Advanced, Ultra-Supercritical 800-Megawatt Indian Power Plant to be Operating by 2017

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Written by Richard Finlayson, Senior International Editor for Industrial Info Resources (Sugar Land, Texas)--The Indira Gandhi Center for Atomic Research (IGCAR) (Kalpakkam, Tamil Nadu) is the starting point for an ambitious Indian project to have an 800-megawatt (MW), advanced, ultra-supercritical power plant in operation by 2017.

R. Chidambaram, a principal scientific adviser to the Indian government, said that a memorandum of understating with ICGAR, state-owned power equipment manufacturer Bharat Heavy Electricals Limited (BSE:500103) (BHEL) (New Delhi) and the National Thermal Power Company Limited (BSE:532555) (New Delhi) had been signed to develop the power plant.

Material for the project will be available in two years. Research and development has been started, and IGCAR will finalize the project proposal in about 12 months.

BHEL will manufacture the equipment for the plant, and materials testing will be performed by ICGAR. When these two phases are in hand, NTPC will construct the plant.

The advanced, ultra-supercritical power plant technology includes thermal power boilers operating at very high temperatures of more than 700 degrees Celsius and 350 bar pressure. The high thermal efficiency reduces the consumption of coal in the power production process and results in lower emissions.

Supercritical power plants are now well established in India, with more under construction and planned, with ultra supercritical technology moving into the frame. The advanced, ultra-supercritical power plant takes the power technology a step further.

Chidabaram said that the government would soon start a "national mission" on clean coal technologies, its ninth under the "National Action Plan for Climate Change." In addition to the advanced, ultra-supercritical power plant project, the mission will support work on integrated gasification combined-cycle and carbon capture and sequestration projects, among others.

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