The Ministry of Environment, Forest & Climate Change has notified
the revised standards for coal-based Thermal Power Plants in India,
with the objective of minimizing pollution. These standards are proposed
to be implemented in a phased manner.
Thermal power plants are categorized into 3 categories - (i)
Installed before 31st December, 2003 (ii) Installed after 2003 up to
31st December, 2016 and (iii) Installed after 31st December, 2016.
The new standards are aimed at reducing emission of PM10(0.98
kg/MWh), sulphur dioxide (7.3 Kg/MWh) and Oxide of nitrogen (4.8
kg/MWh), which will in turn help in bringing about an improvement in the
Ambient Air Quality (AAQ) in and around thermal power plants.
The technology employed for the control of the proposed limit of
Sulfur Dioxide - SO2 & Nitrogen Oxide - NOx will also help in
control of mercury emission (at about 70-90%) as a co-benefit. Limiting
the use of water in thermal power plant will lead to water conservation
(about 1.5 M3/MWh) as thermal power plant is a water-intensive industry.
This will also lead to a reduction in energy requirement for drawl of
water.
The standards have been made stringent for recent plants, compared to
earlier ones and most stringent for those plants to be set up in
future. These standards are based on the recommendation of the Central
Pollution Control Board (CPCB) after consultations with stakeholders.
