BHEL commissions 800 MW supercritical coal unit in Karnataka

The Raichur plant

Bharat Heavy Electricals Limited (BHEL) commissioned an 800 MW coal-based supercritical thermal unit at the  Yeramarus Thermal Power Station located in Raichur district of Karnataka, the heavy equipment maker said.

The plant is a joint venture between BHEL and Karnataka Power Corporation Limited and now has a capacity of 1600 MW.

With this, BHEL has supplied and executed 4,810 MW of coal-based sets for KPCL and its JVs. This accounts for about 96% of the installed coal-based capacity in the state, the company said.

The company is also presently executing KPCL’s first gas-based combined cycle power project of 370 MW capacity involving a fuel-efficient advanced-class gas turbine at Yelahanka.

SuperCritical coal plants are more efficient than traditional coal plants and run at higher capacities.

BHEL has orders for 48 sets of SuperCritical boilers and 41 sets of Supercritical turbine generators placed by various utilities, and this, the company said, is the highest in the country for any power equipment manufacturer.

Of the contracted sets, BHEL has already commissioned 13 supercritical Steam Generators and 11 supercritical Steam Turbine Generators in the country. The orders include Orders from Central and State Sectors as Well as Private utilities, it said.

“BHEL continues to prove its prowess as a leading SuperCritical power equipment manufacturer having assimilated state-of the-art supercritical technology, suited to Indian conditions,” the government-controlled company said.

BHEL’s scope of work for the project envisaged design, engineering, manufacture, supply, erection and commissioning of state-of-the-art supercritical Boiler and Turbine Generators along with associated civil works and some of the Balance of Plant (BoP) packages, the company said.

The equipment for the project has been manufactured by BHEL at its Haridwar, Trichy, Bhopal, Ranipet, Hyderabad, Jhansi and Bengaluru plants, while the construction of the plant has been undertaken by the company’s Power Sector – Southern Region.