Coal PSUs must plan pithead-based thermal projects: Coal Secy Meena

The Coal Ministry is encouraging Coal India Ltd and NLC India Ltd to focus on pithead-based thermal projects to reduce transportation costs and improve fuel availability. This initiative aims to establish new thermal projects near coal mines to minimize dependence on transportation via rail and road. By locating power generation units closer to coal sources, logistics costs and power generation costs can be reduced. Coal India and NLC have partnered with Rajasthan Urja Vikas Nigam Ltd for power generation projects in Rajasthan, encompassing a mix of pithead-based, pumped storage, wind, and solar capacities. Additionally, both companies are exploring opportunities to set up thermal plants in Uttar Pradesh and Bihar.

The Coal Ministry has asked Coal India Ltd and NLC India Ltd to go for pithead-based thermal projects with an aim to reduce transportation cost and improve availability of dry fuel, a top government official said.

The plan is that all new thermal projects of Coal India Ltd (CIL) and NLC India Ltd should come up near the coal mines, Coal Secretary Amrit Lal Meena told PTI.

This will reduce the dependence on transportation, which is mostly through rail and road, and make the coal accessible for usage in power generation, he said, while replying to a question on new projects of coal PSUs, the official said.

The move will also reduce logistics cost and cost of power generation, he said, listing the benefits of a pithead-based unit.

Coal India has signed an agreement with Rajasthan Urja Vikas Nigam Ltd (RUVNL) for a joint venture to set up 4,100 megawatt of power generation capacity in Rajasthan, Meena said.

Of this 1,725 MW will be pithead-based capacity, 200 MW pumped storage, 50 wind while the remaining will be solar, he said.

Another coal PSU NLC and RUVNL have also signed initial agreements to set up 1,125 MW power projects in Rajasthan, he said.

Of this, 125 MW will be a lignite-based power plant while the other will be a 1,000 MW solar power plant.

CIL is also exploring thermal projects in Uttar Pradesh and Bihar, Meena said. In UP, he said CIL is in talks with the government to form a JV to take forward the plans of setting up thermal capacities in the state.

In Bihar, the state government has offered CIL about 1,000 acres and suggested that it set up a 2,400 MW thermal plant, the secretary said, adding, ''most of the projects will be pithead-based.'' A team of CIL is conducting a feasibility report on the plan, Meena said. CIL -- mainly a coal-producing company -- and NLC, a producer of lignite, have diversified into thermal, solar, and wind generation of power.

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