• India is the sixth largest in terms of power generation.

About 65% of the electricity consumed in India is

generated by thermal power plants, 22% by hydroelectric
power plants, 3% by nuclear power plants and rest
by 10% from other alternate sources like solar, wind,
biomass etc. 53.7% of India’s commercial energy demand
is met through the country’s vast coal reserves. The
country has also invested heavily in recent years on
renewable sources of energy such as wind energy. As
of March 2011, India’s installed wind power generation
capacity stood at about 12000 MW. Additionally, India has
committed massive amount of funds for the construction of
various nuclear reactors which would generate at least
30,000 MW. In July 2009, India unveiled a $19 billion
plan to produce 20,000 MW of solar power by 2020
under National Solar Mission.
The per capita power consumption
in India is 733.54KWh/yr, which is very minimal as
compared to global average of 2340KWh/yr.
•

Captive Power Sector

Captiv
Electric
e
ity
Numb Power Shar Shar
Source generat
er Capaci e e
ed
ty
(GWh)
(MW)

59.72 80.35
1 Coal 32,843 147,036
% %

Hydroelectri
2 70 0.13% 148 0.09%
city
 Captive Power Sector

Captiv
Electric
e
ity
Numb Power Shar Shar
Source generat
er Capaci e e
ed
ty
(GWh)
(MW)

Renewable
3 energy 1540 2.80% 2,461 1.34%
source

11.32 12.74
4 Natural Gas 6,225 23,316
% %

26.03
5 Oil 14,318 10,038 5.49%
%

100.00
100.00 %
Total 54,997 183,000
%

CLASSIFICATION OF THERMAL POWER PLANTS:

By fuel
• Nuclear power plants use a nuclear reactor's heat to operate a
steam turbine generator. About 20% of electric generation in the
USA is produced by nuclear power plants.
• Fossil fuelled power plants may also use a steam turbine
generator or in the case of natural gas fired plants may use a
combustion turbine. A coal-fired power station produces
electricity by burning coal to generate steam, and has the side-
effect of producing a large amount of carbon dioxide, which is
released from burning coal and contributes to global warming.
About 50% of electric generation in the USA is produced by coal
fired power plants
• Geothermal power plants use steam extracted from hot
underground rocks.
• Renewable energy plants or Biomass Fuelled Power Plants may
be fuelled by waste from sugar cane, municipal solid waste,
landfill methane, or other forms of biomass.
By prime mover
• Steam turbine plants use the dynamic pressure generated by
expanding steam to turn the blades of a turbine. Almost all large
non-hydro plants use this system. About 80% of all electric
power produced in the world is by use of steam turbines.
• Gas turbine plants use the dynamic pressure from flowing gases
(air and combustion products) to directly operate the turbine.
Natural-gas fuelled (and oil fueled) combustion turbine plants
can start rapidly and so are used to supply "peak" energy during
periods of high demand, though at higher cost than base-loaded
plants. These may be comparatively small units, and sometimes
completely unmanned, being remotely operated. This type was
pioneered by the UK, Princetown being the world's first,
commissioned in 1959.
• Combined cycle plants have both a gas turbine fired by natural
gas, and a steam boiler and steam turbine which use the hot
exhaust gas from the gas turbine to produce electricity. This
greatly increases the overall efficiency of the plant, and many
new baseload power plants are combined cycle plants fired by
natural gas.
• internal combustion Reciprocating engines are used to provide
power for isolated communities and are frequently used for
small cogeneration plants. Hospitals, office buildings, industrial
plants, and other critical facilities also use them to provide
backup power in case of a power outage. These are usually
fuelled by diesel oil, heavy oil, natural gas and landfill gas.

MAJOR THERMAL POWER STATION IN INDIA:

1-Anpara thermal power station (capacity 500 MW)
2-Bakreswar thermal power project (capacity 1050MW)
3-Panipat thermal power station 2(capacity 250 MW)
4-Deenbandhu chootu ram thermal power station (capacity
600MW)
5-Kota super thermal power station (capacity 1245 MW)

SUPER THERMAL POWER PLANT :

Super Thermal Power Stations (STPS) or Super Power
Station are a series of ambitious power projects
planned by the Government of India. With India being a
country of chronic power deficits, the Government of India
has planned to provide 'power for all' by the end of
the eleventh plan.The capacity of thermal power is 1000 MW
and above.
1-Rihand thermal power station uttar Pradesh (capacity
3000MW)
2-Singrauli super thermal power station uttar Pradesh
(capacity 2050MW)
3-Rosa thermal power plant uttar Pradesh(capacity
1200MW)
4-Feroze Gandhi unchahar thermal power plant(capacity
1050MW)
5-NTPC dadri uttar Pradesh (capacity 2637MW)

ULTRA MEGA POWER PLANT:

The Ultra Mega Power Projects, each with a capacity of

4000 megawatts or above, are being developed with the
aim of bridging this gap.
1-Vindhyachal thermal power station(capacity 4760MW)
2-Mundra thermal power station (capacity 4620 MW)
3-Mundra ultra mega power plant(capacity 4150 MW)

SUPER CRITICAL AND SUBCRITICAL

TECHNOLOGY:

A supercritical steam generator is a type of boiler that

operates at supercritical pressure, frequently used in the
production of electric power. In contrast to a subcritical
boiler in which bubbles can form, a supercritical steam
generator operates at pressures above the critical pressure
– 3,200 psi or 22Mpa.

