NEW DELHI: Days after state power minister Satyendar Jain wrote to the central government requesting it to shut down all 11 thermal power plants in the NCR, the state-owned NTPC’s Dadri plant said that it was striving to become the cleanest coal fired plant in the country.
Addressing a press conference last week, Jain had said that thermal plants around Delhi were the biggest contributors of the capital’s pollution. “In 2015, orders were passed to shut these thermal stations within two years, which was later revised to 2019 by the Centre,” the power minister had said. “Dadri power station, which causes immense pollution in the city despite crossing its threshold of completing 25 years, is being planned to be renewed by the Centre,” Jain had alleged.
In a statement, NTPC Dadri said that it was complying with all CPCB guidelines on emissions. “All emission parameters are being monitored online and transmitted to CPCB on a real-time basis,” the statement said, adding that the plant’s flue gas emissions and PM levels were well within CPCB norms. For sulphur oxide reduction, Dry Sorbent Injection system has been installed in 210 MW units for the first time in the country, and now all four units are meeting emission norms, the state-owned plant’s statement said.
It added that NTPC Dadri has pioneered co-firing of biomass pellets, along with coal in boilers. “These pellets are made of husk or agro-residue, which would have been burnt otherwise in fields increasing pollution in NCR. Over 8,000 tons of pellets have been fired in boilers of NTPC Dadri, equivalent to 4,000 acres of farm fire avoided,” it said.
