Kudgi Super Thermal Power Project

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Kudgi Super Thermal Power Project is a 2,400 megawatt coal-fired power station in Kudgi, Bijapur District in Karnataka, India.

A second stage of 1,600 MW has been cancelled.

Location

The undated satellite photo below (as identified in the Environmental Impact Assessment and on Wikimapia) shows the plant in Kudgi.[1][2][3]

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Background

The project, which is being developed by NTPC of India, was promoted by the Power Company of Karnataka. The project was planned to be developed in two phases: 3x800 MW (Phase I) and 2x800 MW (Phase II),[4] and may take up to 3,200 acres of land.[5][6]

Phase I

Environmental clearance for Phase I of 3 x 800 MW was granted in January 2012.[7]

In February 2012 Toshiba was awarded a contract by NTPC for the supply of three 800MW super-critical units.[8] Phase I was reported as under construction in 2012.[9]

In a 2013 presentation by NTPC, the project was projected to be completed in 2016-2017.[10]

March 2014: National Green Tribunal stops construction

In a ruling on 13 March 2014, the National Green Tribunal (NGT) in "MP Patil vs Union of India" ordered that work on the Kudgi project be halted until the MoEF reevaluated the environmental clearance. The five-member tribunal agreed with the petitioner that land at the project site was under cultivation, violating the MoEF's policy of denying clearances to projects if land is under cultivation.[11][12]

July 2014: Farmers wounded in protests

In July 2014, construction on the project came to a standstill following protests in which police opened fire, wounding two farmers. One of the farmers, Chandappa Holleppa, was shot in the stomach and the hand. Following the shooting, Holleppa spent two months in the hospital. Protesters created a shed of bamboo, tin, and plastic in the village of Muttagi. According to ABC News, Sidramappa Ranjanagi, the leader of a local farmers' organization, said, "We want more power but not this one. In America they have stopped coal-based plants because it affects people's health. Why can't the government come up with solar power plants? We use solar power units at home here and they're good."[13]

Construction resumes

In April 2015 NTPC said work on the plant was 80% complete, with unit 1 planned for commissioning in March 2016.[14] Units 2-3 are planned for operation in 2017.[15]

Unit 1 was synchronized in March 2016, although commercial operation is not expected to start until October at the earliest, while constraints over land acquisition and water from Almatti dam might delay it further to January 2017.[16][17]

Commissioning of unit 1 was reported in late December 2016,[18] with commercial generation planned for May 2017.[19]

Unit 2 was commissioned in February 2017.[20]

Unit 3 was synchronized in August 2017,[21] and is planned for commissioning in 2018.[22] It was commissioned in March 2018.[23]

Phase II

On its website in 2014, NTPC listed only Phase I under its future capacity additions.[24]

In March 2017 NTPC said it was inclined to drop the phase II 1600 MW expansion plans.[19] The decision followed years of protest against phase I of the power station.

Funding

January 2014: JBIC Approves Loan

On January 25, 2014, the Japan Bank for International Cooperation (JBIC), upon the Prime Minister of Japan Shinzo Abe's visit in India, signed a loan agreement with NTPC. The agreement provided for JBIC to provide a US$155 million loan and a US$55 million loan directed toward purchase of steam turbine generatorss from Toshiba and boiler water feedpumps from Ebara. In addition to the JBIC portion, Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corporation will also provide cofinancing for each facility, bringing the total financing for steam turbine generators to US$259 million and the financing for boiler water feedpumps to US$ 91 million.[25]

Japan had been criticized for counting its coal plant loans as climate finance - money promised by wealthier countries in UN climate talks to help less wealthy countries limit their carbon emissions. Japan states that it has provided US$16 billion in climate finance since 2013. Yet the UN has no rules defining climate finance, meaning governments decide for themselves what projects to include in their accounting. Japanese officials argue the coal projects are climate-friendly because the plants use technology that burns coal more efficiently, reducing their carbon emissions compared to older coal plants, while critics say the funds should go to low-carbon technologies like renewables.[26]

Japanese activists raising environmental and human rights concerns

According to ABC News, Japanese activist Yuki Tanabe has met with JBIC officials several times to urge that support for the Kudgi plant be withdrawn, citing concerns over human rights violations and environmental damage.[13]

Coal supply

Karnataka has no known fossil fuel reserves, including coal. NTPC proposes bringing in coal from Pakhri Barwadi in Jharkhand, with an additional allocation from a mine in Orissa "under process".[4]

