Workshops on “Flexible Thermal Power Plants: Bridge to a Decarbonised Energy System” in Raipur and Bangalore
On 9th and 12th October 2023, workshops dedicated to the topic of “Flexible Thermal Power Plants: Bridge to a Decarbonised Energy System” were organised by the Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit GmbH (GIZ) under the auspices of the Indo-German Energy Forum (IGEF) Support Office, the Excellence Enhancement Centre (EEC) for Indian Power Sector and the German association vgbe energy in Bengaluru and Raipur, respectively. The workshops have been jointly organised as part of a larger series, and in 2022, two such workshops were organised in Kolkata and Delhi.
In both, Bengaluru and Raipur, approximately 100 participants each from the private and public sector learned about the flexible operation of thermal power plants. National as well as international speakers from companies and institutions such as NTPC Limited, the Central Electricity Authority (CEA), the Technical University of Vienna (TU Wien), Siemens, RWE Germany among others covered various topics ranging from recent developments in the sector and sharing their own experiences regarding the flexible operation of power plants.
The topic of flexibilisation of existing thermal power plants has gained even more importance in India since the Central Electricity Authority (CEA) put a new law into effect obligating all thermal power generating units to be able to operate in flexible operation. It obliges coal-based power plants to be designed or retrofitted to provide a minimum load of 40%. Shortly after, CEA also drafted a phasing plan for the implementation of 40% technical minimum load regulation for thermal power plants. In a pilot phase of the period May to December 2023, 11 selected plants will be throttled back to 40% of their nominal output in a test run. From January 2024, the results will be analysed and used to extend the scheme to all plants in three phases. The first phase will start in July 2024 and the last phase should be completed by December 2030.
Given the importance of this topic in India, further such workshops are planned in other geographically important cities in India.
Further information on the flexible operation of existing thermal power plants can be found here:
Guidelines for Flexible Operation of Coal Fired Power Plants in India
Thermal Electricity Storage in India Retrofitting Potential for Coal-Fired Power Plants in India