Lok Sabha Question No. 1645 (UNSTARRED), answered on 2024-08-01
Subject: Status of Flue Gas De-sulphurisation (FGD) Installation in Thermal Power Plants
Ministry: POWER
Asked by: Shri P P Chaudhary

## GOVERNMENT OF INDIA MINISTRY OF POWER LOK SABHA

## UNSTARRED QUESTION NO.1645 ANSWERED ON 01.08.2024

## STATUS OF FLUE GAS DE-SULPHURISATION (FGD) INSTALLATION IN THERMAL POWER PLANTS

1645 SHRI P P CHAUDHARY:

Will the Minister of POWER be pleased to state:

- (a) the  current  status  of  installation  of  Flue  Gas  De-sulphurisation  (FGD) equipment in thermal power plants across the country;
- (b) the  details  of  the  number  of  thermal  power  plants  (TPPs)  that  have completed FGD installation, category-wise;
- (c) whether  any  thermal  power  plants  have  faced  delays  in  FGD  installation and if so, the reasons for such delays and the steps taken to address them;
- (d) the  amount  of  environmental  compensation  collected  from  non-compliant thermal power plants so far, if any; and
- (e) whether the Government proposes to revise the timelines or compensation structure for FGD installation and if so, the details thereof?

## A N S W E R

THE MINISTER OF STATE IN THE MINISTRY OF POWER

(SHRI SHRIPAD NAIK)

- (a) : Currently, Flue Gas Desulfurization (FGD) is being installed in 537 units in Coal  based  Thermal  Power  Plants  across  the  country.  The  current  status  of installation  of  FGD  equipment  in  Thermal  Power  Plants  across  the  country  is given below:
- (b) : The  details  of  the  number  of  thermal  power  plants  (TPPs)  that  have completed FGD installation(category-wise) are given below:

| FGD status                                | No. of units with Capacity   |
|-------------------------------------------|------------------------------|
| FGD installed                             | 39 nos. (19,430 MW)          |
| Contract awarded / under implementation   | 238 nos. (1,05,200 MW)       |
| Under Various stages of tendering process | 139 nos. (42,847 MW)         |
| In pre-tendering process                  | 121 nos. (36,683 MW)         |

| Category   | Completed FGD Installation (Units & Capacity)   |
|------------|-------------------------------------------------|
| A          | 11 nos. (4,390 MW)                              |

| B     | 2 nos. (1,160 MW)   |
|-------|---------------------|
| C     | 26 nos. (13,880 MW) |
| Total | 39 nos. (19,430 MW) |

(c) : Some thermal power plants have faced delays in installation of FGD. Major issues/challenges  being  faced  during  the  implementation  of  FGD  system  in thermal power plants are as below: i. FGD technology being new to our country, at present there are limited vendors with limited capacity to supply and install FGD components. Vendors' capacity for FGD installation is about 16-20 GW (33 to 39 units) in the country and time taken for installation is about 44 to 48 months. A sudden surge of demand has arisen, as all thermal generating units are to comply with SO2 emission  norms  within  a  short  period  which  created  huge  gap  between demand and supply of FGD equipment. ii. India  had  manufacturing  capability  of  70%  FGD  components  which has now increased to 80% with the passage of time. However, it still depends on  the  imports  from  other  countries.  Further,  a  huge  foreign  exchange  for importing technology, equipment and skilled manpower from other countries is also required. iii. The installation of FGD systems has also faced difficulties in terms of conceptualization, design challenges etc. Standardization could not be done as different sites have different requirements like space constraints, lay-out and orientation etc. To address the above issues, vendors have been encouraged to enhance their capacity and to maximize the indigenous production of all FGD parts in order to reduce the import dependence. (d) & (e) : As  per  MoEF&CC  Notification  dated  05.09.2022,  the  time  limits  for implementation  of  the  SO2  emission  norms  by  category  A,  B  and  C  (based  on plant's location) coal-fired thermal power plants are December 2024, December 2025 and December 2026 respectively. The coal-fired thermal power plants are required to comply with the SO2 emission norms within these stipulated timelines, failing which environmental compensation for non-compliance with SO2 emission norms shall be imposed on the thermal power plants accordingly.

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