The shutting down of coal-fired thermal power units at NTPC Dadri since October has also resulted an opportunity lost in generating green power as the units also use agri-waste pellets as fuel, NTPC said in a statement on Sunday.

“NTPC Dadri thermal plant has developed the facility for co-firing of rice stubble agro-waste pellets. More than 8,000 tonnes of agro pellets have been fired in last two years and this has avoided stubble burning in almost 4,000 acres of farmland. The use of agro-waste pellets for power generation at Dadri station is helping farmers financially and also in reducing the carbon footprint of power generation,” the statement said.

“The irony is that all coal units at Dadri are under shutdown and the opportunity for generation of green power from agro-pellets is lost,” it further said.

NTPC said coal fired power plants have often been accused of increased pollution, which may not always be correct. The coal fired units of Dadri are closed since October, but the ambient air quality and Air quality index of the National Capital Region has been deteriorating day by day, it argued

The same units were operational during the lockdown earlier this year with practically no emissions. In fact, when it comes to emissions, Dadri coal units are amongst the cleanest not only in NTPC but the whole country, NTPC claimed.

All the units of NTPC Dadri power station are equipped with state-of-the-art systems to control emissions like ESP for particulate matter, Dry Sorbent Injection, desulfurization system for SOx emission and combustion modification for control of NOx emissions. Continuous Emission Monitoring System and Continuous Ambient Air Quality Monitoring Station are installed for real time monitoring of ambient air quality.

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