In and around NCR: Thermal plants get fresh dates for green switch

The latest notification for extension was issued on September 5, around 18 months after the previous notification. It has also extended the timelines of some thermal power plants in the country to switch to clean technology till 2027.

With the environment ministry once again extending the various deadlines for thermal power plants to switch to pollution-control technologies, at least four of 12 plants within a 300km radius of Delhi now have time till December 2024 to adopt green technologies. For the remaining eight power plants, the deadline of December 2024 has been further pushed to 2026.

There are 11 coal-based thermal power plants within a 300km radius of Delhi. (HT File)

Despite these timelines being revised multiple times since the first notification in 2015, currently only two thermal power plants within a 300km of Delhi – Mahatma Gandhi TPS (Haryana) and Dadri TPS (Uttar Pradesh) -- have FGD, which is a set of technologies used to remove sulphur dioxide from exhaust flue gases of fossil fuel power plants.

The latest notification for extension was issued on September 5, around 18 months after the previous notification. It has also extended the timelines of some thermal power plants in the country to switch to clean technology till 2027.

There are 11 coal-based thermal power plants within a 300km radius of Delhi -- Indira Gandhi STPP, Mahatma Gandhi TPS, Panipat TPS, Rajiv Gandhi TPS, Yamuna Nagar TPS, Rajpura TPP, Talwandi Sabo TPP, Guru Hargobind TPS, Ropar TPS, Dadri TPS, and Harduaganj TPS. The Goindwal Sahib Power plant, which is located just outside of this 300km radius in Punjab, is also counted when decisions are taken with regards to thermal power plants located around Delhi.

The 12 plants have a total of 35 operational units, but only six units have installed FGD or dry solvent injection (DSI) technology at present, leaving 29 units without any SO2 (sulphur dioxide) control measures.

Based on the original environment ministry notification in 2015, all units were supposed to switch to clean technology by 2017. This was later extended to December 2019, and only two units near Delhi could comply with the deadline.

The remaining plants were fined by the Central Pollution Control Board for the period till 2021, when the previous extension came out.

Experts say despite giving sufficient time to power plants to complete the switch, several of them were yet to even award contracts for FGD installation.

“Five power plants in Delhi-NCR were shut last year during the winter on account of their the impact on pollution... Ironically, the same defaulting stations have been granted extension... This ad hoc approach towards air pollution control and public health needs to stop, and strict action, shutdowns and higher penalties need to be issued to non-complying power stations,” said Sunil Dahiya, analyst, Centre for Research on Energy and Clean Air.

Thermal power plants remain a key contributor to Delhi’s air pollution, both during the summer and winter period. The 2016 IIT-Kanpur source apportionment study found that nearly 52% of NOx (nitrogen oxides) emissions and 90% of SO2 (sulphur dioxide) emissions in Delhi can be attributed to industrial point source (largely from power plants).

The 2018 source apportionment study by TERI found coal, fly ash, and secondary particles from thermal power plants and industries in Delhi contribute around 35% of PM2.5 (fine particulate matter with a diameter less than 2.5 microns) in the winter and 41% of PM2.5 in summer.