NOTES

Regulating Air Pollution from The power sector in India is conse-

quently dealing with two competing

Coal-Fired Power Plants in India priorities: (a) to provide necessary power

to fuel a growing economy, and (b) to re-
duce the environmental and social costs
of providing this power.
Sarath Guttikunda, Puja Jawahar, Debi Goenka In this article, we draw attention (or
lack thereof) towards addressing the

T
Coal remains the main fossil he Indian economy is the third environmental costs of electricity gene-
fuel for power generation in largest in the world at $4.7 trillion ration, assess the air-pollution-related
(purchasing power parity, PPP at health impacts of emissions from coal-
India. The health impacts of air
2012 estimates) spurred by growth fired power plants, and an analysis of
pollution from these coal-fired across manufacturing, construction, the current environmental regulatory
power plants include numerous and service sectors. Not coincidentally, framework for coal-fired power plants
premature deaths and frequent it is also the fourth largest consumer of in India.
electricity in the world. The demand for
asthma attacks. In the future, Coal-Fired Power Plants
electricity from a growing economy of
the amount of power generated this scale is huge – peak demand was ap- India has the fifth largest electricity gen-
from coal will remain high, at proximately 122 gigawatts (GW) of power eration sector in the world at 210 GW in
least through 2030, and unless we in 2011. Peak supply (at 110 GW) could 2012. In the Twelfth and Thirteenth Five-
barely keep up with peak demand in Year Plans, additional capacity of 76 GW
find a better way to manage these
2011. The gap between the supply and and 93 GW are planned (Prayas 2013). Of
power plants, the environmental demand for electricity is crucial to the total electricity generated, thermal
effects of growing air pollution, understand the power sector in India. power plants (gas and coal) account for
greenhouse gas emissions In India a third of the population in 66%, hydroelectricity for 19%, and the
rural areas does not have access to elec- remaining 15% from other sources in-
and the cost to human health
tricity and those areas on the grid are cluding natural gas and nuclear energy.
will all be high. not assured of uninterrupted supply. The We used the list of thermal power
blackout in July 2012, that paralysed plants documented by the Central Elec-
600 million people in 22 states in the tricity Authority (CEA) as a starting point
northern, eastern, and north-eastern to build our database of operational
India, is testament to how tenuous the coal-fired power plants in the country
power situation is in the country. Ac- (CEA 2011, 2012). We updated this data-
cording to the Northern Regional Load base for 2011-12 representing a total
Dispatch Centre, Uttar Pradesh, Punjab, generation capacity of 121 GW. We also
and Haryana were responsible for over- include in the database geographical
draw that led to tripping in the transmis- location in latitude and longitude, the
sion lines, and resulted in a shortage of number of boiler units and size of all
over 32 GW on 30-31 July 2013 and a known power plants operated by both
blackout for three days. While this was public and private entities. The power
the major episode that drew attention to plant characteristics by state are present-
the grid, there are frequent power cuts ed in Table 1 (p 63). The geographical dis-
in most parts of the country. In the ur- tribution of the coal-fired power plants in
ban sector, these cuts are severe in the India is presented in Figure 1 (p 63).
winter and summer months, when heat- • The Korba cluster (Chhattisgarh) has a
ers or air conditioners are in full service. combined generation capacity of 4,380
These needs are usually supplemented megawatt (MW) between four power
by in situ large, medium, and small die- plants located within a 10 km radius.
sel generator sets at hotels, hospitals, Major cities in the Korba region are
Sarath Guttikunda (sguttikunda@gmail.com)
is at the Indian Institute of Technology, New malls, markets, large institutions, apart- Ranchi, Jamshedpur, Rourkela, Jabal-
Delhi, Puja Jawahar (puja@urbanemissions. ment complexes, cinemas, and farm- pur, Nagpur, and the capital Raipur.
info) is with UrbanEmissions.Info, New Delhi houses and these form an additional • The Jhajjar cluster (Haryana) has a
and Debi Goenka (debi1@cat.org.in) is with source of air pollution to the already combined generation capacity of 2,700
Conservation Action Trust, Mumbai.
deteriorating quality of air in cities. MW between two power plants within
62 january 3, 2015 vol l no 1 EPW Economic & Political Weekly
 NOTES

