Thermal power plants make a large part of the installed capacity for generating electricity in India. Of all the fossil fuels that can be used in a power plant, gas forms the second most popular choice of energy source. Gas fired power plants have their advantages over other forms of fossil fuels. However it’s usage in India faces a lot of limitation over it’s usage. Despite the governments attempts to find a viable solution it will take some time for Gas fired power plants to be more popular in India.
The largest Gas based plant is in Uran, Maharashtra. Most of the gas fired power plants are concentrated in and around Gujarat and Maharashtra.
Advantages of using Gas in power plants
- Emission levels of gas are less than other forms of fossil fuels
- Acid rain content lower than those generated by coal based plants
- Ease of transportation of gas by means of pipelines
- Less by-products of the combustion process
Limitations of using Gas in power plants
- India does not have well developed gas reserves. As a result most of the fuel requirement has to be imported leading to high dependency
- The gas rates in the international markets have been very volatile, leading to fluctuations in the costing
- The requirements of imports pass through hostile territories
The Indo-Iran pipeline gave a glimmer of hope for a continuous supply of gas at a fixed price. However, India’s strained relations with Pakistan and the passing of the pipeline through hostile territory throws up innumerable challenges for the execution of the project.
With the Krishna-Godavari Basin being developed by Reliance, a new source of fuel for the future has cropped up. If well developed could augment the fuel supplies to these plants. For the time being though, Coal based plants win the argument.
For a detailed report on electricity in India please refer to:
http://www.india-reports.com/summary/electricity_in_india.aspx
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Read articles on Electricity in India:
A General Summary on Electricity in India
The Consumers of Electricity in India: Industrial, Agriculture and Domestic
