Anticipating a shortfall of water for power generation in coming years, NTPC plans to use advanced technology to reduce the water requirement of its future coal-based power generating stations by 30%, a company source said.
NTPC is India?s largest coal-based power generator. It accounted for 40% of Coal India?s revenue in 2009-10.
Coal-based power plants require huge amounts of water for the purpose of cooling, mixing with generated ash, cleaning and firefighting, besides steam generation. Roughly, the cooling water requirement of a typical plant works out to 4.4 cubic metres per megawatt per hour.
?We are going to cut consumptive water requirement of our future power plants by 30% by using new technology. While a major cut in water requirement for steam generation is not feasible, we have planned a significant reduction in service water functions like cleaning of plants, firefighting and preparation of slurry to transport generated coal ash to the plant dyke. The company will use this technology in 12th Plan projects,? the official said.
?The company plans to use a new technology that would help it transport generated ash to the dyke in a concentrated form rather than as slurry. We will also ensure that there is no wastage of water at our plants,? the NTPC official elaborated.
With India heavily dependent on coal-fired generation capacity to overcome its growing electricity shortage, pressure is building on the country?s water resources.
?Water availability for power plants is becoming a critical issue and many projects are getting stuck because of non-availability of water,? Charudutta Palekar, principal consultant, PricewaterhouseCoopers, told FE.
For example, adding new power generation capacity in the coal-rich Korba area in Chhattisgarh has become difficult due to the lack of secure water supply.
India has envisaged adding 100 gigawatts of generation capacity during the coming 12th Plan, about 90% of which is to be based on coal. According to industry experts, water availability, along with land, is likely to emerge a key constraint in adding power generation capacity through coal-based units in coming years.