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Protection of Environment
Concerns relating to pollution and the disposal of the large amount of ash from coal based power stations, which are the mainstay of India's power generation, are being addressed through strategies to promote environmentally sustainable power development.
- Special Purpose Vehicle (SPV) for Afforestation
- Fly Ash Utilisation Action Plan
- Initiatives for improving the environmental performance of coal based stations
- Clean Development Mechanism (CDM)
- ISO 14001
Special Purpose Vehicle (SPV) for Afforestation
A Special Purpose Vehicle is being set up jointly by NTPC and other Central Power Sector Undertakings as a Registered Society to take up afforestation and environmental measures in order to reduce the carbon dioxide in the atmosphere. The objectives of the Society shall be to:
- Undertake fruitful channelising of investments by members to increase the national forest cover.
- Identify suitable lands for afforestation for power projects of NTPC and other members through Ministry of Environment and Forests (MOEF) which will coordinate with the State Forest Departments/District Rural Development Authority etc.
- Facilitate quick procurement of forest clearance for the forestland proposed to be acquired by NTPC and other members for the future projects to be set up.
- Interact with MOEF to score off the necessary compensatory afforestation required for projects of NTPC and other members, which needs diversion of forestland.
It is noteworthy that NTPC has already planted over 1.45 crore trees, which is one of the biggest afforestation efforts in the country. In fact the ambient temperature around the Ramagundam Station of NTPC has come down by 30 Celsius due to the afforestation done by NTPC as revealed in a study by the National Remote Sensing Agency (NRSA), Hyderabad.
Fly Ash Utilisation Action Plan
Coal / Lignite based Thermal Power Generation has been the backbone of power capacity addition in the country. Indian coal is of low grade with ash content of the order of 30-60 % in comparison to imported coals which have a low ash content of the order of 2-20%. A large quantity of ash is, thus being generated at Coal / Lignite based Thermal Power Stations in the country, which not only requires a large area of precious land for its disposal but is also one of the sources of pollution of both air and water.
All Coal / Lignite based Thermal Power are required to follow the Ministry of Environment, Forests (MoEF) Notifications on fly ash utilization to achieve 100% utilization of fly ash. Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change (MoEF&CC) has now issued a revised Notification on 31st December 2021 in supersession of earlier Notifications in order to widen the scope of ash utilization.
CEA compiles annual report on Fly Ash Generation at Coal / Lignite based Thermal Power Stations and its utilization in the country. As per the CEA report, ash utilization during Year 2021-22:
| No. of Thermal Power Stations from which data have been received | 200 |
| Installed capacity (Mega watts) | 213620.5 |
| Coal Consumed (Million tons) | 759.02 |
|
Fly Ash Generation (Million tons)
|
270.82 |
| Fly Ash Utilization (Million tons) | 259.86 |
| Percentage Utilization (%) | 95.95 |
|
Percentage Average Ash Content (%)
|
35.68 |
In line with the MoEF&CC Notification dated 31.12.2021, Ministry of Power had issued an Advisory on 22.02.2022 for all Coal / Lignite based Thermal Power to dispose of the ash in a transparent manner.
Initiatives for improving the environmental performance of coal based stations
i. The monitoring of emissions by thermal power companies come under the purview of CPCB/SPCB. The emissions from thermal power plants is being monitored through online OCEMS portal of CPCB since 2017, for both central and state to keep a check on emission level from these power plants. However, Central Electricity Authority (CEA) compiles a CO2 database for all Grid connected Power stations in the country on annual basis and publish the same. The objective of this database is to establish authentic and consistent quantification of the CO2 emission baseline. The data of CO2 emission from Grid connected Power stations in Indian power sector of last five years is as under:
[Absolute Emissions in Million tons CO2]
| 2017-18 | 2018-19 | 2019-20 | 2020-21 | 2021-22 |
| 922.18 | 960.90 | 928.14 | 910.02 | 1,002.02 |
ii. The Thermal Power Stations are required to meet the environmental pollution standard set by MoEF&CC /CPCB/ SPCB from time to time. MOEF&CC has notified new environmental norms on 7th December 2015 for thermal power plants related to Particulate Matter (PM), SO2, NOx& Mercury emissions and also vide its notification dated 31.03.2021 had issued categorized thermal power plants in category A, B & C for compliance of new emission norms including provision of penalty for non-compliance. Further, MOEF&CC vide its notification dated 5th September 2022 has granted two year Extension to TPPs for compliance of SO2 emission norms
iii. Many TPPs have already adopted use of efficient technologies i.e. from subcritical to supercritical and now using ultra-supercritical technology in order to improve efficiency, thereby reducing coal consumption and thereby reducing emissions. A total capacity of Supercritical and Ultra-supercritical units of 63170 MW (91 supercritical Units) and 1320 MW (2 ultra-supercritical units) have been commissioned till 13.03.2023.
iv. The capacity of about 18,362.24 MW comprising 260 units of inefficient and old thermal power generation units has already been retired till 31.12.2022.
v. Ministry of Power on 08.10.2021 has issued revised policy on Bio-mass Utilization for Power Generation through Co-firing in Coal based Power Plants to use 5-10% blend of biomass pellets made, primarily of agro-residue along with coal after assessing the technical feasibility viz. safety aspect etc.
vi. Thermal Power Plants of total capacity of about 181 GW is covered under Perform, Achieve, Trade (PAT) scheme and they are given mandatory targets to reduce their specific energy consumption i.e. Net Heat Rate (kcal/kwh). BEE is the nodal agency for implementing the PAT scheme.
vii. Carbon Capture, utilisation and Storage (CCUS): CCUS refers to suite of technologies, which will help to remove CO2 before it enters atmosphere. These technologies can play a diverse role in meeting global energy and climate goals. NTPC has taken up an R&D project to setup a 10 TPD Flue Gas CO2 to Methanol Plant at NTPC Vindhyachal to capture the CO2 from waste flue gases to convert it into Methanol.
Clean Development Mechanism (CDM)
To address increasing concerns related to the environment and to improve environmental performance, the services of Tata Energy Research Institute (TERI) have been engaged for providing consultancy services to the Ministry of Power on CDM. The terms of reference include project formulation, base line surveys for each project, negotiations with the CDM parties, identification of the counterpart CDM parties from the developed countries, cost of CO2 monitoring and verification of CO2 emission reduction and supervision of project implementation.
Established in November 1975 for nation's Sustainable Power Development, National Thermal Power Corporation Ltd. (NTPC) is today India's largest power utility with an installed capacity of 21,749 MW (19% of India's installed capacity) contributing to 26% of total generation in the country, with high availability factor of its power plants. NTPC has plans to double its capacity. NTPC has recently diversified into the hydro sector and formed for joint venture companies for distribution, R&M, etc. Environment Management is a high priority area in the company and several Policies have been formulated to ensure generation of green power. Through persuasion of sound environmental management systems and practices , NTPC's 18 stations have been accredited with ISO:14001 certification. As a responsible corporate citizen, NTPC is a member of Global Compact a UN initiative for Corporate social responsibility.
The focus and emphasis in future in the company will be on generation of power in line with global standards and in complete harmony with the environment and nature.