'Dirty' coal plants maintain status in CSE's green rating project

The much-maligned thermal power generation industry seems to live up to its reputation in terms of environmental standards. According to a study conducted by the Centre for Science and Environment (CSE) under the Green Rating Project (GRP) not only are Indian power plants, mostly sub-critical, some of the most inefficient ones, but also one of the most polluting.

The project analysed 47 thermal plants across 16 States and found that the sector, on the whole, was “one of the most non-compliant industrial sectors in the country.”

It added that according to a report published by the Central Pollution Control Board, officially 27 per cent of the plants in the sector were not complying with the regulations.

CSE’s own analysis, however, pegs the number at over 75 per cent.

Of the 47 plants for which data was studied by CSE, 20 were received scores below 20% (to as low as 6 per cent) implying “regular non-compliance, poor performance and management practices,” and another 16 got scores between 20 and 30 per cent or "poor performance, frequent mon-compliance and inadequate management practices. 

The GRP, which gives five leaves award for performance exceeding requirements, four for good compliance, three for average, two for below average and one for poor performance, could not award a single leaf to the worst 20 plants.

Yet, even the best thermal plant in the country in terms of environmental compliance and performance — CESC-Budge Budge in West Bengal —received a score of just 52 per cent, or an average rating of three leaves. To put this in perspective, Chandra Bhushan, Deputy Director-General of CSE, said that a plant that was following all the best practices would receive a score of 80 per cent.

Incidentally, the country’s largest coal-power producer — NTPC — was found to be below par, with all six of the NTPC plants analysed getting just one or no leaves at all. The worst of the NTPC lot was found to be the Badarpur plant located in Delhi.

Improper fly ash disposal, storage and use, high air pollution, water pollution, wasteful use of water and such criteria were found to be the most worrisome for the sector.

The problem of poor compliance in the sector is compounded by the power deficit in India, which “gives the industry enormous amount of leverage” the study notes.

Several plants, against which show cause notices have been issued and which are recognised as serious defaulters are still not shut down. Government-owned plants, in fact, seem to be leading the sector in non-compliance with Pollution Control Boards exercising negligible power.

Unfortunately, even as the Government is gearing up to start more thermal plants, the capacity utilisation in existing plants is still not optimal at 60-70 per cent. “If capacity utilisation is improved, sector can meet additional power requirement without building new plants,” the study says.

CSE has recommended that the Government should close down old and inefficient plants and in the future give nod only to supercritical or ultra-supercritical plants, ensure implementation of laws regarding use of fly ash and proper disposal of the same, better water management and increasing efficiency, among others.

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