Salaya power plant
{{#Badges:CoalSwarm|navbar-Indiacoal}}The Salaya power plant is a 1200 MW power station operated by Essar Power Gujarat, a subsidiary of Essar Energy for Gujarat, India.
Contents
Location
The aerial photo below shows the power station at the Essar refinery in Vadinar village, Khambalia taluk.
Background
Unit 1 (600 MW) entered commercial operation in April 2012. Unit 2 (600 MW) entered commercial operation on June 15, 2013. The plant is located near the company's oil refinery complex at Vadinar.[1]
Owner seeks tariff hike
Plant owner Essar had entered into an agreement with Gujarat Urja Vikas Nigam to supply 1,000 mw for 25 years from 2013 at a fixed tariff. The plant has been running on coal imported from Indonesia, but a change in law in Indonesia has substantially increased the price of its coal. This led Essar to file a petition for an increase in tariff. In a letter to lenders, Essar Power said: “[B]ased on current coal prices, there will be no cash flow available with the company for servicing interest and principal repayments. Therefore, a long-term viable solution for EPGL needs to be worked out along with lenders to ensure sustainability of the company.”[2]
Expansion
In 2012 the company listed two additional stages as "under construction": coal-fired Salaya II (1320 MW) and the petroleum coke-fired Salaya III plant (600 MW). Stage II would use imported coal that has yet to be secured; Stage III would use pet coke from the Vadinar refinery. As of early 2014 these additional units were no longer mentioned on the website.[3]
However, in February 2016 the company applied for a terms of reference for a 2 x 660 MW expansion of the power station (Stage II). The units would be supercritical and powered by imported coal.[4]
As of May 2018 the project has not received a terms of reference, and plans appear shelved.
Ownership
The plant is owned by London-based Essar Group, made up of the billionaire Ruia brothers of India. In 2016 it was reported the company had accumulated debt across several subsidiaries - problems that were exacerbated after the Supreme Court in September 2014 cancelled the majority of the country’s mine permits after ruling they were awarded illegally. In May 2016 the company said it was seeking to sell stakes in some domestic power plants to help reduce more than Rs20,000 crore ($3 billion) of debt.[5]
Fuel supply
The company states that coal for stages I will be based on imported coal from the company's "captive coal mine in Indonesia." Stage II will be based on imported coal that has yet to be secured. Stage III will use pet coke from the Vadinar refinery after the completion of the Phase I Refinery Project and coal from an unspecified source.[3]
The company intends that coal for the power station be imported through the proposed Salaya port, which it stated in its April 2010 Prospectus was being "developed by Essar Bulk Terminal, an Essar Affiliated Company."[6]
The company states that it has entered into a 25-year contract from 15 September 2010 with Essar Shipping and Logistics for the carriage of "3.6 to 4.4 mmt of coal per year in bulk from Richards Bay in South Africa, or Tanjung Bara in Indonesia, to the Salaya port in India."[7]
Power Purchase agreement
In its 2010 Prospectus Essar Energy states that on 26 February 2007, it "entered into a 25-year PPA with GUVNL for the sale of 1,000 MW per year of power, with power supply from the first and second units commencing in February 2011 and August 2011, respectively."[7]
Financing
In its April 2010 Prospectus Essar Energy stated that "in September 2008 Essar Power Gujarat entered into a rupee denominated loan facility agreement with the State Bank of India and certain other lenders for Rs. 25.525 billion (US$546.80 million). In addition, in May 2009 Essar Power Gujarat entered into a rupee denominated loan facility agreement with ICICI Bank Limited for Rs. 10.250 billion (US$219.58 million) and with Essar Power for Rs. 375 million (US$8 million)."[6]
Project Details
Sponsor: Essar Energy
Location: Vadinar village, Khambalia taluk, Jamnagar district, Gujarat
Coordinates: 22.3049, 69.7101 (exact)
Status:
- Stage I: Operational
- Stage II: Shelved
Nameplate capacity:
- Stage I: 1200 MW (Units 1&2: 600 MW)
- Stage II: 1320 MW (Units 3&4: 660 MW)
Type: Stage I: Subcritical; Stage II: Supercritical
In service: April 2012 (Unit 1); June 2013 (Unit 2)
Coal Type:
Coal Source: Stage I - coal from the company's captive mine in Indonesia; Stage II - imported coal
Estimated annual CO2: 14,192,882 tons from the coal-fired plant only
Source of financing: State Bank of India, ICIC Bank and others
Resources and articles
References
- ↑ "Salaya thermal power unit-2 achieves rare operational milestone," Essar Energy website, September 21, 2013
- ↑ "Essar Power asks lenders to work on debt recast," Economic Times, May 12, 2017
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 Essar Energy, "Power,", Essar Energy website, accessed March 2012 and August 2014.
- ↑ "Form 1," India MoEF, Feb 9, 2016
- ↑ "Essar Power seeks to sell stakes in some plants to reduce debt," Live Mint, May 13, 2016
- ↑ 6.0 6.1 Essar Energy, "Prospectus", April 2010, page 98. (Large pdf)
- ↑ 7.0 7.1 Essar Energy, "Prospectus", April 2010, page 99. (Large pdf)
