Barh I power station

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Barh I power station is an operating power station of at least 1320-megawatts (MW) in Barh, Patna, Bihar, India with multiple units, some of which are not currently operating. It is also known as Barh STPP.

Location

Table 1: Project-level location details

Plant name Location Coordinates (WGS 84)
Barh I power station Barh, Patna, Bihar, India 25.4693, 85.74516 (exact)

The map below shows the exact location of the power station.

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Unit-level coordinates (WGS 84):

  • Unit 1: 25.4693, 85.74516
  • Unit 2, Unit 3: 25.4865, 85.74516

Project Details

Table 2: Unit-level details

Unit name Status Fuel(s) Capacity (MW) Technology Start year Retired year
Unit 1 operating coal - unknown 660 supercritical 2021
Unit 2 operating coal - unknown 660 supercritical 2023[1]
Unit 3 construction coal - unknown 660 supercritical 2024

Table 3: Unit-level ownership and operator details

Unit name Owner
Unit 1 NTPC Ltd [100.0%]
Unit 2 NTPC Ltd [100.0%]
Unit 3 NTPC Ltd [100.0%]

Project-level coal details

  • Permit(s): September 11, 2001 – Environmental Clearance

Financing

Source of financing: part-financed by Japan Bank International Co-operation

Background

Although the foundation stone for Barh I was laid in 1999, the project was delayed due to issues of land availability and contractual disputes. It is on the same location as the Barh II power station, which was announced in 2006[2] and completed in 2015.

It is proposed that the plant will use supercritical technology with coal supplied from the Amrapali Block of North Karanpura coal fields and transported by rail. It is proposed that the power station would comprise three 660 MW units.[3]

Unit 1 of Barh 1 was originally planned to be commissioned in March 2009 but the start date was subsequently delayed to January 2011.[2]

In November 2010, The Times of India reported that the start date of both Barh I and Barh II power station would be further delayed until 2013-14. The delay was the result of a contractual dispute between NTPC and Russia's Technoprom Exports (TPE), the suppliers of the boilers for the project.[4]

In July 2013 a NTPC spokesperson said unit 1 of Barh 1 was in the advanced commissioning stages, and expected to come online in 2014.[5]

In August 2014, an NTPC presentation listed the target date for Unit 1 as 2016 and Unit 2 and 3 as 2017.[6] In July 2015 the Ministry of Power said unit 1 was planned for 2017, and units 2-3 for 2018.[7][8][9]

Although India Infoline reported Unit 1 was commissioned in May 2017,[10] the Ministry of Power states work on Unit 1 is ongoing, with the three units now planned for operation in 2020-2022. The delay is due to "Multiple failures of Boiler#1 Super heater and Re-heater tubes for which action plan is under finalization for expeditious supply of new materials and restoration of Boiler to move forward." It was also reported that "Work progress is slow due to land issues faced by Railways."[11]

According to the April 2021 Broad Status report of the India Central Electricity Authority, Unit 1 was ready by April 2021. Units 2-3 were planned for commissioning in 2022-2023.[12]

The Central Electricity Authority reported that Unit 1 was commissioned in October 2021,[13] but the company announced that Unit 1 began commercial operation in November 2021. Bihar was expected to get 401 MW of power from the unit, with the remaining 40% shared among beneficiary states like Odisha, Jharkhand, and Sikkim.[14]

Unit 2

According to the November 2021 Broad Status report of the India Central Electricity Authority, Unit 2 was planned for January 2023 and Unit 3 was planned for April 2024.[15]

In the May 2023 Broad Status report, it was stated that Unit 2 would run trials in June 2023.[16] In July 2023, it was reported that the 72 hour full load trial run had been completed on June 30, 2023.[17] On July 7, 2023, the government of India reported that Unit 2 had been commissioned.[18] The June 2023 Broad Status and June 2023 Installed Capacity updates also reported that Unit 2 had been commissioned.[19][20]

