Nabinagar Thermal Power Project

The Nabinagar Thermal Power Station Project (NTPS) of Bhartiya Rail Bijlee Company Limited is a joint venture of NTPC Limited and Indian Railways to install a 4X 250 MW thermal power plant at Nabinagar in Aurangabad district, Bihar, India.[1] The equity portions of NTPC and Indian Railways will be 74 per cent and 26 per cent respectively.[2] Nearly 90 per cent of the electricity generated from the plant is supplied to the railways to meet nationwide requirements and remaining 10 per cent is given to Bihar.

Nabinagar Thermal Power Station
Location of the Nabinagar (4X250MW) Thermal Power Station
Country	India
Location	Aurangabad district, Bihar
Coordinates	24.70°N 84.08°E
Status	Operational
Construction began	2012
Commission date	3 out of 4 units commissioned
Owner(s)	Bharatiya Rail Bijlee Company
Operator(s)	NTPC Limited
Thermal power station
Primary fuel	Coal
Power generation
Units operational	under construction
Make and model	BHEL
Nameplate capacity	1,000 MW

In 1989, the Chief Minister of Bihar and veteran leader Satyendra Narain Singh conceived the proposal to set up a NTPC's super thermal power project at Nabinagar in Bihar's Aurangabad district to Rajiv Gandhi, the Prime Minister of India and Congress leader.[3] However, the project went into limbo as the following state governments failed to follow it. In 2007, Manmohan Singh's government finally put a stamp of approval on it.[4] The joint venture agreement was signed on 6 November 2007 and the company was incorporated on 22 November 2007. Commercial generation started from Unit-1 and 2 (2X250MW) of Bharatiya Rail Bijli Company Limited in 2016.[5][6]

Need for the plant

The railways need the plant because of the demands of a globalising economy and mega projects of the Railways such as the planned Dedicated Freight Corridors across the country. The electricity from this plant will be utilized by Indian Railways for running electric trains in Bihar, Jharkhand, West Bengal, Chhattisgarh, Maharashtra, Gujarat and Madhya Pradesh in the eastern and western regions of the country. The Union Cabinet of India has, in view of the high tariff charged by State Electricity Boards, approved the railways' proposal for using direct power supply from Central generating agencies from the 15 per cent unallocated central share of power. Railways are saving about Rs. 50 crore per annum due to implementation of these schemes for using direct power supply from NTPC/Central generating agencies. EPC is being undertaken by public sector major BHEL.

Location

The project site is situated on a state highway which is 25 km south of NH-2 from Barun, 9 km from ‘Nabinagar Road’ Railway Station and 100 km from Gaya Airport.

Inputs

Water requirement for the project is 60 cubic feet per second which is allocated from the upper stream of the Sone River (Indrapuri Barrage). Coal requirement for the project is 5 MTPA. The coal linkage of 5 MTPA has been accorded from Pachra & Pachra south block, North Karanpura Coalfield of Central Coalfields Limited which is approximately 215 km from the project site.

Beneficiaries

The beneficiaries for the power generated from NTPC are Indian Railways (90%) and Bihar State (10%). PPA has been signed with both of the beneficiaries. [7][8]

Installed capacity

Unit	Capacity (In MW)	Date of Commissioning	status
1	250	2016 March	Commissioned[9]
2	250	2017 April	Commissioned [10]
3	250	2019 February	Commissioned[11]
4	250		Under construction

See also

• Nabinagar Super Thermal Power Project

References

1. https://www.telegraphindia.com/states/bihar/high-drama-in-power-plant-row-191599
2. https://www.telegraphindia.com/states/bihar/protest-stalls-power-plant-191414
3. "S N Sinha's brainchild NTPC project gets approval". Hindustan Times. India. Retrieved 23 February 2007.
4. "PM DR Manmohan Singh Approves NTPC Project in Bihar Promised by Then CM SN Sinha". Hindustan Times. India. Retrieved 23 February 2007.
5. "First unit of NTPC-Rail JV synchronised at Bihar's Nabinagar".
6. "Aurangabad power plant unit to be commissioned in September".
7. http://pib.nic.in/newsite/erelease.aspx?relid=32428
8. http://www.infraline.com/power/reforms/NabinagarPower.aspx
9. http://www.indiainfoline.com/article/news-top-story/bhel-commissions-250-mw-thermal-plant-in-bihar-and-other-top-corporate-news-of-the-day-116033100201_1.html
10. http://www.myiris.com/news/sector/ntpc-commissions-250-mw-unit-of-bhartiya-rail-bijlee-co/20170405102806199
11. https://www.moneycontrol.com/news/business/bhel-commissions-third-250-mw-unit-at-nabinagar-power-plant-in-bihar-3568451.html