The Ennore Thermal Power Station is a coal based
power plant
A power station, also referred to as a power plant and sometimes generating station or generating plant, is an industrial facility for the electricity generation, generation of electric power. Power stations are generally connected to an electr ...
located in
Chennai
Chennai, also known as Madras (List of renamed places in India#Tamil Nadu, its official name until 1996), is the capital city, capital and List of cities in Tamil Nadu by population, largest city of Tamil Nadu, the southernmost states and ...
Ennore
Ennore, also spelt , is a neighbourhood in Chennai, India. Ennore is situated on a peninsula and is bounded by the Kosasthalaiyar River, Korttalaiyar River, Ennore Creek and the Bay of Bengal. The creek separates south Ennore from the north Enno ...
,
Tamil Nadu
Tamil Nadu (; , TN) is the southernmost States and union territories of India, state of India. The List of states and union territories of India by area, tenth largest Indian state by area and the List of states and union territories of Indi ...
.
History
Ennore Thermal Power Station was constructed to serve the purpose of energy generation in the year 1970. It is one of the four major thermal power plants of
Tamil Nadu
Tamil Nadu (; , TN) is the southernmost States and union territories of India, state of India. The List of states and union territories of India by area, tenth largest Indian state by area and the List of states and union territories of Indi ...
established by the Tamil Nadu Generation and Distribution Corporation Limited (
TANGEDCO). Presently it has an installed capacity of .
The necessary coal arrives through ship to the
Ennore Port. However, the construction of the in the premise began in the year 2007. The Station presently consists of two 60-MW and three 110-MW units. A 500-MW coal-based unit was proposed, and its development started in the month of November 2007. The total cost of the venture was 270
crores
Crore (; abbreviated cr) denotes the quantity ten million (107) and is equal to 100 lakh in the Indian numbering system. In many international contexts, the decimal quantity is formatted as 10,000,000, but when used in the context of the Indian ...
. The plant was shut down on 31.03.2017 and will be replaced.
Features
The Power Station has been a major provider of electricity in the state and its production capacity has been improved over the years.
The Ennore Power Station has also garnered various awards from the
TANGEDCO.
[ However power deficit seems to be playing an important role for the recent decision. It also has a special treatment plant to dispose the ash slurry in a proper way.
Coal for ETPS is received from MCL (Talchar and Ib Valley), Orissa and ECL, Raniganj, West Bengal. The plant load factor (PLF) for the year 2008–2009 was 49.17 percent.]
Capacity
Shut down and Proposed Replacement
After more than forty years the Power Plant was shut down permanently on March 31, 2017. It will be replaced with a single Supercritical unit of 660 MW, also run by the TANGEDCO.
The replacement does not have clearance yet. The plant is opposed by the residents who fear that the new plant will degrade the air quality and lead to a loss of fishing livelihoods.
See also
* List of power stations in India
The total installed power generation capacity in India as on 30 April 2025 is 472468.01 MegaWatt, MW, with sector wise and type wise break up as given below.
For the state wise installed power generation capacity, refer to States of India by inst ...
References
{{Power Plants of Tamil Nadu
Coal-fired power stations in Tamil Nadu
1970 establishments in Tamil Nadu
Power plants in Chennai
Energy infrastructure completed in 1970