Flexible power plant operation is a key issue in India
Over 100 participants from India's power sector spoke with German experts about optimum implementation strategies for making power plant operation more flexible at a National Seminar in Delhi on December 1, 2017.
The need to operate power plants more flexibly has been widely recognized by Indian power sector stakeholders. India has set itself ambitious expansion goals for renewable energies. While the current total installed capacity in India stands at 309 GW, installed capacity from renewables should reach 175 GW by 2022. Fluctuating feed-in of renewables and associated system stability challenges are already daily business in some Indian states such as Tamil Nadu and Gujarat.
Presentation of the Flexibility Study for Dadri and Simhadri Power Plants
This topic was intensively discussed at the National Seminar on “Flexibilisation of Thermal Power Plants – Learning from German Experiences”. The seminar was jointly organized by the Excellence Enhancement Centre (EEC) and VGB, as part of the Indo-German Energy Forum (IGEF). In the presence of Mr.Aniruddha Kumar, Joint Secretary from the Government of India Mr. R K Verma, Chairperson of CEA (Central Electricity Authority) and other Government Officials, the representatives of CEA, POSOCO (Power System Operation Corporation Ltd.) and NTPC reported on their challenges and strategies. The German experiences were conveyed by representatives of EnBW, STEAG Energy Services, Siemens, India-Uniper, VPC / Encotec and VGB.
[LTR: Mr.Tobias Winter, GIZ; Dr. Oliver Then, VGB; Mr. O.P. Maken, EEC; Joint Secretary Aniruddha Kumar, Govt. of India; Mr. K.K. Sharma, NTPC]
Near-term target: 40 per cent minimum load operation
The presentation of an IGEF-study – compiled by a team of experts from EEC, NTPC, STEAG Energy Services and VGB – marked the highlight of the seminar. The goal of the study was to investigate the flexibility potential of two power plants – Dadri and Simhadri – both of which are operated by NTPC. The investigations focused on the coal-fired 210 MW block plants in Dadri and the 500 MW block plant in Simhadri. The study showed that these plants are able to operate flexibly. This is supported by the design of the plants: they are equipped, for example, with a high number of mills, tilting burners and frequency-driven fans and actuators. Taking the quality of Indian coal into consideration, 40 per cent minimum load has been identified as an achievable level, with only moderate investment necessary.
IGEF activities form one important pillar of engagement in flexibilisation of Indian power plants, initiated with two NTPC coal-based power plants out of its fleet of 39 GW. Support for this study was provided by the German Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Energy (BMWi) and the Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ) GmbH.