Chandwa Power Project
{{#Badges:CoalSwarm|navbar-Indiacoal}}The Chandwa Power Project, which is also referred to as the Matrishri Usha Jayaswal Thermal Power Plant, is a proposed coal-fired power station in Jharkhand, India.
Construction began but has been suspended by strong public opposition.
Contents
Location
The photo below shows the project on March 19, 2014. The photo indicates that two units are substantially complete and two more are under construction.[1]
Background
Phase I of the Chandwa Power Project consists of 4 units, each 270 MW, or 1,080 MW total. In both 2011 and 2014, the company stated that the first 270 MW unit will be commissioned by September 2012 and the fourth by April 2014. The proposed power station is located at Chandwa in Latehar district, Jharkhand.[2]
In 2012 the Central Electricity Authority said that the four units will all be commissioned in 2013.[3]
Photos on Google Earth show that on March 19, 2014 the first two units were substantially complete and two more units were under construction.
Construction suspended
In March 2015 Abhijeet Group sought intervention of the Jharkhand Chief Minister to ensure completion of the stalled 1,080 MW Chandwa plant. The chief minister has proposed to commission the project jointly with NTPC and the lender bank SBI. The project was stalled after the India Central Bureau Investigation filed a report in September 2012 in connection with the Coalgate scam against JAS Infrastructure, a unit of Abhijeet Group.[4]
In May 2015 a major fire broke out at the project. The fire did not spread to any of the four power generating units located on the premises, although the coal-handling plant was damaged. Company officials said they suspected sabotage.[5]
In May 2016 the Rural Electrification Corporation and Power Ministry said they would assist Abhijeet Group in completing the coal plant. Talks with NTPC for a take-over of the plant had reportedly fallen through.[6]
In the October 2016 Broad Status Report, it is reported that the project has been on hold for four years: "Work held up due to payment issue to BHEL since 11/12."[7]
Take-over by Arcil
In July 2016 the project was taken over for valuation by Asset Reconstruction Company (India) Ltd (Arcil). Arcil has sought the state government's help for revival of the project. Arcil plans to evaluate the plant assets by end-2016 and then launch a search for interested companies, PSUs or private firms, to run it by mid-2017.[8]
According to sources, Arcil has requested the state government to seek allotment of Chittarpur coal block, which was earlier with Abhijeet Group but was de-allocated in 2014, to Jharkhand State Mineral Development Corporation Ltd (JSMDC) to supply the plant. Arcil has also asked for revalidation of all approvals/ clearances/ licenses that were given to Abhijeet Group and their transfer in favor of the entity designated by Arcil.[8]
According to Telegraph India: "The sources also claimed that Arcil chief executive officer and managing director Vinayak Bahuguna requested the state government to deploy a unit of Jharkhand Industrial Security Force (JISF) at the Chandwa project site to protect the exiting infrastructure and assets."[8]
As of April 2017 Arcil received no bidders for the coal plant.[9]
The project appears in the November 2017 Broad Status of coal plants under construction as "Matrishri Usha Jayaswal Thermal Power Plant," but it continues to have no activity and is clearly abandoned.[10]
Proposed Phase II and III
In 2011 the company submitted tenders for bids for Phase II, which will consist of 5 x 135 MW or 675 MW total.[11] The company applied for additional coal to support a 660 MW Phase III of the project. No reference has been found to Phase II.[12]
As of 2016 no mention of future phases is made on the Abhijeet website, and no applications have been made for environmental permits -- this indicates that phases II and III have been abandoned.
Project Details
Sponsor: Asset Reconstruction Company (India) Ltd (Arcil), which took over the project from Abhijeet Group in 2016
Location: Chandwa village, Latehar district, Jharkhand
Coordinates: 23.7395084, 84.7818589 (exact)
Status:
- Phase I (4 x 270 MW) - Cancelled
- Phase II & III - Cancelled
Nameplate capacity:
- Phase I - 1,080 MW
- Phase II - 675 MW
- Phase III - 660 MW
Type: Subcritical[2]
Projected in service:
Coal Type:
Coal Source:
Estimated annual CO2:
Source of financing:
Contact
Resources and articles
Related SourceWatch articles
References
- ↑ Google Earth of 23.7395084, 84.7818589
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 Abhijeet Group, "Project Details", Abhijeet Group website, accessed November 2011 and August 2014.
- ↑ Monthly Report on Broad Status of Thermal Power Projects in the Country, Central Electricity Authority, September 2012
- ↑ "Abhijeet Group seeks Jharkhand CM Raghuvar Das's help to revive power plant," The Economic Times, Mar 23, 2015
- ↑ "Sabotage cry in plant blaze," The Telegraph, May 24, 2015
- ↑ "Abhijeet renews interests in State power plants," The Pioneer, May 11, 2016
- ↑ "Monthly Report on Broad Status of Thermal Power Projects in the Country," Government of India Ministry of Power, October 2016
- ↑ 8.0 8.1 8.2 "Meet to speed up power plant revival," Telegraph, Sep 6, 2016
- ↑ "No bid for defunct power plant," Telegraph India, Apr 19, 2017
- ↑ "Monthly Report on Broad Status of Thermal Power Projects in the Country," Government of India Ministry of Power, November 2017
- ↑ "IFB NO. CCPL/Chandwa/004," Abhijeet Group, accessed February 2012
- ↑ "PENDING APPLICATION OF IPPs UP TO 31ST JULY,2011," Ministry of Coal
Wikipedia also has an article on Chandwa Power Project. This article may use content from the Wikipedia article under the terms of the GFDL.
