The Hindu Business Line : PM okays grant for APGenco, BHEL project

Chennai, July 20 The Prime Minister, Dr Manmohan Singh, on Thursday approved a grant of Rs 350 crore for the 125-MW Integrated Gasification Combined Cycle (IGCC) project being put up at Vijayawada in Andhra Pradesh, by a joint venture of Andhra Pradesh Power Generation Corporation (APGenco) and Bharat Heavy Electricals Ltd (BHEL).

The ‘Technology Demonstrator’ project costs Rs 950 crore. This is substantially higher than a conventional coal-fired project of similar size which would cost between Rs 500 crore and Rs 600 crore.

Originally, APGenco was to contribute Rs 530 crore for the project and BHEL, Rs 420 crore. Now it is expected that the Government’s contribution of Rs 350 crore would be taken as part of BHEL’s.

“That would be my recommendation,” Mr Jairam Ramesh, Union Minister of State for Power, told Business Line on Sunday.

Significance

In conventional coal-fired power plants, heat from coal burning in the boilers is used to convert water into steam which hits the turbines. In an IGCC plant, coal is first converted into a combustible gas. All the rest of it is the same as any natural gas-fired combined cycle power plant.

“Not only does the use of the IGCC technology lead to higher overall efficiency, it also leads to much lower greenhouse gas emissions compared with a conventional thermal power plant,” says Dr R. Chidambaram, Principal Scientific Adviser to the Government of India, in a letter he had written to the Prime Minister asking for the grant.

Way forward

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