Simhadri Super Thermal Power Plant is a coal-fired power plant located in the outskirts of

Visakhapatnam Visakhapatnam (; List of renamed places in India, formerly known as Vizagapatam, and also referred to as Vizag, Visakha, and Waltair) is the largest and most populous metropolitan city in the States and union territories of India, Indian stat ...

city in the Indian state of

Andhra Pradesh Andhra Pradesh (ISO 15919, ISO: , , AP) is a States and union territories of India, state on the East Coast of India, east coast of southern India. It is the List of states and union territories of India by area, seventh-largest state and th ...

. The power plant is one of the

coal Coal is a combustible black or brownish-black sedimentary rock, formed as rock strata called coal seams. Coal is mostly carbon with variable amounts of other Chemical element, elements, chiefly hydrogen, sulfur, oxygen, and nitrogen. Coal i ...

fired power plants of NTPC, a Government of India enterprise. The coal for the power plant is sourced from Kalinga Block of Talcher Coal fields in

Odisha Odisha (), formerly Orissa (List of renamed places in India, the official name until 2011), is a States and union territories of India, state located in East India, Eastern India. It is the List of states and union territories of India by ar ...

. The plant is a national asset, and power generated is shared between multiple states, as the operator is national. Power generated by units 1 and 2, making up for 1,000 MW, is dedicated to power distribution companies owned by the Government of Andhra Pradesh and Telangana. The remaining 1,000 MW, generated by units 3 and 4, is allocated to the states of Odisha,

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 ...

Karnataka Karnataka ( ) is a States and union territories of India, state in the southwestern region of India. It was Unification of Karnataka, formed as Mysore State on 1 November 1956, with the passage of the States Reorganisation Act, 1956, States Re ...

Telangana Telangana is a States and union territories of India, state in India situated in the Southern India, south-central part of the Indian subcontinent on the high Deccan Plateau. It is the List of states and union territories of India by area, ele ...

and Puducherry as per their shares as decided in PPA. NTPC Simhadri is a modern coal-fired power plant, and is a combination of four independent generation units, with common water and fuel sources, and common ash ponds. Each of the four units has a nameplate capacity of 500 MW. Units 1 and 2 were built in the first phase of development, and were commissioned in February 2002 and August 2004, respectively, to meet urgent needs of power in the largely agrarian Coastal Andhra and North-Coastal Andhra regions. Units 3 and 4 were built in the second phase, and commissioned in March 2011 and March 2012, respectively. Since the operator of this plant is a Government of India enterprise, and since the plant was built with central government funds, power generated by units 3 and 4 are sold to distribution companies based in neighbouring states of Odisha, Tamil Nadu, and Karnataka, over the National Grid, as power stocks. The allocations are decided between NTPC and the three states' discoms. Unsold units are offered to discoms of Andhra Pradesh for purchase at market prices. Coal for NTPC Simhadri is sourced from Talcher Coal Fields, Odisha, and transported by East Coast Railway (ECoR), over the Kolkata-Chennai trunk line, with a spur heading towards the plant at Duvvada. Unlike other coal-fired plants located in the Indian hinterlands, which use water of the same kind as

working fluid For fluid power, a working fluid is a gas or liquid that primarily transfers force, motion, or mechanical energy. In hydraulics, water or hydraulic fluid transfers force between hydraulic components such as hydraulic pumps, hydraulic cylinders, a ...

and coolant, NTPC Simhadri, which operates out of a fresh water-deficient region of Andhra Pradesh, diversified its water sourcing, based on usage. It uses fresh water sourced from the Yeluru Canal as working fluid (steam which turns the turbines). For cooling, however, the plant uses seawater pumped in from the

Bay of Bengal The Bay of Bengal is the northeastern part of the Indian Ocean. Geographically it is positioned between the Indian subcontinent and the Mainland Southeast Asia, Indochinese peninsula, located below the Bengal region. Many South Asian and Southe ...

. Seawater, with its salt content, is unfit to be used as working fluid, without desalination.

Environment Protection Activities in NTPC Simhadri

Committed to producing Green Power, the Simhadri Super Thermal Power Station (2X500 MW in Stage-I & 2X500 MW in Stage-II) is the first coastal coal fired

thermal power station A thermal power station, also known as a thermal power plant, is a type of power station in which the heat energy generated from various fuel sources (e.g., coal, natural gas, nuclear fuel, etc.) is converted to electrical energy. The heat ...

of NTPC Limited. Simhadri Plant meets more than 85% of its water needs from sea, thereby contributing to the nation's efforts in conserving fresh water. Having spent nearly Rs. 1000 Cr towards various equipments and systems for mitigating pollution and protecting environment, NTPC Simhadri planted over 7.0 lakh trees for protection of environment. Besides, NTPC Simhadri is also a proud partner of "Green Visakha" Project and has planted 3.5 lakh trees additionally under this program and distributed 1.25 lakh fruit bearing plants. NTPC also contributed Rs. 6.0 Cr towards conservation of

Olive Ridley turtle The olive ridley sea turtle (''Lepidochelys olivacea''), also known commonly as the Pacific ridley sea turtle, is a species of turtle in the family Cheloniidae. The species is the second-smallest and most abundant of all sea turtles found in t ...

s. Furthermore, the Power Station and Township premises are declared as plastic free zones. The Journey continues for adopting the latest environment norms leading to a World Class Power Plant.

References

External links

NTPC Simhadri
* http://www.thehindu.com/news/national/andhra-pradesh/the-need-to-safeguard-vizags-green-ambience/article8692979.ece {{Power stations of Andhra Pradesh Coal-fired power stations in Andhra Pradesh Buildings and structures in Visakhapatnam district Energy infrastructure completed in 2002 2002 establishments in Andhra Pradesh