Latest news with #FGD
Time of India
6 days ago
- Business
- Time of India
Centre's move for coal plants to hit environment: Think tank
1 2 Ranchi: The Union ministry of environment, forest and climate change (MoEFCC)'s decision to exempt nearly 78% of India's thermal power plants (TPPs) from installing 'flue gas desulphurisation' (FGD) system would further wreak with the air quality of Jharkhand, where the power plants are thermal based. This was stated by the Centre for Research on Energy and Clean Air (CREA), an independent research body. Earlier this month, MoEFCC announced its move to exempt FGD installation for 'Category C' power plants. These plants are not located within 10 km radius of critically polluted areas (CPAs) or non-attainment cities. 'Category B' plants will be assessed on a case-to-case basis by the environmental appraisal committee while 2027 deadline for 'Category A' stays in place. CREA senior analyst Manoj Kumar said, "We have studied this decision's impact on all states with coal. Jharkhand would face the worst problems as it has 13 thermal power units, totaling 4,250 MW. All these units fall under 'Category C'. Of the 13 power plants, only two owned by the Central sector has installed FGD system." The govt's move to exempt FGD installation for 'Category C' plantsm despite proven benefits in reducing sulfur dioxide (SO₂), PM 2.5, and mercury emissions, and producing reusable gypsum for the cement industry, are unwarranted. by Taboola by Taboola Sponsored Links Sponsored Links Promoted Links Promoted Links You May Like No annual fees for life UnionBank Credit Card Apply Now Undo "India is the world's largest emitter of SO₂, contributing nearly 20% of global anthropogenic SO₂ emissions. Coal-fired power plants account for 60% of India's SO₂ output, as they burn 70% of the country's coal. Emission norms introduced in 2015 mandated the use of FGD systems to cut SO₂ emissions from power plants, but a July 2025 notification has diluted these requirements," it added. Citing health impacts, it noted that power plants are responsible for up to 2,200 premature deaths annually in Jharkhand during 2018. "Studies show PM2.5 from power plants is twice as toxic as that from other sources," it said. An official at the Jharkhand State Pollution Control Board said, "We don't have much role to play in the policy changes made by the Union govt. We will ensure compliance of all the prescribed norms to arrest all kinds of pollution." CREA further said that air quality in Jharkhand is already under stress. "IIT Delhi assessed the impact of power plants in all airsheds of India and found that 3-8 % is contributed by power plants in Jharkhand airsheds. Further, IIT Bombay assessed at city level and found that 4 to 24 % of PM2.5 is from the power sector in the Ranchi, Jamshedpur and Dhanbad cities. All these three cities are under the National Clean Air Programme (NCAP). Exempting compliance will further delay the achievement of up to 40% reduction in pollution levels in NCAP cities," it said.
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Daily Express
6 days ago
- Politics
- Daily Express
Prof: Sabah is still struggling on basic needs
Published on: Thursday, July 24, 2025 Published on: Thu, Jul 24, 2025 By: Sisca Humphrey Text Size: Nga highlighted that playing up issues of race, religion and region during elections, saying it risks dividing the people. Kota Kinabalu: Sabah is still struggling to fulfil the basic needs of its people despite the nation having passed through various stages of development, said Social and Youth Policy expert of Universiti Malaysia Sabah (UMS) Associate Professor Dr Janice Nga. She said input gathered during the recent Focus Group Discussion (FGD) on the 13th Malaysia Plan (RMK13) showed many Sabahans are still grappling with fundamental issues, those at the bottom tier of Maslow's hierarchy. 'This shows we're still lagging behind. It's not about fixing roads just before VIP visits and leaving them to fall apart later. 'If we are serious, we must ask: When will this road be completed? How many more communities will get basic utilities?' she said. She also pointed out that sincere leadership, not just plans, makes a difference, noting that Sarawak's progress came from administrative consistency and integrity. 'Sabah was ahead once, but now Sarawak has overtaken us because their leadership was consistent from the Chief Minister to the Premier. That's the key,' she said. Nga highlighted that playing up issues of race, religion and region during elections, saying it risks dividing the people. 'In Sabah, our issue isn't race or religion, but it's regionalism. We often hear 'Sabahan' versus 'non-Sabahan' being used like there are invisible borders within our own state,' she said. She also emphasised that some leaders fear empowering the rakyat, worrying that once people become self-reliant, they'll no longer need political crutches. 'There are leaders who want the rakyat to remain dependent. Because once united and independent, the people might no longer support them,' Nga said. Nga called for unity based on shared aspirations rather than identity politics and said sincerity should be the benchmark, not a leader's place of birth. 'If someone from the peninsula is genuine about helping Sabah, why not? Just like the Inpuma team that came not for personal gain, but to contribute,' she added. She urged the public not to fall for political rhetoric that undermines leadership integrity for the sake of votes. 'A good leader, no matter where they come from, they can bring good to Sabah,' she said. * Follow us on our official WhatsApp channel and Telegram for breaking news alerts and key updates! * Do you have access to the Daily Express e-paper and online exclusive news? Check out subscription plans available. Stay up-to-date by following Daily Express's Telegram channel. Daily Express Malaysia
