all across India is  231870.72 MW.
• The electricity generated by these plants adds up to 71% of the total power generation in the country.
  

Installed GENERATION CAPACITY(FUELWISE) As on 31.08.2021

India - Cumulative Installed Power Capacity Mix (%)

• Renewables (including Large Hydro) comprise 35.9% of India's total installed capacity, with solar accounting for 9.6%. Among renewables, solar accounts for 26.7% of the installed capacity 

List of Thermal Power Plants in India

Uran:

• Uran is part of the Navi Mumbai, lying in the Raigarh district near Panvel
• Uran Electric Project is Asia’s first power plant that runs on gas
• A SEZ has been developed here

Dabhol:

• Located at Anjanwel, Ratnagiri district of Maharashtra
• The plant was built by the Dabhol Power Company
• Due to political controversy its operation has been interrupted on several occasions.

Trombay:

• Located on the Trombay Island, to the southeast of the Salsette Island
• BARC is located here.

Kawas:

• Gas-based 645 MW power plant, located in the Surat district of Gujarat
• Started power generation in 1992
• Uses gas from South Bassein Gas Field and water from Hazira Branch Canal
• Beneficiaries –Madhya Pradesh, Gujarat, Maharashtra, Goa.

Sikka:

• 2 units of 120 MW each
• Located near Jamnagar
• Coal-based power station

Utran:

• Gas-based power station located on the bank of Tapi River near Surat
• India’s first 370 MW gas–based combined cycle power station

Dhuvaran:

• 534 MW (Oil and Gas)
• The first power plant of Gujarat Electricity Board (GEB)
• Located near Khambhat in the Anand district
• All the units are built by the General Electric of the USA.

Ramagundam:

• NTPC power plant -2600 MW
• An industrial town in the Karimnagar district of Telangana in the northern part of the state between the Godavari and the Maher rivers
• Known as ‘the City of Energy’
• Currently the largest power station of S. India
• First ISO 14004 certified super thermal power plants in India.

Kothagundam:

• Located to the east of Singareni in the Khammam district of Telangana
• Thermal power plant – 1680 MW
• Producer of low quality coal used for the thermal power generation
• Known as the Coal Town of S. India.

Bhadrachalam:

• Located on the bank of the Godavari in the Khammam district of AP
• Bhadrachalam Temple devoted to the Lord Rama is a famous Hindu pilgrimage site.

Kolaghat:

• 1260 MW installed capacity
• Located on the bank of the Rupnarayan River in Midnapore East district of West Bengal
• Has the largest state sector power plant of West Bengal.

Bakreshwar:

• Thermal power plant located in the Birbhum district of WB, on the bank of the Bakreshwar River
• Installed Capacity – 1050 MW

Gauripur:

• 413 MW
• Located on the bank of the Brahmaputra River in the Dhubri district, in western Assam.

Neyveli:

• 2300 MW
• Located in the Cuddalore district of Tamilnadu, west of Puducherry
• Uses the locally mined lignite coals for power generation
• Managed by the Neyveli Lignite Corporation

Obra:

• Located in the Sonbhadra district in the southern UP, on the bank of the Son River
• The coal-powered thermal power station has 13 units with the total capacity of 1550 MW

Harduaganj:

• Located in the Aligarh district in western Uttar Pradesh
• Coal based power plant has 7 units and the total capacity of 665 MW
• The place is also known as Kasimpur Power House
• Unchahar:
  Owned and operated by NTPC, is located in the Rae Bareli district of Uttar Pradesh
• Coal is supplied from the Jharia and North Karanpura coal fields
• Produces about 1050 MW of power from its 4 units of 210 MW each.

Tundla:

• Located in southwestern Uttar Pradesh in the Firozabad district, 24km away from Agra
• Important town of the British period
• Bollywood actor Raj Babbar belongs to this place.

Singrauli:

• Largest coalfield of Madhya Pradesh in the eastern part of the state
• Thermal power plant of NTPC – 2000 MW
• The power palnt is located in the Singrauli district of UP.

Satpura:

• 1142 MW
• Located at Sarni in the Betul district of Madhya Pradesh
• One of the largest power plants of MP
• Satpura Dam is built specifically for the power plant

Amarkantak:

• Located near the border of Madhya Pradesh and Chhattisgarh
• Source of the Narmada, Son, and tributary of Mahanadi
• Forms radial drainage pattern
• Famous tourist and pilgrimage center
• Has a thermal power plant (450 MW) nearby it

Korba:

• Located on the bank of the Hasdo River in Chhattisgarh
• Coal producing region
• Aluminium plant (BALCO)
• Thermal power generation
• NTPC Plant – 2600 MW

Faridabad:

• A million plus city of Haryana, a suburb of Delhi to its southeast
• An industrial city and container depot
• Thermal power plant – 60 MW
• Gas based thermal power plant – 430 MW

Panipat:

• Located between Karnal (N) and Sonipat on the NH-1(old numbering)
• Site of the historical battles (3 famous wars)
• Thermal power plant – 440 MW + 920 MW

Badarpur:

• Located in the southern part of Delhi near the city of Faridabad (Haryana )
• Thermal power plant – 705 MW

Kota:

• Located in the valley of the Chambal
• Named after Koteah Clan of the Bhils
• Kota Barrage and Rawatbhata are very close to it
• Located on the NH-12
• Famous for Kota stones (marbles )
• Thermal power plant – 1241 MW

Palana:

• Located in Rajasthan
• Palana is known for lignite mines near Bikaner, which will be used in the plant
• The installed capacity – 120 MW (2X60 MW)

Anta:

• Located to the north of Kota
• Important solar energy producing centre
• Thermal power plant -413 MW
• It is a gas based power plant.

Sawai Madhopur:

• Located in the eastern part of Rajasthan, close to the confluence of the Banas and the Chambal
• Ranthambore National Park in the vicinity
• Thermal power plant is also located

Namrup:

• Located in the the Dibrugarh district , in the extreme northeastern part of Assam
• First place in India where a heavy natural gas based fertilizer factory was established
• Thermal power plant – 111.5 MW
• Has substantial coal mining activities
• Petro-chemical industry
• Surrounded by large tea – gardens

Bongaigaon:

• Located in the western part of Assam.
• Has a petroleum refinery receiving oil from Digboi
• A thermal power plant -120 MW

Barauni:

• Located along the left bank of the Ganga in the Begusarai district of Bihar
• Important industrial town – Oil refinery, fertilizers, thermal power
• Themal power capacity – 255 MW
• Linked by a pipeline to the oilfields of Assam.

Kahalgaon:

• NTPC thermal power plant – 1840 MW
• Located in the Bhagalpur district, on the banks of the Ganga
• The final capacity will be 2340 MW.

Chhabra:

• It is located in the Baran district of Rajasthan.
• It is a cool-fired power plant.
• The planned capacity of the power plant will be 2650 MW at the end of the 12th Five Year Plan.

Suratgarh:

• It is located in the Ganganagar district of Rajasthan.
• It is the first super thermal power station of the state.
• It has 6 units of 250 MW each.

Giral:

• It is located in the Barmer district of Rajasthan.
• It is a lignite-based power plant and it has 2 lignite-fired turbines.
• It total installed capacity is 250 MW.

Parichha:

• It is located in the Jhansi district at of Uttar Pradesh.
• It gets coal from Jharkhand.
• It has five units and its total installed capacity is 890 MW.
• The sixth unit is in progress.

Rosa:

• It is located in the Shahjahanpur district of Uttar Pradesh.
• It is a private power plant, owned by a subsidiary company of Reliance Power.
• It is a coal-based power plant and its total installed capacity is 1200MW.