Barsingsar Thermal Power Project

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Barsingsar Thermal Power Project is an operating power station of at least 250-megawatts (MW) in Barsingsar, Kolayat, Bikaner, Rajasthan, India with multiple units, some of which are not currently operating.

Location

Table 1: Project-level location details

Plant name	Location	Coordinates (WGS 84)
Barsingsar Thermal Power Project	Barsingsar, Kolayat, Bikaner, Rajasthan, India	27.845022, 73.199426 (exact)

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

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Unit-level coordinates (WGS 84):

• Unit 1, Unit 2, Unit 3: 27.845022, 73.199426

Project Details

Table 2: Unit-level details

Unit name	Status	Fuel(s)	Capacity (MW)	Technology	Start year	Retired year
Unit 1	operating	coal - lignite	125	subcritical	2010	–
Unit 2	operating	coal - lignite	125	subcritical	2011	–
Unit 3	cancelled	coal - lignite	250	subcritical	–	–

Table 3: Unit-level ownership and operator details

Unit name	Owner
Unit 1	NLC India Ltd [100.0%]
Unit 2	NLC India Ltd [100.0%]
Unit 3	NLC India Ltd [100.0%]

Project-level coal details

• Coal source(s): Barsingsar and Hadla Mines
• Permit(s): July 30, 2012 – Environmental Clearance

Financing

Source of financing:

Background

Units 1-2

Unit 1 (125 MW) was commissioned on June 28, 2010. Unit 2 (125 MW) was commissioned on January 25, 2011.

Lignite for the power project is being supplied from the Barsingsar Mine, which is owned and operated by NLC. The mine was commissioned in October 2009.

Unit 3

Unit 3 (250 MW) received its Environmental Clearance on July 30, 2012.

In its 2013-2014 annual report, NLC stated the company was seeking environmental clearance for its proposed Palana mine to fuel Unit 3. The company stated that the proposed Palana mine had been abandoned due to strong community opposition, and coal for Unit 3 would be met by the existing Barsingsar and Hadla Mines.

In May 2015 the NLC Board approved investing in the 250 MW Barsingsar extension and Hadla lignite mine at a cost of Rs 2,628 crore.

In its 2015 annual report, the company described the status of the project as follows:

The Board of Directors of your Company has approved to develop the Hadla Mine of 1.9 MTPAcapacity to set up a 250 MW lignite based thermal power plant in the Bikaner District of Rajasthan, as an extension of the existing Barsingsar Power Project at an aggregate cost of ₹ 2635.04 crore (Nov 2014). The fuel requirement is proposed to be met from Hadla Mine and the Barsingsar Mine. Power Purchase Agreement has been signed with Discoms of Rajasthan. All statutory clearances for both BTPSE and Hadla Mine Project have been obtained. Government of Rajasthan has allocated Mining Lease area of 15.66383 sq.km. It is proposed to implement the above project through EPC mode and the project is expected to be commissioned during the year 2019. The Cumulative expenditure incurred up to 31st March 2015 is ₹ 3.08 crore.

In its 2016 annual report, the company described the status of the project as follows:

Your Board of Directors has also accorded approval for establishing a lignite based 250 MW Thermal Power Project in Bikaner District in the State of Rajasthan as an Extension of the existing Barsingsar Thermal Power Project at an aggregate cost of ₹ 2635.04 crore with a scheduled commissioning in October 2019. The fuel requirement is proposed to be met from Hadla Mine of 1.90 MTPA capacity and the balance 0.40 MTPA from the existing Barsingsar Mine. All statutory clearances for both Power and Mine projects have been obtained. As stated earlier a combined EOI tender was floated alongwith Bithnok Power Project for EPC. Bidders have been shortlisted on PQR and Techno-commercial specifications have been issued to them. The cumulative expenditure incurred upto 31st March 2016 is ₹ 3.34 crore.

In September 2017 NLC offered to bring tariffs down from the proposed coal plant by about 0.5 rupees per kilowatt hour, taking a hit of 1.5 percentage point to 2 percentage points on the return-on equity. The reduction is to save the plant from cancellation, as the state government reportedly wants to scrap the long-term contracts that were signed in 2010 for the Barsingsar and Bithnok Thermal Power Project, citing the availability of cheaper solar and wind power.

In October 2017 it was reported that soil investigation work for the unit had begun. It is planned for completion in 2020.

However, the February 2018 Broad Status states that "Project activities are under hold from 02.06.2017 due to withdrawal of PPA [power purchase agreements] by DISCOMS [power distribution companies]." The report goes on to state that "GoR [Government of Rajasthan] had informed that due to increased project cost and time over run, Rajasthan Discom [distribution company] will not be in position to buy the power from BTPSE [Barsingsar Thermal Power Station Extension]. NLCIL [Neyveli Lignite Corporation] had replied that delay is due to acquisition of land by GoR and informed to review the decision. Matter is pending with GoR."

As of June 2021, there had been no further developments, and the project appeared to be deferred or abandoned.

The November 2022 Broad Status also noted "[t]his project may not be revived due to land issue in link mines."

A separate December 2022 Monthly Report added the following information: "Additional Secretary Coal, GoI along with NLCIL Directors met Chief Secretary, GoR and Principal Secretary Energy on 04.08.2022 to discuss on various projects of NLCIL in State of Rajasthan. It was jointly decided not to pursue with the Barsingsar TPS extension project (1X250 MW) along with Hadla Mine."

The May 2023 and the November 2023 Broad Status reports continued to list the expansion project as "not likely to be commissioned" due to land issues with the associated mines and accumulating tariffs.

Delays

The company was subject to a financial crunch as a result of delays in commissioning the plant. The first unit was commissioned in 2010, but it was reported that as of of October 2011 the unit had not reached its target output. In its July 2010 annual report, NLC stated that the second unit was scheduled to be commissioned in September 2010, but the second 125 MW was commissioned on January 25, 2011, and a media report in late 2011 stated that "the modification works for the second unit are progressing very slowly." The media report also said the station contractor BHEL was "failing to keep its commitment that it will commence commercial operations of the Barsingar thermal power project by end of September 2011."

Articles and Resources

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.