The Hindu Business Line : Gas-based power projects hit by feedstock paucity

Chennai, June 20 India has about 13,400 MW of natural gas-based power capacity, but they are operating at half their capacity, because enough gas is not available.

“The situation is not very encouraging, the plants are operating at just 53 per cent PLF,” the Union Minister of State for Power, Mr Jairam Ramesh, said, while inaugurating the first stage of the 92 MW Valuthur gas-based power project in Tamil Nadu.

However, the situation could improve once Reliance Industries commences gas supply from its fields in offshore Krishna-Godavari basin. Reliance is expected to supply 80 million cubic metres of gas a day from March 2009. When that happens, power plants could operate at 90 per cent PLF, Mr Ramesh said.

Considering that the country also needs to establish gas-based manufacturing capacity for urea in a significant way over the next few years, it would be “unrealistic” to expect gas-based power generating capacity to increase substantially, he said.

Gas for the Valathur project comes from ONGC’s wells in Ramnad district. The Italian power generation equipment manufacturer Ansaldo has supplied the turbines.

Uranium fuel

Mr Ramesh said that uranium fuel for the 2x1000 MW units at Koodankulam in Tirunelveli district have arrived from Russia and both Russian-supplied reactors are likely to come into commercial operation by end-2009. The plans of the Department of Atomic Energy are to generate 20,000 MW of power by 2020, of which 8,000 MW are to come from Koodankulam-type light water reactors.

The Minister, however, pointed out that unless India signs the IAEA safeguards agreement and obtains waiver from the Nuclear Suppliers Group guidelines, no more light water reactors other than the two coming up at Koodankulam would come up with Russian or French supplied fuel and reactors.

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