Moser Baer Captive Power Project

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{{#Badges:CoalSwarm|navbar-Indiacoal}}Moser Baer Captive Power Project was a proposed 150-megawatt (MW) coal plant in Chhattisgarh state, India.

Location

The map below shows the location of Janjgir-Champa district, Chhattisgarh state, India, but not the exact location of the project.

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Background

The project is being developed by a Joint Venture Company (JVC) of Moser Baer Power & Infrastructures (MBPIL) and PTC Energy Limited (a 100% owned subsidiary of PTC India Ltd). The company states that the project is expected to be operational from September 2012 onwards"; however, the company does not provide further information on its website regarding the status of coal acquisition, financing, and other prerequisites to construction.[1]

MBPIL has applied for a coal allocation for the project.[2]

In 2012 Moser Baer Power & Infrastructure changed its name to Hindustan Powerprojects.[3]

As of August 2014, Hindustan does not mention the 150-megawatt Chhattisgarh project, and it appears to have been abandoned.[4]

Coal and the Janjgir-Champa district

According to Tehelka Magazine:

"Janjgir-Champa, a once peaceful district with 80 percent irrigated land, has now become a hotspot for setting up new industries. The state government has signed around 34 memoranda of understanding (MoUs) for thermal power plants slated to produce around 34,000 MW — almost one-fourth of India’s current thermal power production and enough to feed all of north or south India ... Janjgir-Champa does not have any coal and mineral reserves but became the new focus when neighbouring Korba, known as one of the most industrialised and mineral-rich districts of India, was ranked as the fifth most polluted in the list of Critically Polluted Areas in the country in 2009. This led to a moratorium being imposed there by the Ministry of Environment and Forests (MoEF) on any further environment clearances being granted in that region ... [After that, an] estimated 40,000 acres [in Janjgir-Champa], equal to half the area of capital city Raipur, is being acquired for thermal power plants alone."[5]

Citizen opposition

In June 2012 farmers opposing the Moser Baer Captive Power Project were arrested in the Anuppur district of MP. The farmers were protesting what they saw as unfair acquisition of their lands for the development of the plant.[6]

Project Details

Sponsor: Hindustan Powerprojects and PTC India
Location: Kokhsa village, Janjgir-Champa district, Chhattisgarh
Coordinates: 21.993352, 82.615414 (approximate)
Status: Cancelled[4]
Nameplate capacity: 150 MW
Type:
Projected in service:
Coal Source:
Estimated annual CO2: 887,055 tons
Source of financing:

Resources and articles

References

  1. Moser Baer Power & Infrastructures, "Projects", Moser Baer Power & Infrastructures website, accessed November 2011.
  2. "Pending Application of IPPs Up to 31st July 2011," Ministry of Coal, #86
  3. In search of light," Business Today, 13 April 2014
  4. 4.0 4.1 "Projects: Under Implementation," Hindustan Powerprojects, accessed August 2014
  5. Prakhar Jain, "How to destroy a district," Tehelka Magazine, Vol 9, Issue 03, Jan. 21, 2012.
  6. "India, Farmers movements protest against Moserbaer power plant land grabbing" La Via Campesina, June 4, 2012.

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