the radius of 10 km, with an additional (VOCs) and 665 million tonnes of carbon emissions was carried out via state-of-
power plant with 1,000 MW under con- dioxide (CO2). the-art dispersion modelling system
struction. Delhi is 70 km from the These emissions resulted in an esti- (CAMx) and the use of health risk coeffi-
J hajjar cluster. mated 80,000 to 1,15,000 premature cients established by epidemiological
studies (Guttikunda and Jawahar 2013).
Table 1: Summary of Annual Coal Consumption at the Power Plants in India in 2011-12
State Number of Plants MW Coal (Million Tonnes) kg coal/kWh 2006-07 Installed Units <210 MW (%) We believe that the health impacts dis-
Andhra Pradesh 8 10,523 47.4 0.72 65 cussed here is an underestimation, and
Bihar 3 2,870 10.2 0.94 77 does not include the impacts of the wa-
Chhattisgarh 8 9,480 44.5 0.72 39 ter run-off and soil contamination due to
Delhi 2 840 4.8 0.77 100 the release of heavy metals like zinc,
Gujarat 11 14,710 55.9 0.65 69 copper, manganese, cobalt, cadmium,
Haryana 5 5,860 23.9 0.70 35 selenium, mercury, arsenic, iron, lead,
Jharkhand 6 4,548 12.0 0.75 86 and chromium.
Karnataka 5 3,680 14.6 0.69 64 The particulate matter (PM) pollution
Madhya Pradesh 4 6,703 33.1 0.79 79 from coal-fired power plants (presented
Maharashtra 13 17,560 71.5 0.73 51
in Figure 2, p 64) in central India cover-
Odisha 8 8,943 40.7 0.73 76
ing Madhya Pradesh, Jharkhand, Odisha,
Punjab 3 2,620 13.2 0.66 82
and Chhattisgarh, is the highest due to
Rajasthan 4 3,490 13.2 0.67 44
the density of the power plants in the re-
Tamil Nadu 8 6,210 25.8 0.72 95
Uttar Pradesh 11 11,997 56.0 0.80 86
gion and higher installed generation ca-
West Bengal 12 10,695 36.1 0.69 75
pacity because of its proximity to coal
Total 111 1,20,727 503 0.73±0.10 70 mines. The Delhi-Haryana region with
the highest population density, with
• The Mundra cluster (Gujarat) has a deaths and more than 20 million asthma more than 21.5 million inhabitants in
combined generation capacity of 9,620 cases from exposure to total PM2.5 pollu- Delhi and its satellite cities, also experi-
MW from two private sector power plants tion, which cost the public and the gov- ences substantial PM pollution from
located within a 5 km radius. Major cities ernment an estimated Rs 16,000 crore to coal-fired power plants.
in the Mundra region are Jamnagar (ma- Rs 23,000 crore ($3.2 to $4.6 billion). The coastal regions experience the
jor industrial port), Rajkot, and Ahmeda- The health impacts analysis of these least of the PM pollution due to strong
bad (300 km away, with two local power Figure 1: Geographical Location of the Operational Coal-based Public and Private Power Plants in
plants of 1,000 MW). India in 2012
• The Mumbai cluster (Maharashtra)
<1,000 MW
has one coal-based power plant in Trom-
1,000-2,000 MW
bay and multiple gas-powered plants.
35 > 2,000 MW
This data was gathered from websites State Names
AP=Andhra Pradesh; MH=Maharashtra;
and annual reports of the state electricity GJ=Gujarat; BH=Bihar; OR=Odisha
boards for public1 and private sectors.2 MP=Madhy Pradesh; HR=Haryana
UP=Uttar Pradesh; WB=West Bengal;
30 CH=Chhattisgarh; JH=Jharkhand
Emissions and Health Impacts
Air pollution is a complex mixture of pol-
lutants with sources ranging from fossil
Latitude (degrees)