Time of India
22-07-2025
- Business
- Time of India
Lessons learnt from FGD policy
Navigating energy transition in a large developing country like India throws up a number of challenges. Meeting the growing energy demand in a reliable and affordable manner while achieving the decarbonisation trajectory requires a policy design that minimises the cost of compliance with laid down targets and environmental standards. Deployment of new clean technologies may lead to cost reduction in long term but the avoidable increase in energy prices in near to medium term has the risk of impacting the attainment of Sustainable Development Goals and industrial competitiveness. Let us look at the facts which led to revision in the approach regarding installation of Flue Gas Desulphurisation (FGD) equipment in existing and new coal-based power plants . Instead of focussing at the compliance with National Ambient Air Quality Standards (NAAQS), the SO2 emission standards notified at stack level(discharge from chimney of the plant) in 2015 led to a situation where each thermal plant was required to invest in technologies like FGD. This imposed not only extra cost of about 30 paise per unit of electricity but also higher emissions of carbon dioxide due to increase in auxiliary consumption of the plants for running the FGD. The imbalance in supply of imported components and sudden increase in demand led to a situation that Damodar Valley Corporation saw an increase of cost in FGD project from ₹50 lakh per MW to ₹1 crore per MW in a short period. It took several years and avoidable cost increase in power supply to realise on the basis of a number of scientific studies that in most of the cases, NAAQS could be easily met by simply adhering to the already laid down chimney height norms which ensure that the emission from low sulphur Indian coal combustion get dispersed easily. Except for the coal deposits of NE region of India, Indian coal is characterised by high ash but low sulphur with less than 0.6 per cent concentration. Coal in our NE region has sulphur content from 3 to 5 per cent which is not used much in power generation. The sulphur concentration can go up to 5 per cent in imported high sulphur coal. Thus, the Ministry of Environment and Forest has rightly exempted about 78 per cent of the power plants from investing in FGD and saved the avoidable burden on electricity prices while mandating the adherence to stack height norms to ensure dispersion of emissions. At the same time, it has continued the obligation for plants in or vicinity of NCR region and million plus cities where SO2 emission load in the ambient air is high on account of other pollution loads like industrial units and vehicular emissions. For other critically polluted areas, a case-by-case approach has been planned based on scientific analysis. But meanwhile several power plants have started implementation of FGD which would add a burden of about more than ₹50000 crores. However, the revised policy approach has saved avoidable investment of more than ₹1.4 lac crores. The revised approach is welcome as it meets the national environmental standards without avoidable cost increase in basic infrastructure like electricity. It will also avoid the increase of CO2 emissions which last far longer in the atmosphere aggravating global warming, emissions involved in mining and transport of lime stone and wastage of water. I am sure that Hon'ble Courts will also approve the decision based on scientific studies. But the lessons learnt in this case should not be forgotten while designing the policies in other areas. Two key lessons emerge. First, that major decisions should be taken only on the basis of pilot projects in multiple locations with their results thoroughly assessed by independent scientific studies, and secondly, the policy design should be largely technology neutral for achieving the overall national goals. Another case of such a policy overreach is the mandated source wise renewable energy consumption obligations. We have mandated separate targets for various sources like solar, wind, hydro, distributed energy sources etc within the overall yearly targets. Some fungibility has been permitted for year-to-year adjustments. But the cost optimisation opportunities are largely missed at the stage of capacity expansion planning if the concerned distribution company has to comply with the source wise targets. The overall objective is decarbonisation of grid electricity which can be achieved by several routes like solar, wind, hydro or for that matter even nuclear. A sound policy will be to permit complete fungibility as long the overall targets of non-fossil electricity are met. Why a state of NE region rich in hydro should be compelled to import wind energy from far off distances if it increases the overall system costs. A case of sound and balanced policy is Carbon Credit Trading Scheme for reducing the emission intensity of high emitter industrial units. The scheme permits adoption of the most cost-effective technologies, and even trading of the credits, as long as overall trajectory of emission intensity reduction is achieved. This gives full freedom to the designated industrial unit in making economic choice while ensuring compliance with nationally determined goals. The policy makers need to make choices very carefully based on economic principles and scientific reasoning and not on the basis of opinions to avoid the risks to our development attainments.
