Katni power station
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Katni power station is a cancelled power station in Bujbuja and Dokariya, Barhi and Vijayaraghavgarh, Katni, Madhya Pradesh, India. It is also known as Bujbuja.
Location
Table 1: Project-level location details
| Plant name | Location | Coordinates (WGS 84) |
|---|---|---|
| Katni power station | Bujbuja and Dokariya, Barhi and Vijayaraghavgarh, Katni, Madhya Pradesh, India | 23.834659, 80.395517 (approximate) |
The map below shows the approximate location of the power station.
Project Details
Table 2: Unit-level details
| Unit name | Status | Fuel(s) | Capacity (MW) | Technology | Start year | Retired year |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Unit 1 | cancelled | coal - unknown | 660 | supercritical | – | – |
| Unit 2 | cancelled | coal - unknown | 660 | supercritical | – | – |
| Unit 3 | cancelled | coal - unknown | 660 | supercritical | – | – |
| Unit Other Capacity | cancelled | coal - unknown | 1220 | supercritical | – | – |
Table 3: Unit-level ownership and operator details
| Unit name | Owner |
|---|---|
| Unit 1 | Katni Thermal Energy (MP) Ltd (Welspun Energy Madhya Pradesh Ltd [former]) [100.0%] |
| Unit 2 | Katni Thermal Energy (MP) Ltd (Welspun Energy Madhya Pradesh Ltd [former]) [100.0%] |
| Unit 3 | Katni Thermal Energy (MP) Ltd (Welspun Energy Madhya Pradesh Ltd [former]) [100.0%] |
| Unit Other Capacity | Welspun Energy Pvt Ltd [100.0%] |
Project-level coal details
- Coal source(s): Indonesia
- Permit(s): June 1, 2012 – Environmental Clearance; Terms of Reference: 2015-04-25; Enviromental Clearance extension: 2019-04
Background
The original proposal was for a 3 x 660 MW coal plant. The company's 2010-2011 Bidder Qualification Criteria document stated that approximately 183.8 hectares of land acquisition was completed. Welspun had applied for coal linkage to the Ministry of Coal, and the water resources department (WRD) of Madhya Pradesh has accorded, in principle, approval for the project's water allocation.[1] The Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) for a 3 x 660 MW project was approved by the India Ministry of Environment & Forests (MoEF) on June 1, 2012.[2]
In February 2015, Welspun Energy Madhya Pradesh Limited, a subsidiary of Welspun Energy Private Limited, applied to change the proposed project from 1,980 MW to 3,200 MW.[3] The terms of reference for a 3,200 MW coal plant was granted on April 27, 2015.[4]
In April 2019, Welspun Energy applied for an extension of the 2012 Environmental Clearance for three more years. The Expert Appraisal Committee recommended the extension until May 2022.[5]
In late 2019, a compliance report noted that Katni Thermal Energy (MP) Ltd. (KTE-MP-L), a subsidiary of Adani Infra (India) Limited, had completed infrastructure development and enabling works for the plant, including "Boundary wall, stores, office, & Transmission line ROW/ROU, etc." However, a report also confirmed the following: "Financial Closure yet to be achieved and Thermal Power Construction work is yet to start." In addition, a name change application from Welspun Energy Madhya Pradesh Ltd to Katni Thermal Energy (MP) Ltd. was filed in September 2019.[6]
The six month report for the period ending September 2022 did not appear to provide significant updates: the project had still not reached financial close or began construction.[7]
The six month report for the period ending March 2023 (published May 2023) stated that the project had still not received financial close or begun construction. [8] The following six month report (April-September 2023) did not provide any progress updates, but noted that the validity of the project's EC was expired and that "further compliance report may be discontinued."[9] After four years without known progress, the power station was presumed cancelled.
Welspun appeared to exit coal power business
In October 2015, Adani Group signed an initial agreement to buy the Katni power station and Welspun Energy Mirzapur power station in Uttar Pradesh.[10] However, there were no subsequent reports that the deal had actually been finalized.