25
fuel burning in transportation, power gen-
eration, industries, and domestic sectors
to natural sources such as dust storms and
forest fires. In this study, our objective was 20
to isolate the health impacts of the emis-
sions from the coal-fired power plants. In
2011, we estimated that the 111 coal-fired
15
power plants consumed 503 million Arabian Sea
Bay of Bengal

tonnes of coal in total – emitting 580 kilo-

tonnes particulates with diameter less Andaman Sea
than 2.5 micrometres (PM2.5), 2,100 kilo- 10
tonnes of sulphur dioxides (SO2), 2,000
kilotonnes of nitrogen oxides (NOx), 1,100 Indian Ocean

kilotonnes of carbon monoxide (CO), 100 70 75 80 85 90 95

kilotonnes of volatile organic compounds Longitude (degrees)

Economic & Political Weekly EPW january 3, 2015 vol l no 1 63

NOTES
Figure 2a: Modelled Annual Average Ambient PM2.5 Concentrations Figure 2b: Per Cent Contribution of Coal-Fired Power Plants to Annual
due to the Emissions from Coal-Fired Thermal Power Plants in India Average Ambient PM2.5 Concentrations in India

Annual % power plant pollution

PM2.5 PM2.5
Ug/m3 %
35 35

30 30 50
8

40
25 6 25
30
4
20 20
20

2
10
15 15 Bay of Bengal
Arabian Sea Bay of Bengal Arabian Sea
0 0
Andaman Sea Andaman Sea
10 10

Indian Ocean Indian Ocean

70 75 80 85 90 95 70 75 80 85 90 95
(Based on Satellite Measurements – van Donkelaar et al 2010).

land-sea breezes, with much of the source region. The plumes travel long plants. Only after standards are set and
pollution dispersed over the seas. While distances, while the pollution levels get regulations mandated at the plant
the air pollution from these coastal pow- diluted, these receptor points still expe- level, can we proceed to the next steps
er plants is diluted over the seas for some rience an increase in the ambient con- of monitoring and enforcing policy, so
months, they are equally threatening to centration and also an increase in the as to have lesser environment and
water and soil quality, due to pollution morbidity and mortality risks. Impacts health impact due to coal-fired power
from coal washeries and ash dumps. Till also include deposition of heavy metals, plants. For particulate matter emis-
date the inland power plants are still the sulphur oxides, and ozone on agricul- sions, the emission standard in India
majority in the country and a serious tural land. lags to those implemented in China,
threat to human health and other envi- Australia, the United States (US), and
ronmental concerns. Environmental Regulations the European Union (EU) (Table 2). For
While the impact of the emissions is Despite the volume of coal use in the other key pollutants, there are no pre-
felt within 200 km of the power plants, power generation sector and the corre- scribed emission standards despite the
under windy conditions the influence sponding emissions and health im- fact that India is a relatively dense
can be tracked to distances as far as 400 pacts, there are very few regulations in country and several power plants are
km from the source region. The animat- place to address the environmental and close to residential areas.
ed forward trajectories3 illustrate that health costs of coal. Till date, pollution All the stack emissions at the power
the emissions from these high stacks standards only exist for ambient air plants are monitored and regulated as
affects regions and people far from the quality and not for individual power concentrations only and not in terms of
Table 2: Summary of Emission Standards for Coal-Fired Power Plants
Country PM SO2 NO2 Mercury
Indiaa 350 mg/Nm3 for <210 MW None None None
150 mg/Nm3 for >210 MW
Chinab 30 mg/Nm3 (proposed all) 100 mg/Nm3 for new 100 mg/Nm3 None
20 mg/Nm3 for key regions 200 mg/Nm3 for old
50 mg/Nm3 for key regions
Australiac 100 mg/Nm3 for 1997-2005 None 800 mg/Nm3 for 1997-2005 In discussion based on
50 mg/Nm3 after 2005 500 mg/Nm3 after 2005 the US standards
European Unionc Pre-2003 Pre-2003 Pre-2003 In discussion
100 mg/Nm3 for <500 MW Scaled for <500 MW 600 mg/Nm3 for <500 MW
50 mg/Nm3 for >500 MW Post 2003 400 mg/Nm3 for >500 MW Post 2003 500 mg/Nm3 for >500 MW Post 2003
50 mg/Nm3 for <100 MW 850 mg/Nm3 for <100 MW 400 mg/Nm3 for <100 MW
30 mg/Nm3 for >100 MW 200 mg/Nm3 for >100 MW 200 mg/Nm3 for >100 MW
USc, d 6.4 gm/GJ 640 gm/MWh 720 gm/MWh for old 0.08 gm/MWh for lignite
450 gm/MWh for new 0.01 gm/MWh for IGCC
a – from Central Pollution Control Board (India) (http://cpcb.nic.in/Industry_Specific_Standards.php). Last accessed 17 February 2013. Besides PM, only national ambient standards exist.
b – from standards information in Chinese (http://www.zhb.gov.cn/gkml/hbb/qt/201109/t20110921_217526.htm). Last accessed 17 February 2013. Prior to 2011, the standards were
based on commissioning year (before 1996, 1997 to 2004, and after 2004) .
c – Power stations emissions handbook (http://www.ccsd.biz/PSE_Handbook). Last accessed 17 February 2013.
d – in official units; for mercury this is based on 12 month rolling average.

