India's IL&FS to Develop $4.6 Billion, 3,600-Megawatt Power Plant in Tamil Nadu

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Researched by Industrial Info Resources (Sugar Land, Texas)--IL&FS Tamil Nadu Power Company Limited (Chennai, Tamil Nadu), a subsidiary of Infrastructure Leasing & Financial Services Limited (IL&FS) (Mumbai), is planning to develop a 3,600-megawatt (MW) thermal power plant in the coastal district of Cuddalore, in Tamil Nadu.

The project is scheduled to be developed over an area of 1,181 acres and spanning several villages, including Ariyaghosti, Kothattai, Silambimangalam and Villiyanallur, along the coastal area of Cuddalore. The venture comprises three individual projects: a thermal power plant, a desalination plant, and a captive port.

The coal-fired thermal plant will house two units of 600 MW each based on subcritical technology, and three units of 800 MW each based on supercritical technology, in addition to the standard infrastructure of steam turbines, generators, electrostatic precipitators, condensers, coal and ash handling systems, and a saline water intake and outfall system. Coal feed for the proposed plant will be sourced from Indonesia. The fuel requirement, estimated at 15 million tons per year, will be met through imported high-quality, low-sulfur coal with about 0.13% sulfur content.

The captive all-weather port, with a capacity to off-take imports of about 15 million tons of coal per year, will comprise two coal-handling berths. The port infrastructure also will cater to imports of plant equipment.

The proposed thermal power plant will require about 30 million liters of fresh water per day. A captive desalination plant with a similar capacity will be established. Five streams, each with a capacity of 6 million liters, will process seawater using reverse osmosis technology.

The $4.6 billion project was originally planned to entail five supercritical units of 800 MW each, but was later revised to include a mix of supercritical and subcritical technologies in view of the lead time taken to deliver supercritical equipment. The first phase of 1,200 MW, comprising two subcritical units of 600 MW each, will be fully completed in 39 months, with the first unit expected to be brought online by June 2013. The remaining three supercritical units of 800 MW each will be completed by 2015, with one unit being commissioned every six months from the beginning of the fourth year of the project schedule. Captive port construction activities are expected to span 28 months.

It has been reported that construction activities for various units in the venture will be executed in parallel. While power output from the first phase may be available for short-term power trading markets, about 85% of the power generated from the venture eventually will be made available through long-term power purchase agreements.

In September 2008, IL&FS Tamil Nadu Power had invited bids for a 1,500-MW imported coal-based power plant in Cuddalore. The scope of the contract covers the entire gamut of operations from design, engineering, procurement and construction to commissioning and performance testing prior to handover. The scope includes project management, transportation as well as civil works, and instrumentation. With the revised project specifications, it remains to be seen if this request holds good, or if any other invites are in the offing.

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