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Centre okays Bhadradri thermal project (thehindu)

Ministry of Power gives clearance for the undertaking coming up at Manuguru in Kothagudem district

The Union Ministry of Power has given its clearance for the 1,080 MW (270x4) Bhadradri Thermal Power Project (BTPP) at Manuguru in Kothagudem district being established with sub-critical thermal generation technology.

In a letter addressed to the State Chief Secretary with copies marked to the Principal Secretary (Energy) of Telangana and Chairman and Managing Director of Telangana State Power Generation Corporation (TS-Genco) two days back, the Ministry of Power stated that it has “no objection for establishment of the said coal-based thermal power plant with sub-critical technology subject to its completion by December-end 2017”.

The nod from the Ministry of Power follows Chief Minister K. Chandrasekhar Rao’s request to the Centre last month by writing a letter seeking to exempt the Bhadradri power project from allowing (commissioning) only the super-critical technology thermal power projects in the 13th Five Year Plan period commencing from April 1, 2017 stating that work on the project was taken up in the 12th FYP itself.


“Nearly 98 per cent of the existing thermal power plants with an installed capacity 1.55 lakh MW in the country were built with the sub-critical technology itself. Another 36 thermal power projects across the country under implementation are also using the sub-critical technology including the next unit (600 MW) of Rayalaseema Thermal Power Station (RTPS) in Andhra Pradesh,” a senior official of TS-Genco explained adding that even the 600 MW unit of Kakatiya TPS at Bhupalapally commissioned earlier this year is based on sub-critical technology.

The official sources stated that about Rs.1,020 crore has already been spent on Bhadradri TPP works, out of the Rs.7,300 crore estimated cost of the project being executed by BHEL. Hurdles for the project were created in the form of petition in the National Green Tribunal (NGT) against the use of sub-critical technology earlier this year by halting the works. Later, the Experts Appraisal Committee (EAC) of the Ministry of Environment and Forests delisted the Bhadradri case from its appraisal process also because of the use of sub-critical technology.

“The new technologies available now would reduce the emissions from the sub-critical technology thermal projects too and they could address many concerns raised by the petitioner who had moved the NGT,” the official said. Now, the MoEF-EAC likely to meet in the third or fourth week of January would take up the case of Bhadradri afresh for processing the environmental clearance for the project.

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