June 18, 2009: India’s power shortage is a formidable obstacle to the country’s development. More than 400 million Indians - equal to the combined populations of the US, UK and France - do not have access to electricity. Sixty percent of Indian industries are forced to make their own arrangements for securing a reliable power supply. Last year, the country faced a 16.6 percent shortfall during hours of peak consumption and a 9.9 percent gap for energy generation.
Eighty percent of India’s energy comes from coal-fired power plants
Although India has moved along a low-carbon path of economic development (with the rate of economic growth exceeding the rate of energy supply), some 80 percent of the electricity being supplied to homes, farms and factories in the country still comes from coal-fired generation units. One-third of these are now relatively old, inefficient and polluting. Built mostly some 20-30 years ago, these units use more coal to produce electricity than modern plants and so emit more harmful polluting gases into the atmosphere. However, given the country’s already-overwhelming energy shortfall, shutting down such a large part of the country’s generating base is not a viable option for India.
Over the next decade, some old and polluting plants will be renovated
While some of the older generation units will need to be closed, others can be rehabilitated using modern techniques that will help boost power production while using less coal and with lower carbon emissions. To alleviate power shortages, therefore, the Government of India plans to rehabilitate a range of old coal-fired plants even as the country moves to more climate-friendly options for energy generation in the longer term. It has therefore initiated a National Renovation and Modernization Program which, over the next decade, aims to rehabilitate old and inefficient power plants with a cumulative capacity of 27,000 MW - almost one-fifth of India’s installed power capacity of 145,000 MW.
Renovated plants will use less coal and reduce their emissions
Effective renovation and modernization of these old coal-fired plants can significantly improve their efficiency. It can save more than 10 million tons of coal from being burnt each year, reducing globally harmful CO2 emissions and locally harmful particulate emissions. It will also enable India to provide reliable, clean and affordable electricity to the grid in a shorter span of time - and at less than half the cost - than setting up new units which would require new land and infrastructure facilities.
A new World Bank – GEF project will help pilot the renovation of 4 power units
To help launch the first phase of the national program, the Government of India has sought the World Bank's assistance to pilot the renovation and modernization of four coal-fired units with a combined capacity of 640 MW. The $225.5 million World Bank-Global Environment Facility assisted Coal-fired Generation Rehabilitation Project will thus rehabilitate and modernize around 200-220 MW of capacity at each of the three coal-fired power plants at Bandel in West Bengal, Koradi in Maharashtra and Panipat in Haryana. (The assistance comprises an IBRD Loan of $180 million and a GEF Grant of $45.4 million). The pilot project’s success could help the Government of India and the various state utilities scale up the rehabilitation of a significant portion of the 27,000 MW capacity so far identified for renovation and modernization.
Project will help reduce India’s emissions by almost half a million tons of CO2 equivalent each year
Unlike in the past when renovation and modernization focused on simply extending the life and reliability of the plant, the new approach being piloted under the Bank-supported project will help make the renovated plants more energy efficient and environmentally sustainable. This means they will use less fuel (coal) and emit fewer greenhouse gases for every unit of electricity they produce. The Bank-supported project alone will help India reduce its direct greenhouse emissions by almost half a million tons of CO2 equivalent each year.
Modernizing coal-fired plants will allow India to adopt a lower-carbon path to energy generation
In addition to helping reduce carbon emissions from the power plants, the project will also support efforts to control particulate emissions, and improve water treatment and ash disposal at these plants, leading to better environment conditions for people living in the vicinity. A parallel focus on better operations and maintenance practices in these plants will help sustain the improvements made through the renovation and modernization effort. This combined emphasis will allow India to adopt a lower-carbon path to energy generation by modernizing its coal-fired plants and enabling the country to add cheaper and cleaner electricity to its grid.
Eighty percent of India’s energy comes from coal-fired power plants
Although India has moved along a low-carbon path of economic development (with the rate of economic growth exceeding the rate of energy supply), some 80 percent of the electricity being supplied to homes, farms and factories in the country still comes from coal-fired generation units. One-third of these are now relatively old, inefficient and polluting. Built mostly some 20-30 years ago, these units use more coal to produce electricity than modern plants and so emit more harmful polluting gases into the atmosphere. However, given the country’s already-overwhelming energy shortfall, shutting down such a large part of the country’s generating base is not a viable option for India.
Over the next decade, some old and polluting plants will be renovated
While some of the older generation units will need to be closed, others can be rehabilitated using modern techniques that will help boost power production while using less coal and with lower carbon emissions. To alleviate power shortages, therefore, the Government of India plans to rehabilitate a range of old coal-fired plants even as the country moves to more climate-friendly options for energy generation in the longer term. It has therefore initiated a National Renovation and Modernization Program which, over the next decade, aims to rehabilitate old and inefficient power plants with a cumulative capacity of 27,000 MW - almost one-fifth of India’s installed power capacity of 145,000 MW.
Renovated plants will use less coal and reduce their emissions
Effective renovation and modernization of these old coal-fired plants can significantly improve their efficiency. It can save more than 10 million tons of coal from being burnt each year, reducing globally harmful CO2 emissions and locally harmful particulate emissions. It will also enable India to provide reliable, clean and affordable electricity to the grid in a shorter span of time - and at less than half the cost - than setting up new units which would require new land and infrastructure facilities.
A new World Bank – GEF project will help pilot the renovation of 4 power units
To help launch the first phase of the national program, the Government of India has sought the World Bank's assistance to pilot the renovation and modernization of four coal-fired units with a combined capacity of 640 MW. The $225.5 million World Bank-Global Environment Facility assisted Coal-fired Generation Rehabilitation Project will thus rehabilitate and modernize around 200-220 MW of capacity at each of the three coal-fired power plants at Bandel in West Bengal, Koradi in Maharashtra and Panipat in Haryana. (The assistance comprises an IBRD Loan of $180 million and a GEF Grant of $45.4 million). The pilot project’s success could help the Government of India and the various state utilities scale up the rehabilitation of a significant portion of the 27,000 MW capacity so far identified for renovation and modernization.
Project will help reduce India’s emissions by almost half a million tons of CO2 equivalent each year
Unlike in the past when renovation and modernization focused on simply extending the life and reliability of the plant, the new approach being piloted under the Bank-supported project will help make the renovated plants more energy efficient and environmentally sustainable. This means they will use less fuel (coal) and emit fewer greenhouse gases for every unit of electricity they produce. The Bank-supported project alone will help India reduce its direct greenhouse emissions by almost half a million tons of CO2 equivalent each year.
Modernizing coal-fired plants will allow India to adopt a lower-carbon path to energy generation
In addition to helping reduce carbon emissions from the power plants, the project will also support efforts to control particulate emissions, and improve water treatment and ash disposal at these plants, leading to better environment conditions for people living in the vicinity. A parallel focus on better operations and maintenance practices in these plants will help sustain the improvements made through the renovation and modernization effort. This combined emphasis will allow India to adopt a lower-carbon path to energy generation by modernizing its coal-fired plants and enabling the country to add cheaper and cleaner electricity to its grid.
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