Butibori Power Project
Butibori Power Project is a 600 megawatt (MW) coal-fired power station in Maharashtra, India.
Location
The map below shows the location of the project in Buti Bori, on the western end of the Maharashtra Industrial Development Corporation (MIDC) area at Butibori, located south of Nagpur city. Note that the MIDC area at Butibori has been described as the largest industrial zone in Asia.[1]
Background
The project is sponsored by Vidarbha Industries Power Limited (VIPL), a "special purpose vehicle" and a subsidiary of Reliance Power. Reliance states that 51% of the power from the first 300MW unit will be supplied to the industrial consumers, with the remainder sold on contract.[2][3]
According to Reliance, coal for the project would be "supplied by Western Coalfields Limited (WCL) and would be transported by the Railways. The water requirements for the power plant have been allocated from Vadgaon (Wadgaon) Dam on the Vena River in the Nagpur District."[2]
Reliance Power started developing the plant in 2009. The first phase of 300 MW began operations in August 2012 and second phase of 300 MW began operations in January 2013. One unit was expected to be a group captive plant and the other unit an Independent Power Project (IPP).[4]
The company received a terms of reference toward an additional unit of 300 MW in October 2011, described as Phase III.[5] However, as of May 2016 the unit had not received environmental clearance and appeared to have been abandoned.
Mothballed: Coal supply, financial challenges, and Adani
In January 2022, Adani Group was mulling acquisition of Vidarbha Industries Power (VIPL), a subsidiary of Reliance Power, which supplied electricity to Adani Electricity in Mumbai. The talks between Adani Group and Reliance Power were at an early stage. The 600 MW had reportedly not been generating any power since mid-January 2019 after Coal India (CIL) stopped supplying coal over an ongoing litigation in the Delhi High Court and issues relating to payment. VIPL had shut its first unit of 300 MW before that. The acquisition could happen with the current power purchase agreement (PPA) because the tariff was too high.[6]
During a May 2022 heatwave, energy minister RK Singh held conferences with companies, banks, and state officials to discuss restarting commissioned but “non-operational” units. The plants considered appeared to include Salaya power plant, Butibori Power Project, Nasik RattanIndia Thermal Power Project, Simhapuri Thamminapatnam power station, Meenakshi Energy Thermal Power Project, Mutiara Coastal Energen Thermal Power Plant, and Cuddalore IL&FS power station. News noted that Butibori was "non-operational since Adani Transmission took over the Mumbai power distribution business."[7]
In July 2022, the plant appeared to be the subject of a Supreme Court ruling. The SC ruling was made in Vidarbha Industries Power Ltd vs Axis Bank Ltd (Civil Appeal No. 4633 of 2021), where Axis Bank, as a lender, had initiated the corporate insolvency resolution process (CIRP) against Vidarbha Industries Power, the corporate debtor (CD). According to one report, Vidarbha Industries resisted admission to a bankruptcy process on the ground that it had a valid claim against the distribution company for additional pass-through charges under its power purchase agreement (PPA). Hence, it argued, that it had defaulted on its loans because it had not received payments from the power distribution company on account of litigation pending before the court.[8]
In September 2022, the Court dismissed the review petition filed by Axis Bank Ltd. The bench upheld the July 2022 ruling that the national company law tribunal (NCLT) has the discretion to admit or reject a valid initiation of the insolvency process by a financial creditor (FC) under Section 7 of the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code (IBC).[9]
In 2022, the plant did not appear to be running based on Daily Coal Reports.
Financing for Unit I
In July 2009, a financing agreement for phase II (unit 1) was closed. US$313.69 million in loans will be provided South Indian Bank, State Bank of India, Life Insurance Corporation of India, Dena Bank, Allahabad Bank, Karur Vysya Bank, Corporation Bank, Syndicate Bank, United Bank of India, Union Bank of India, Axis Bank, and Uco Bank. US$78.42 million in equity will be provided by Reliance Power.[10]
Financing for Unit II
In May 2012, a financing agreement for phase II (unit 2) was closed. US$518.99 million in loans will be provided by Axis Bank, Allahabad Bank, Dena Bank, Uco Bank, South Indian Bank, Syndicate Bank, State Bank of Hyderabad, Union Bank of India, Yes Bank, PTC India, State Bank of India, United Bank of India, Corporation Bank, Karur Vysya Bank, and State Bank of Travancore.[11]
Project Details
Sponsor: Vidarbha Industries Power Limited (VIPL), a subsidiary of Reliance Power
Location: Butibori village, Hingna taluk, Nagpur district, Maharashtra
Coordinates: 20.928591, 78.933281 (exact)
Status:
- Units 1 & 2: Mothballed (since ~January 2019)
- Unit 3: Cancelled
Nameplate capacity: 600 MW (Units 1&2: 300 MW)
Type: Subcritical
Coal Type:
Coal Source:
Estimated annual CO2:
Source of financing: Unit I: US$313.69 million in debt from South Indian Bank, State Bank of India, Life Insurance Corporation of India, Dena Bank, Allahabad Bank, Karur Vysya Bank, Corporation Bank, Syndicate Bank, United Bank of India, Union Bank of India, Axis Bank, and Uco Bank. US$78.42 million in equity from Reliance Power.[10] Unit II: US$518.99 million in debt from Axis Bank, Allahabad Bank, Dena Bank, Uco Bank, South Indian Bank, Syndicate Bank, State Bank of Hyderabad, Union Bank of India, Yes Bank, PTC India, State Bank of India, United Bank of India, Corporation Bank, Karur Vysya Bank, and State Bank of Travancore[11]
Permits and applications:
- Units 1 & 2: Environmental Clearance, India MoEF, May 9, 2008
- Unit 3: Terms of Reference, India MoEF, October 27, 2011
Resources
References
- ↑ "Butibori MIDC"," wikimapia, accessed October 2013
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 "Butibori Power Project", Reliance Power website, accessed May 2011.
- ↑ Monthly Report on Broad Status of Thermal Power Projects in the Country, Central Electricity Authority, August 2013
- ↑ "Reliance Power's Butibori thermal plant starts power generation," The Economic Times, January 3, 2013
- ↑ Terms of Reference, India MoEF, October 27, 2011.
- ↑ "Adani Group in talks to acquire Vidarbha Industries Power," Projects Today, January 14, 2020
- ↑ “Power Minister RK Singh to meet states, lenders on reviving stressed plants,” Economic Times, May 2, 2022
- ↑ "SC Order on Vidharbha Industries Gives a 440 Volt Shock to Bankruptcy Code-IBC!," Money Life, July 22, 2022
- ↑ "Vidarbha Industries Power: SC Dismisses Axis Bank's Review Petition on Claims of Financial Creditor under IBC, Says Report," Money Life, September 22, 2022
- ↑ 10.0 10.1 "Preview of Butibori Coal-fired Power Plant Phase I (600MW) | Transaction | IJGlobal". ijglobal.com. Retrieved 2020-09-29.
- ↑ 11.0 11.1 "Preview of Butibori Coal-fired Power Plant Phase II (600MW) | Transaction | IJGlobal". ijglobal.com. Retrieved 2020-09-28.
