Rajpura Thermal Power Project
{{#Badges:CoalSwarm|navbar-Indiacoal}} Rajpura Thermal Power Project is a 1400-megawatt (MW) coal-fired power station in Punjab, India.
An additional 700 MW has been proposed at the same location.
Contents
Location
The map below shows the construction site in Nalash (also spelled Nalas), 4 km northwest of Rajpura in Patiala district, Punjab.
Background
The sponsor of the plant is the Punjab State Power Corporation, which has established Nabha Power as a special purpose vehicle for the project.[1] Nabha Power was transferred to L&T Power Development as its wholly owned subsidiary on January, 18 2010.[2]
At first, Nabha proposed a 1320 MW (2x660 MW) plant, but received an environmental clearance (EC) from the MoEF dated November 15, 2010 to construct instead 1400 MW (2x700 MW);[3] the EC received an extension in 2014.[4]
In 2011 the plant was under construction at the village of Nalash near Rajpura in Patiala district, Punjab.[5]
Unit 1 was commissioned on December 8, 2013, and Unit 2 had a planned commissioning date of March 2014.[6]
Expansion
Nabha Power has also signed a MOU (memorandum of understanding) with the Punjab government to expand the plant with an additional 700 MW to a total of 2100 MW.[7][8][9]
L&T received a terms of reference toward the expansion in 2011.[10]
The company tried to get an extension on the terms of reference (ToR) in 2014, and was told to submit an application for a new ToR, which the company applied for in April 2017.[11]
The ToR was granted on October 16, 2017.[12]
Ownership
In February 2014 Larsen and Toubro Ltd (L&T) said it was likely to sell the 1,400 megawatt (MW) thermal power plant once it became fully operational, as part of a plan to divest assets not central to its main businesses. One analyst estimated that the sale may fetch L&T as much as 27% less than the amount invested on the project.[6] In January 2016 Adani Group said it may buy the plant, as the plant has a 25-year power purchase agreement with the Punjab State Power Corporation and a 20-year supply of coal from south-eastern coalfields.[13]
Citizen opposition
In August 2008, it was reported that hundreds of farmers protested "acquisition of 1078.16 acres of land by the Punjab government for setting up a super thermal power plant near Nalash village." The protesters demanded higher compensation per acre for their land.[14]
In January 2011, unemployed villagers living near the Rajpura plant, many of whom were former farmers, conducted a dharna (peaceful protest or demonstration) outside the plant. Rajinder Singh, a local, said the government "forcefully purchased our land at a very low price”. Others claimed the government "promised to employ maximum number of people from surrounding villages", only to hire 100 people from local villages and bring in other workers from out of state. The government bought 1,078 acres of fertile land from area villagers to construct the plant, and farmers remain unemployed more than a year after construction started. Another local said “the government had made tall claims of project making our lives better, whereas we have become redundant without any sound livelihood”. Nabha Power Limited has said it will hire more people from surrounding villages.[15]
Project Details
Sponsor: Nabha Power
Parent company: Larsen and Toubro Ltd
Location: Nalash village (also spelled Nalas) near Rajpura in Patiala ditrict, Punjab
Coordinates: 30.5589628, 76.5775931 (exact) (construction site, 4 km northwest of Rajpura
Status:
- Units 1 and 2: Operating (2014)[16]
- Phase II: Pre-permit development
Capacity:
- Unit 1: 700 MW
- Unit 2: 700 MW
- Phase II, Unit 3: 700 MW
Type:
Projected in service:
Coal Type:
Coal Source:
Estimated annual CO2:
Source of financing:
Permits and applications:
- Phase I, Units 1 & 2: Environmental Clearance, India MoEF, October 3, 2008; Environmental Clearance Extension, India MoEF, Feb 5, 2014
- Phase II: Terms of Reference, India MoEF, January 13, 2011 (expired); Terms of Reference, India MoEF, Oct 16, 2017
Project Clearances
- "MoEF Clearance for 1400 MW Rajpura Plant" Nabha Power, accessed March 2012.
- "MoEF Clearance for 1320 MW Rajpura Plant" Nabha Power, accessed March 2012.
- "Consent to Establish from Punjab Pollution Control Board (NOC)" Nabha Power, accessed March 2012.
- "Water and Coal Linkage Agreements" Nabha Power, accessed March 2012.
Resources and articles
- "Environmental Monitoring Report - March 2011" Nabha Power Limited, accessed March 2012.
- "Environmental Monitoring Report - May and June 2011" Nabha Power Limited, accessed March 2012.
- "Environmental Monitoring Report - July and August 2011" Nabha Power Limited, accessed March 2012.
Related SourceWatch articles
References
- ↑ Punjab State Power Corporation, "Project Information", Punjab State Power Corporation website, accessed January 2012.
- ↑ "Nabha Power Company Profile" Nabha Power, accessed March 2012.
- ↑ "MoEF Clearance for 1400 MW Rajpura Plant" Nabha Power, accessed March 2012.
- ↑ Environmental Clearance Extension, India MoEF, Feb 5, 2014.
- ↑ Punjab State Power Corporation, "Thermal power plant at Rajpura" Punjab State Power Corporation website, accessed January 25, 2011.
- ↑ 6.0 6.1 "L&T to sell thermal power plant in Rajpura," LiveMint, Feb 27, 2014.
- ↑ "Nabha Power Projects" L&T Power Development, accessed March 2012.
- ↑ FE Bureaus, "L&T roped in to raise Rajpura plant capacity" The Financial Express, August 2, 2010.
- ↑ "NTPC’s Gidderbaha power plant to start generation by March 2015" The Indian Express, June 10, 2012.
- ↑ Terms of Reference, India MoEF, January 13, 2011.
- ↑ "Application for new ToR," India MoEF, 05 Apr 2017
- ↑ Terms of Reference, India MoEF, Oct 16, 2017
- ↑ Dev Chatterjee & Sanjay Jog, "Adani may buy L&T's Punjab power plant," Business Standard, January 22, 2016
- ↑ "Punjab farmers protest land acquisition for thermal plant" Z News, August 16, 2008.
- ↑ Gurdeep Singh Mann, "Their land was acquired to set-up the plant and were promised jobs" Tribune News Service, January 31, 2011.
- ↑ Monthly Report on Broad Status of Thermal Power Projects in the Country, Central Electricity Authority, June 2014
