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Gas based power generation in India

India’s power generation mix is considerably inclined towards coal based power generation. Current capacity addition and new establishments show increased share of coal in the Indian energy sector. As the coal reserves are limited to their natural availability and also due to the stringent environmental clearance, expansion of coal mining is limited in India. It is predicted that the Indian coal sector will face substantial shortfall in the quantum of coal production that is likely to  continue in future.

Natural Gas_Bombay High_South Field
Image Credit: Nandu Chitnis, (Hosted on Wikipedia)

Natural gas is a clean fuel as compared to coal and can be efficiently used in power generation. As the domestic coal supply is generally of low quality with low calorific values, high degree of ash content and its adverse impacts to the environment, Government of India encourage gas based power generation in India. The use of gas in power-generation was initially promoted by the Government primarily with a view towards environmental considerations.

Petroleum and gas have emerged as the most dynamic energy sectors in India. The World Energy Outlook (WEO) 2002 projects the share of gas in Indian TPES to reach 13% in 2030, equivalent to 97 bcm/y (As compared to 7 % of India’s energy mix in year 2000, equivalent to a consumption of 22 bcm/y). Know more about Indian Electricity Scenario

Production of natural gas is at present at the level of around 132.83 million metric standard cubic meters per day (MMSCMD). The main producers of natural gas are Oil & Natural Gas Corporation Ltd. (ONGC), Oil India Limited (OIL), JVs of Tapti, Panna-Mukta and Ravva and Reliance Industries Limited (RIL) which has discovered gas in the Krishna Godavari basin at its KG D6 block in the east cost of Andhra Pradesh. Out of the total domestic production of 132.83 MMSCMD of gas about 43% is produced by Reliance Industries Ltd. (as of December 2009) and approximately 57% of the gas is produced by others.

As on June 30, 2011, and as per the Central Electricity Authority the total installed capacity of Gas based power plants in India is 17,706.35 MW. This accounts for 10% of the total installed capacity. Here is a list of some present in operation plants.

Power station

Operator

State (Location)

Installed Capacity
(MW)

IPGCL Gas Turbine Power Station IPGCL NCT Delhi 270.00
Pragati Gas Power Station PPCL NCT Delhi 330.40
Pampore Gas Turbine Station I J&K Govt Jammu & Kashmir 75.00
Pampore Gas Turbine Station II J&K Govt Jammu & Kashmir 100.00
Ramgarh Gas Thermal Power Station RVUNL Rajasthan 113.80
Dholpur Combined Cycle Power Station RVUNL Rajasthan 330.00
Anta Thermal Power Station NTPC Rajasthan 413.00
Auraiya Thermal Power Station NTPC Uttar Pradesh 652.00
Faridabad Thermal Power Plant NTPC Haryana 430.00
National Capital TPP NTPC Uttar Pradesh 817.00
Dhuvaran Gas Based CCPP-I GSECL Gujarat 106.62
Dhuvaran Gas Based CCPP-II GSECL Gujarat 112.45
Utran Gas Based CCPP GSECL Gujarat 363.00
Vadodara Gas Based CCPP-I GIPCL Gujarat 145.00
Vadodara Gas Based CCPP-II GIPCL Gujarat 165.00
Uran Gas Turbine Power Station Mahagenco Maharastra 672.00
Kawas TPS NTPC Gujarat 645.00
Jhanor-Gandhar TPS NTPC Gujarat 648.00
Goa Gas Power Station RSPCL Goa 48.00
Vatva Combined Cycle Power Plant Torrent Gujarat 100.00
SUGEN Combined Cycle Power Plant Torrent Gujarat 1147.50
Essar Combined Cycle Power Plant Essar Gujarat 515.00
GSEG Combined Cycle Power Plant GSEG Gujarat 156.00
GPEC Combined Cycle Power Plant GPEC Gujarat 655.00
Trombay Gas Power Station Tata Maharastra 180.00
Basin Bridge Gas Turbine Power Station TNEB Tamilnadu 120.00
Thirumakottai Gas Turbine Power Station TNEB Tamilnadu 108.88
Kuttalam Gas Turbine Power Station TNEB Tamilnadu 101.00
Valathur Gas Turbine Power Station – I TNEB Tamilnadu 95.00
Valathur Gas Turbine Power Station – II TNEB Tamilnadu 92.10
Karaikal Gas Turbine Power Station PPCL Pondycherry 32.50
Rajiv Gandhi CCPP NTPC Kerala 359.58
Jegurupadu Combined Cycle Power Plant – I GVK Andhra Pradesh 216.00
APGPCL Plant – I APGPCL Andhra Pradesh 100.00
Kusalava power plant,GMK Formly Triveni Andhra Pradesh 3.2
Spectrum Combined Cycle Power Plant Spectrum Andhra Pradesh 209.00
Gautami Combined Cycle Power Plant Mytas Andhra Pradesh 464.00
Konaseema Combined Cycle Power Plant KGPL Andhra Pradesh 445.00
Lanco Kondapalli Power Plant- I Lanco Andhra Pradesh 368.13
Lanco Kondapalli Power Plant- II Lanco Andhra Pradesh 366.00
Vemagiri Combined Cycle Power Plant GMR Andhra Pradesh 370.00
Samarlakota Combined Cycle Power Plant Reliance Andhra Pradesh 220.00
Aban Combined Cycle Power Plant Lanco Tamil nadu 113.21
Kochi Combined Cycle Power Station BSES Kerala 157.00
PPN Combined Cycle Power Plant TNPCB Tamil nadu
Lakwa Thermal Power Station APGCL Assam 120.00
Namrup Thermal Power Station APGCL Assam 111.00
Calcutta Electric Supply Corporation 2000
Total 13,711.27

Given limitations on the use of coal for power generation due to its environmental consequences, quality and supply constraints, gas will play an increasingly important role in India’s power sector. While it is true that India is not a big producer of Natural Gas but new international import policies/treaties with some gulf countries and domestic explorations can bring some hope for the Indian energy sector.

Information source:  GAIL, ONGC, International Energy Agency, Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas, GOI

 

Know more about Natural Gas – Production, Demand and Allocation in India

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