Unit 3

According to the May 2023 Broad Status report, Unit 3 would be commissioned in July 2024.[16] This has shifted to September 2024 as per November 2023 Broad Status report. The report also refers to the supply of stator from Power Machines (Russian) as a critical issue. There may be delay in manufacturing of the generator stator due sanctions imposed on Russia. NTPC is taking steps for expediting the supply of generator stator.[21]

Finance

On Christmas Eve 2007 NTPC announced that it had finalised a loan agreement for $US380 million with the Japan Bank International Co-operation (JBIC) to partially finance stage I pf the Barh Super Thermal Power Project. NTPC stated that the loan agreement was signed on 20th December 2007 in Tokyo and that the "the facility will have floating rate of interest linked to the LIBOR and door to door maturity of 18 years."[22]

Investigation of payoffs

In November, 2010, The Times of India reported that India's Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) was investigating alleged pay-offs by Russia's Technoprom Exports (TPE) to secure the contract to supply boilers for the Barh project. TPE received the contract in February 2005.[4]

Articles and Resources

References

  1. (PDF) https://web.archive.org/web/20240218224626/https://cea.nic.in/wp-content/uploads/installed/2023/06/IC_June_2023_Updated.pdf. Archived from the original (PDF) on 18 February 2024. {{cite web}}: Missing or empty |title= (help)
  2. 2.0 2.1 "Barh I and II, 3,300 MW Coal-Power Plant, India," Power-Technology.com, accessed December 2011
  3. National Thermal Power Corporation, "Future Capacity Additions", National Thermal Power Corporation website, accessed June 2010.
  4. 4.0 4.1 Pranava K Chaudhary, "Barh power plant by 2013-14: NTPC CMD," The Times of India, November 23, 2010
  5. Pranava K Chaudhary, "Barh thermal power plant to start power generation by year end," The Times of India, Jul 4, 2013.
  6. "NTPC Investor Presentation August 2014."
  7. "Supply of coal to Power Plants," India Ministry of Power, July 23, 2015
  8. "Monthly Report on Broad Status of Thermal Power Projects in the Country," Government of India Ministry of Power, March 2016
  9. "Monthly Report on Broad Status of Thermal Power Projects in the Country," Government of India Ministry of Power, July 2016
  10. "Thermal power plants at Muzzafarpur and Badh starts commercial operation," India Infoline News Service, May 2, 2017
  11. "Monthly Report on Broad Status of Thermal Power Projects in the Country," Government of India Ministry of Power, Feb 2018
  12. "Broad Status of Thermal Power Plants," India Central Electricity Authority, April 2021
  13. "Installed Capacity," CEA, October 31, 2021
  14. "Bihar to get 426 MW additional power from NTPC," Hindustan Times, November 11, 2021
  15. “Broad Status Report of Under Construction Thermal Power Projects,” India Central Electricity Authority, November 2022
  16. 16.0 16.1 Broad Status Report of Under Construction Thermal Power Projects, Central Electricity Authority, Government of India, May 2023
  17. “NTPC commissions 660 MW unit of Barh plant in Bihar,” Hindustan Times, July 7, 2023
  18. “Installed Electricity Generation Capacity of NTPC Group crosses 73 GW,” Press Information Bureau, Government of India, July 7, 2023
  19. Broad Status Report of Under Construction Thermal Power Projects (June, 2023) Central Electricity Authority, Government of Inida, June 2023
  20. All India Installed Capacity (in MW) of Power Stations, Central Electricity Authority, Government of India, June 30, 2023
  21. "Broad Status Report of Under Construction Thermal Power Projects" (PDF). Central Electricity Authority. November 2023.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
  22. National Thermal Power Corporation, "Announcements 2007-08", National Thermal Power Corporation website, archived December 2014.

Additional data

To access additional data, including an interactive map of coal-fired power stations, a downloadable dataset, and summary data, please visit the Global Coal Plant Tracker on the Global Energy Monitor website.