Mumbai: Leading public interest think tank – Centre for Science and Environment (CSE) – has named Nabha Power Ltd’s (NPL) Rajpura thermal power plant (TPP) as India’s best-performing supercritical coal-based thermal power plant for emission intensity. This is in the below 800MW capacity unit category.
NPL is a wholly-owned subsidiary of Larsen & Toubro and the thermal power plant is located in Punjab’s Patiala district.
In its latest report titled “Decarbonizing the Coal-based Thermal Power Sector in India: A Roadmap,” released recently, CSE evaluated the emission intensity of all coal-based thermal power plants in India and identified Rajpura plant among the top performers.
According to CSE, Rajpura plant achieved an emission factor of 0.84 tonne/MWh, a benchmark among all supercritical power units in the country. This is significantly better than the national average emission factor of 0.97 tonne/MWh.
The CSE report also highlighted the plant’s auxiliary power consumption rate of 4.62 per cent, the lowest in the sector. Auxiliary power consumption refers to the portion of electricity used by a plant to operate its systems — such as pumps, fans, and other essential equipment. A lower auxiliary power consumption rate indicates higher operational efficiency, as more of the generated power is available for external supply.
“Benchmark set by Rajpura TPP nudges other coal based TPPs to adopt operational and modernisation measures to achieve emission intensity improvements. Coal decarbonisation potential via efficiency improvement is key to emission reductions in the power sector of India”, said Parth Kumar, Programme Manager - CSE.
Commenting on the report, S K Narang, Chief Executive – NPL, said: “This recognition by CSE is a proud moment for all of us at Nabha Power. It validates our relentless focus on operational efficiency, environmental responsibility, and the adoption of best-in-class technologies. We remain committed to setting new benchmarks in sustainable power generation.”
Rajpura plant comprises two supercritical units, each with a capacity of 700 MW, bringing the total installed capacity to 1,400 MW. Both the units were commissioned in 2014 and continue to operate efficiently. The CSE report commended the fact that despite operating both the units using domestic coal, the plant is able to maintain emission factors below 0.9 tonne/MWh.
Congratulating NPL on the feat, D K Sen, NPL Chairman and Advisor to the L&T CMD, said: “Rajpura power plant’s performance is a testament to L&T’s engineering excellence and unwavering commitment to sustainability. We are proud of the team at Nabha Power for leading the way in clean and efficient thermal power generation.”
The performance of Rajpura power plant reflects L&T’s overall focus on environmental responsibility and efficient resource utilisation. L&T has set a target to achieve water neutrality by 2035 and carbon neutrality by 2040.