The Hindu
21-07-2025
- Business
- The Hindu
NUPPL achieves early synchronisation of Unit-2 of its supercritical thermal power plant in Uttar Pradesh
Neyveli Uttar Pradesh Power Limited (NUPPL), a joint venture between NLC India Limited and Uttar Pradesh Rajya Vidyut Utpadan Nigam Limited, has successfully carried out Turbine Generator (TG) rolling and synchronisation of Unit-2 (660 mW) of NUPPL's 1980 mW supercritical thermal power plant in Ghatampur Tehsil, Uttar Pradesh. The synchronization of the thermal power plant with the 765 kV grid, was carried out in a single, seamless attempt on Sunday, and well ahead of the scheduled lead time after the successful completion of the Steam Blowing milestone. The synchronization of Unit-2 marked a crucial step forward in NUPPL's journey towards Commercial Operation Declaration (COD). This achievement reinforces NUPPL's steadfast commitment to delivering 31.68 million units of reliable and sustainable power to the nation, a press note from NLC India Ltd. (NLCIL) said. Commenting on the achievement, Prasanna Kumar Motupalli, Chairman and Managing Director of NLCIL, said the accomplishment is the result of unwavering focus and dedicated efforts of NUPPL, NLCIL, and UPRVUNL, supported by the Ministry of Coal, Government of India. With Unit 1 operational since December 2024, the synchronization of Unit-2 represents another major step towards the project's full realisation. Unit-3 is expected to be commissioned in 2025-26 fiscal, bringing the total capacity of Ghatampur Thermal Power project to 1,980 mW. Located in Ghatampur Tehsil, Kanpur Nagar district of Uttar Pradesh, the plant comprises three supercritical thermal units of 660 mW each. The project is designed to supply 75.12% (1,487.28 MW) of its power to Uttar Pradesh, while the remaining 24.88% (492.77 mW) is allocated to Assam. In addition to the power plant, NUPPL is also making strides in the development of the linked coal mine in Pachwara South Coal Block in Dumka district of Jharkhand, which will provide a sustainable source of fuel for the end-use power plant. The Ghatampur project features state-of-the-art supercritical boiler and turbine-generator technologies, designed to meet the latest environmental standards. The plant incorporates Flue Gas Desulphurisation (FGD) and Selective Catalytic Reduction (SCR) systems, ensuring Zero Liquid Discharge (ZLD) and minimizing ecological impact. With the synchronisation of Unit-2, NUPPL is now on the verge of completing the final commissioning activities, paving the way for its formal entry into commercial operations, NLCIL said.
Morocco World
21-07-2025
- Politics
- Morocco World
Morocco's FGD Demands Urgent Probe Into Alleged High-Level Corruption Detailed in Leaked Documents
Rabat – The Democratic Left Federation (FGD) is not turning a page on the controversial case of Jabaroot, an Algerian hacking group involved in leaking alleged sensitive documents related to real estate, social security, and more. The leftist party stated on Sunday, calling for an investigation into the recent leaks, with the party sharing 'deep concern' on the growing cases of conflicts and abuse of power in the country. FGD took issue with leaked documents from the Algerian hacking group, which claimed it hacked the database of several Moroccan institutions like CNSS, and some ministries, most of which responded to the hacking allegations, denying that the breaches had affected their database and systems. Despite reassurances about citizens' concerns and privacy, the government received a backlash and demands, questioning the country's cybersecurity strength. Meanwhile, many people expressed concern and took issue with the leaks that concern real estate ownership, social security data of employees, and other sensitive content. While the leaked document was not proved to be authentic, the FGD alleged suspicious deals and transfers were 'granted to individuals or companies closely linked to, or owned by, top government officials.' 'This comes about what has been reported in the media and revealed in the 'Jabaroot' leaks, which suggests the involvement of current government ministers in cases of corruption and abuse of influence,' the party said, urging for an intervention. The party alleged that the case includes a 'female minister,' accusing her of 'exploiting insider information related to urban planning designs for illicit personal gain.' The statement also points out a reference to 'another minister' accused of 'attempted fraud and deception to evade tax obligations.' For FGD, these actions, although unproven, are a 'severe violation of the principle of integrity and neutrality expected of all public officials.' In a strongly worded recommendation, the FGD said it 'condemns all forms of corruption, calling on the country's public prosecutor to 'act immediately by opening a transparent investigation that is serious and impartial into all the cases raised by the leaks, and to assign responsibilities and apply all legal consequences.' It also calls for the establishment of a national day of protest against corruption, noting that the date and location of similar demonstrations will be announced at a later time. In addition to FGD, the Justice and Development Party's (PJD) Abdelilah Benkirane wrote a strongly-worded statement on Facebook on Sunday, accusing a minister of falsifying an official document submitted to tax authorities to evade taxes. Benkirane did not explicitly reference the minister's name, but converging reports said the accusations were directed against Minister of Justice Abdellatif Ouahbi. 'The resignation of this minister is a necessary dedicated by the rule of law and institutions and by the principle of accountability,' Benkirane wrote on Facebook.
