Bharat Heavy Electricals (BHEL) has successfully commissioned the first Lignite based 500 MW thermal unit of the 2×500 MW Neyveli New Thermal Power Project in Tamil Nadu.
Significantly, this is the country’s first lignite-fired 500 MW power plant. Also, it is the highest rating pulverised lignite-fired thermal unit commissioned in the country so far. The plant is based on Once-Through and Tower Type Boiler design, which has been adopted for the first time in the country for a lignite-based thermal unit.
Located in Cuddalore district of Tamil Nadu, the project is owned by NLC India Limited (NLCIL).The second unit of the project is also in an advanced stage of commissioning.
The order for Boiler, Turbine & Generator (BTG) package for two units of 500 MW Lignite based thermal plant at Neyveli was placed on BHEL by NLCIL. BHEL’s scope of work in the project envisaged design, engineering, manufacture, supply, erection, testing & commissioning along with associated civil works of Boiler, Turbine & Generator (BTG) & associated auxiliaries along with Electricals, besides state-of-the-art Controls & Instrumentation (C&I) and Electrostatic Precipitators (ESPs).
The key equipment for the project has been manufactured by BHEL at its Haridwar, Trichy, Hyderabad, Ranipet, Bhopal and Bengaluru works, while the construction of the plant was undertaken by the company’s Power Sector -Southern Region, Chennai.
BHEL has established its engineering prowess in the past through successful delivery of higher rated units of 600 MW, 660 MW, 700 MW and 800 MW thermal sets with a high degree of indigenization. BHEL’s strength of an installed base of over 1,85,000 MW of power plant equipment globally, coupled with its vast experience with Indian coal and conditions makes it an ideal choice of utilities in the country.