In June 2016, Tata Power Company purchased the renewable energy portfolio of Welspun Energy Pvt Ltd for an estimate Rs 10,000 crore (US$1.4 billion). As of December 2016, none of the annual reports of any companies affiliated with Welspun Group make any mention of involvement in coal plants. It appears that in the wake of its apparently unsuccessful attempt to sell its coal power projects in Madhya Pradesh and Uttar Pradesh, and its transition into a builder of renewable power, followed by its sale of its renewable portfolio to Tata, the company has abandoned further plans to develop new coal power in India, including Welspun Energy Mirzapur power station in Uttar Pradesh and Katni power station in Madhya Pradesh. [11]
Citizen opposition
November 2012: Woman immolates herself in protest
In November 2012, NDTV reported that twenty farmers in Bujbuja village sit every day on funeral pyres with kerosene and match sticks at arm's reach to protest acquisition of land for the plant.[12] On Diwali, Katni district villager Sunia Bai died one day after she set herself on fire on Diwali day, in protest over land acquisition for the plant. Following the self-immolation, police responded to a protest by residents of Bujbuja and Dakaria villages with a lathicharge, seizing the body. According to villagers, the police had threatened to bulldoze the home of Sunia Bai and her husband Chhaka Gadari. In addition, police arrested 12 villagers as well as former Janata Dal (United) MLA Saroj Bachchan Nayak. Protesters demanded that land acquired for the project be returned to farmers. Farmers also built funeral pyres on their land and warmed that they would immolate themselves if forcibly evicted. A second villager threatened with eviction, Pyare Lai Choudhary, was admitted to the hospital after drinking poison in a suicide attempt.[13][14][15]
On October 21, 2012, nearly 2,000 farmers sat on unlit pyres in Bujbuja village and stalled the bhoomi pujan ceremony for the Katni power plant. They protested against the “forced acquisition of their land.”[16]
On June 15, 2013, farmers protested against the land acquisition of Bujbuja for the Katni power plant. In November 2011, 50-year-old Sania Gadai had immolated herself after the local tesidlar had served notice for her husband to vacate their farm. This was in Bujbuja where the Katni power plant was planned to be built.[17]
By January 2016, two villagers had committed suicide to oppose the land acquisition in Bujbuja. The villagers are warning that if the government does not return their land or water, they will burn themselves to death. The farmers claim that the Welspun Company, who is in charge of the Katni power plant, forcibly took their land and paid compensation to fake bank accounts with fake documents.[18]
A media article from January 2023 referred to farmers demanding that 1400 acres of land that was allocated to Welspun and subsequently sold to Adani is returned to them as the power plant has not been built.[19]
Articles and Resources
References
- ↑ "Bidder Qualification Criteria for BTG Package: 3x660 MW Katni Thermal Power Project - Welspun Energy Madhya Pradesh Ltd.," Bidder Qualification Criteria for BTG Package, Doc. No.: WEL/BQC/KTPP/MP/BTG/10-11/01-Rev 2.
- ↑ Environmental clearance, India MoEF, June 1, 2012
- ↑ Form 1, India MoEF, accepted Feb 6, 2015
- ↑ Terms of reference, India MoEF, April 27, 2015
- ↑ "Minutes of the 27th Meeting of the Re-Constituted Expert Appraisal Committee (EAC) on Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) of Thermal Power Projects Held on 26 April, 2019," India MoEF, April 2019
- ↑ "Six Monthly Compliance Report of Environment Clearance (EC) 1980 (3×660) MW Thermal Power Plant," Adani, Period: April 2019 to September 2019
- ↑ "Six Monthly Compliance Report of Environment Clearance (EC) 1980 (3×660) MW Thermal Power Plant," Adani, Period: April 2022 to September 2022
- ↑ "Six Monthly Compliance Report of Environment Clearance for Katni TPP Oct22 to March23," Adani, May 18, 2023
- ↑ Six Monthly Compliance Report of Environment Clearance 1980 (3x660) MW Thermal Power Plant, Adani, November 11, 2023
- ↑ "Adani Power in talks with Welspun Group to buy power plants," Economic Times, October 7, 2015
- ↑ Sarita Singh and Arijit Barman, "Tata Power acquires Welspun Energy's renewable assets for Rs 10,000 crore," Economic Times, June 13, 2016
- ↑ Siddharth Ranjan Das, "Madhya Pradesh land row: Farmers sit on pyres, threaten mass suicide," NDTV, November 19, 2012
- ↑ "Katni: Protests intensify against proposed power project, police resort to lathicharge," NDTV.com, November 16, 2012
- ↑ "MP: woman commits suicide to protest against land acquisition for power plant," IBNLive, November 16, 2012
- ↑ "Madhya Pradesh land row: Farmers sit on pyres, threaten mass suicide" Siddharth Ranjan Das, NDTV, November 19, 2012.
- ↑ “Katni power project hits a roadblock as protest intensifies”, The Times of India, October 23, 2012.
- ↑ “Jinxed start for Katni’s thermal power plant”, Times of India, June 16, 2013.
- ↑ “Farmers protest against forced land acquisition in Bujbuja village, Madhya Pradesh”, Sabrang India, January 18, 2016.
- ↑ "Farmers protest in Katni". https://thesootr.com/. January 2023.
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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.