Water

The power station would divert 5.2 TMC/year of water from the Almatti reservoir. Critics say this will take water away from local household and agricultural needs. The Karnataka Government has identified water as the biggest impediment for industrialisation in the region: about 77% of the total geographical area of the state is arid or semi-arid.[5]

Project Details

Sponsor: NTPC
Location: Kudgi village, Bijapur district, Karnataka
Coordinates: 16.4995461, 75.8346319 (exact)[3]
Status:

  • Stage I, Units 1-3: Operating
  • Stage II, Units 4-5: Cancelled

Nameplate capacity:

  • Stage I: 2,400 MW (Units 1-3: 800 MW)
  • Stage II: 1,600 MW (Units 4-5: 800 MW)

Type: Supercritical
Projected in service:

  • Unit 1: 2016
  • Unit 2: 2017
  • Unit 3: 2018

Coal Type:
Coal Source: Pakhri Barwadi in Jharkhand; an additional allocation sought from a mine in Orissa "is under process".[4]
Estimated annual CO2: 23,654,803 tons
Source of financing: Japan Bank for International Cooperation and Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corporation
Permits: Environmental clearance for Stage 1, India MoEF, Jan 25, 2012

Articles and resources

References

  1. ↑ "NTPC KUDGI," Wikimapia, accessed November 2013
  2. ↑ Photo date for 16.4947728, 75.8298683 provided by Google Earth's time slider, accessed November 2013
  3. ↑ 3.0 3.1 Final Comprehensive Environmental Impact Assessment Report for Kudgi Super Thermal Power Project, Stage-I (3x800 MW), NTPC, January 9, 2011
  4. ↑ 4.0 4.1 4.2 "Establishing 4000 MW (5 x 800 MW) Coal based Power plant at Kudigi", February 1, 2012.
  5. ↑ 5.0 5.1 Shankar Sharma, "Coal Power Fiasco In India – Karnataka's Case Study," Countercurrents.org, May 4, 2012.
  6. ↑ "Analyst Meet," NTPC, 2013.
  7. ↑ Environmental clearance for Stage 1, India MoEF, Jan 25, 2012
  8. ↑ "Toshiba Wins Major Order in India for Super-critical Steam Turbines and Generators," Toshiba, 20 Feb, 2012
  9. ↑ Monthly Report on Broad Status of Thermal Power Projects in the Country, Central Electricity Authority, September 2012
  10. ↑ "Analyst Meet," NTPC, 2013.
  11. ↑ "Green Tribunal Halts Work on Kudgi Power Project," The New Indian Express, 21 March 2014
  12. ↑ "M.P. Patil vs Union Of India on 13 March, 2014," national Green Tribunal
  13. ↑ 13.0 13.1 Karl Ritter and Aijaz Rahi, "Japan Uses Climate Cash for Coal Plants in India, Bangladesh," ABC News, 25 March 2015
  14. ↑ "'NTPC-Kudgi thermal plant 11 months away from operation," WN, Apr 22, 2015
  15. ↑ "Monthly Report on Broad Status of Thermal Power Projects in the Country," Government of India Ministry of Power, March 2016
  16. ↑ "Water, Land May Delay Operations at Kudgi Plant," The New Indian Express, Mar 9, 2016
  17. ↑ "Monthly Report on Broad Status of Thermal Power Projects in the Country," Government of India Ministry of Power, July 2016
  18. ↑ "India’s NTPC commissions first unit at 4GW Kudgi supercritical thermal power plant," EBR, Dec 27, 2016
  19. ↑ 19.0 19.1 "NTPC may drop further expansion plans of Kudgi thermal project in Karnataka," Economic Times, March 28, 2017
  20. ↑ "Monthly Report on Broad Status of Thermal Power Projects in the Country," Government of India Ministry of Power, March 2017
  21. ↑ “Broad Status of Thermal Power Projects in the Country,” India Ministry of Power, Sep 2017
  22. ↑ "Monthly Report on Broad Status of Thermal Power Projects in the Country," Government of India Ministry of Power, November 2017
  23. ↑ "NTPC commissions third 800MW coal-fired unit at Kudgi," Asian Power, March 14, 2018
  24. ↑ "Future capacity additions," NTPC, accessed September 2014.
  25. ↑ "Loan for India's National Thermal Power Company," JBIC press release, January 27, 2014
  26. ↑ "Japan Uses Climate Cash for Coal Plants in India, Bangladesh," AP, Mar 25, 2015

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