Uttarakhand

• 22 Jun 2023

Coal Power Plant will be set up in Odisha for the state

Why in News?

According to the information received from the media on June 21, 2023, due to the very low production relative to the demand for electricity in Uttarakhand, now electricity will be generated from coal in Odisha. For this, a joint venture of THDC-UJVNL is going to be formed soon in the state.

Key Points:

• With the completion of this project, the power shortage in the state will be controlled in the next four to five years.
• Energy Secretary R. Meenakshi Sundaram said that power generation from hydropower projects is affected by the season. The production increases when the monsoon arrives, but decreases when the rivers get silted. The fall in the water level of the rivers in winter and subsequent summer reduces production.
• On the other hand, the generation from solar power projects is only during day time. It is not used at night, because there is no such battery that can store this electricity.
• The electricity demand is continuously increasing in the state. Keeping this in mind, the thermal power plant is being thought of. In the past, the government has decided that it will move forward in the direction of making electricity from coal. For this, a joint venture of THDC-UJVNL will be formed soon.
• THDC already has a coal mine in Odisha. The plant will be set up near it because the cost of transporting coal from there to Uttarakhand will be very high.
• The Energy Secretary informed that THDC was already preparing to build its own plant, which will now be built jointly with Uttarakhand. If this is built in the next four to five years, then the power shortage in the state will come under control.
• There are three gas-based power plants in the state. Two of these are underway, while some decisions are yet to be taken in the third. A decision on the third plant will also be taken soon. After this, the power generation from the gas power plant will increase.