Scrappage Policy for Thermal Plants

Scrappage Policy for Thermal Plants

Subject – Environment

Context – NITI Aayog expert group suggests scrappage policy for thermal plants

Concept –

• An expert group set up by NITI Aayog has suggested the creation of a thermal power plant (TPP) scrappage policy in a bid to bring down the dependency of the power sector on coal and to maximize the use of clean and more efficient energy sources such as renewables.
• India has committed to becoming carbon neutral by 2070 and to have 500 Giga Watt (GW) of renewable energy capacity.
• Coal-fired power plants are normally decommissioned in India after their useful life of 30-45 years.
• Coal accounts for about 72 per cent of India’s power supply as of 2021, while RE has been growing rapidly to generate 10.7 per cent of electricity.
• Around 40 per cent of India’s greenhouse gas emissions can be attributed to 633 power units – 25 MW and above capacity – operating at 189 thermal plants.

Categories of Thermal Power Plants

• In April 2021, the MoEF & CC amended the 2015 notification to put coal thermal power plants under three categories.
• The Union Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change (MoEF&CC) has released a draft list of the coal thermal power plants and their categorisation in line with the ministry’s April 2021 notification.
• Coal thermal power plants contribute to over half sulphur dioxide (SO2) concentration, 30 per cent oxides of nitrogen (NOx), 20 per cent particulate matter (PM) in the ambient air.

It puts coal thermal power plant units into three categories: