JR Power Project

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JR Power Project (also known as Wardha Naini Power Project) is a 1,980 megawatt coal-fired power station proposed to be built near Naini coal block in the state of Odisha, India.

Location

The map below shows the location of the project as identified in Wikimapia, approximately one kilometer northwest of the town of Kishore Nagar in Angul District.

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Background

The original backer of this project, JR Power Gen Private Limited, received a Terms of Reference for an 1800 MW (3 x 600 MW) project on October 7, 2010. In September 2012, it was reported that KSK Energy Ventures had purchased 51 percent of the project.

KSK Energy Ventures states that "this power project is planned being based on a fuel supply agreement that we have entered into with Puducherry Industrial Promotion Development and Investment (PIPDIC). The JRP SPV and PIPDIC signed a memorandum of understanding which specifies that PIPDIC shall procure a coal block from the GOI jointly with GMDC (Gujarat Mineral Development Corporation). PIPDIC has agreed that it will obtain a prospecting license upon allotment of the coal block and that the JRP SPV will have the exclusive responsibility for setting up one or more power projects for utilization of the coal available to PIPDIC from the coal blocks. The JRP SPV will use this coal to fuel the JR power project."

Connection with Coalgate

In September 2012, several news reports alleged that family of S Jagathrakshakan, Minister of State for Information and Broadcasting in the United Progressive Alliance (UPA) government is a part of a company named JR Power Gen Pvt Ltd which was awarded a coal block in Odisha in 2007. It was the same company which formed a joint venture with a public sector company, Puducherry Industrial Promotion Development and Investment (PIPDIC), on 17 January 2007. Barely five days after, PIPDIC was allotted a coal block. According to the Memorandum of Understanding (MoU), JR Power enjoyed a stake in this allotment. However, JR Power had no expertise in thermal power, iron and steel, or cement, the key sectors for consumption of coal. Later, in 2010, JR Power sold a 51 percent stake to KSK Energy Ventures, an established player with interests in the energy sector. In this way, the rights for the use of the coal block ultimately passed on to KSK.

Reacting to this, Jagathrakshakan admitted to getting a coal block, and said that, "It is true that we got a coal allocation but it was a sub-contract with Puducherry government and then we gave it away to KSK company. Now, we have got nothing to do with the allocation but if the government wants to take back the allocation it can do so."

Connections with Banks

A September 2012 article in Live Mint provided this background on KSK Energy Ventures:

"KSK has attracted investments from Macquarie Bank Ltd, GE Capital International, Mauritius, Singapore’s Tree Line Asia Master Fund Pte Ltd, the UK’s Universities Superannuation Scheme Ltd, Infrastructure Development Finance Co. Ltd, the former Lehman Brothers Holdings Inc. and Morgan Stanley. The company’s parent, KSK Power Ventur Plc, is an Isle of Man-incorporated entity listed on the London Stock Exchange’s Alternative Investment Market. A KSK spokesperson, in an email response to questions from Mint, said the original promoters of the company remain on board. The promoters, chartered accountants by profession, were earlier the auditors for the Andhra Pradesh State Electricity Board. They started on their own by setting up small hydropower projects in the state. Vadlamani sold his stake to GE and is now based in Singapore. The company also has Anil Kumar Kutty, a former Indian Administrative Service officer, as a non-executive director. He was the first head of the Andhra Pradesh Transmission Commission and a joint secretary in the power ministry."

Citizen opposition

On January 6, 2012, thousands blocked rail and road communication to the project, the latest in two years of opposition to the plant. The demonstrators said the plant would be constructed at the site of a proposed irrigation project, disrupting the livelihoods of thousands of farmers and others in need of the water and land, as the water will instead go to the power plant. They also cited concerns with polluting the fertile farmland.

Project status

As of August 2014, there is no further mention of the project on the KSK Energy Ventures website, and no further progress toward receiving an environmental clearance has been made. Given the problems with coal linkage, the citizen protest, the lack of environmental clearance, and the absence of any mention by the company, it appears that the project has been abandoned.

Project Details

Sponsor: KSK Energy Ventures (51%) and JR Power Gen
Location: Baija village, Kishore Nagar taluk, Angul district, Odisha -- one kilometer northwest of the town of Kishore Nagar in Angul District.
Coordinates: 18.852709, 83.876458 (approximate)
Status: Cancelled
Nameplate capacity: 1,980 MW (3 x 660 MW)
Type:
Projected in service:
Coal Type:
Coal Source:
Estimated annual CO₂:
Source of financing:
Environmental permits: Terms of Reference, Ministry of Environment and Forests, October 7, 2010

Articles and resources

Related SourceWatch articles

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• U.S.- India Civil Nuclear Cooperation Initiative
• Global use and production of coal

Articles and resources

External Articles

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