In a subcritical plant, steam pressure is below 3200

pounds per square inch and temperature is below 1025
degrees Fahrenheit (550 degrees
Celsius). Subcritical units have efficiencies of between
33% and 37%; i.e. between 33% and 37% of the energy in
the coal is converted into electricity.

MERIT OF SUPERCRITICAL TECHNOLOGY:

1-For a given output ,lower fuel rate consumption ,and thus
lower carbon emission ,than other less efficient system.
2-The load change rate capability of the system is not
restricted by the turbine .
3-Steam temperature at the inlet and outlet of the reheater
is nearly constant over a wide range load .
4-Short startup times.
5-Higher plant efficiency over the entire load range .

DEMERIT OF SUPERCRITICAL TECHNOLOGY:

1-Water chemistry is more stringent in super critical once

through boiler.
2-Metallurgical challenges.
3-More complex in erection due to spiral water wall.
4-More feed pump power is required due to more friction
losses in spiral water wall.
5-Maintenance of the tube leakage is difficult due to complex
design of the water wall.
6-ash stricting tendency is more in spiral water wall is
comparison of vertical wall.
ADVANCEMENT IN THE TECHNOLOGY OF
THERMAL POWER PLANT:

1-Advancement in turbine :

turbine which is a two-casing type and consists of a combined casing

for a high-pressure turbine and an intermediate-pressure turbine, and a
single low-pressure turbine casing. The high pressure and
intermediate pressure turbines adopt high temperature materials and
cooling structures of proven design, to withstand the high-temperature
steam conditions, and the blade rows and overall frame size are
optimized in order to secure the performance and reliability of the
shaft dynamics, realizing a compact design. Further, high
performance and highly reliable technology is used in the low-
pressure turbine, such as a 48-inch steel ISB (integral shroud blade),
a high-performance exhaust hood, and a bearing base structure
directly supported by the foundations. As for the high-temperature
materials, the new 12Cr forged steel is used for the high-and-
intermediate-pressure turbine rotor, 12Cr forged steel is used for the
inner casing, and 9Cr steel for the turbine inlet valves and inter-
connecting piping between the valves and the casing. The longitudinal
center section of the rotor as well as the blade grooves at the
intermediate-pressure inlet section are cooled by passing steam from
the control stage outlet to the intermediate pressure turbine along the
rotor.

2-Boiler advancement:
 Boiler adopts low NOx and low unburned carbon combustion
technology applying an A-PM (advanced-pollution minimum) burner
and MRS (Mitsubishi rotary separator) pulverizer for Mitsubishi
circular firing in addition to the vertical-tube furnace using high-
temperature material and rifled tubes.

3-Development of the next generation, advanced ultra

super critical plant (A-USC):

With the limitation of CO2 emissions becoming an urgent problem in

recent years, increasing efficiency by further increasing steam
conditions (higher in temperature and higher in pressure) of thermal
power plants are an effective means of reducing CO2 emissions. As in
Europe and America, there is also a movement in Japan to promote,
as a national project, the development of 700°C class A-USCs, with
the net power plant efficiency aimed at 46% (HHV base)

4-Material development:
In order to withstand the 700°C steam conditions, it is necessary to
develop materials unlike conventional materials, materials with ultra
high-temperature strength. Since the ferrite steel and austenite
stainless steel used in conventional USC are not suitable for 700°C
temperatures, the application of Ni or Fe-Ni-base alloy with
sufficiently high allowable stress as the main materials of A-USC
boilers and turbines is indispensable.

5-Development of manufacturing technology :

In order to apply these materials, the development of manufacturing
technology including processing, welding, and inspection is required.
(1) In order to use Ni-base alloy for turbine rotors, the
manufacturability of large steel ingots of Ni-base alloy has to be
improved. From the economic point of view, it is necessary to
establish welding and inspection technology for the welded sections
to realize a welded rotor using Ni base alloy in the high-temperature
section, and high Cr steel at both ends, which are exposed to
comparatively low temperatures.
(2) An Ni-base alloy or an Fe-Ni-base alloy should be used instead of
ferrite or austenite steel for the main steam pipes and reheat steam
pipes, and bending technology for materials used under high
temperature and high pressure is required.