64 january 3, 2015 vol l no 1 EPW Economic & Political Weekly

 NOTES

total emissions per plant. For example, heavy metals such as arsenic, lead, cad- use 100%-ash-based bricks, blocks, and
for PM, the plants with generation mium, mercury, copper, and zinc, which tiles. Till date the percentage of ash uti-
capacity more than 210 MW, the concen- not only contributes to potential health lised in the construction industry is low.
tration limit in the flue gas is 150 mg/ hazard than the bottom ash (Finkelman The ambient PM2.5 concentrations pre-
Nm3 and for the plants with generation 2007), but also increases the resistivity sented in Figure 2 includes two fractions
capacity of less than 210 MW, the limit is and reduces the ESPs collection efficien- – primary PM emissions, which is a re-
300 mg/Nm3. These limits are much cy to as low as 98%. Reddy et al (2005) sult of the ash content in the coal and the
higher than those currently practiced in measured the chemical composition of secondary PM, which is a result of chem-
Australia, China, US, and EU. The limit the bottom ash, fly ash, and flue gas ical reactions converting SO2 and NOx
for the smaller plants can be reverted to from a coal-fired power plant in the emissions to particulate forms of
150 mg/Nm3, if they are located in an western India and estimated 1%-7% of sulphates and nitrates. We estimate the
urban, ecologically sensitive, and other zinc, 2%-7% of copper, 5%-8% of man- secondary PM pollution accounts for
critically polluted areas – which is at the ganese, 7%-10% of cobalt, 12%-18% of 30%-60% of the total ambient PM2.5
discretion of Ministry of Environment cadmium, 60%-70% of selenium, 70%-80% pollution from the power plants. While
and Forests (MOEF). A break-up in the
Figure 3: Simplified Schematics of Coal-Fired Power Plant Operations
emissions regulation at 210 MW also led
Boiler Steam Turbine
to installation of smaller boilers at most Generator
Electricity
of the power plants (Table 1). Approxi-
mately 70% of the operational units in
Coal
the country are of the size less than or Condenser
equal to 210 MW and these units tend to Flue Gas
have the worst net efficiency and plant
load factor. The newer plants are mostly
500 MW or higher with the best net effi-
ciency of more than 33% (CEA 2012). ESP
Particulate
Hence, efficiency improvement of exist- Removal Cooling Tower
ing, older power plants and tightening of
Flue Gas
emission standards for all sizes should Recycle
become a critical component for reduc-
FGD
ing coal consumption and atmospheric
emissions. Differential emission regula- Fly-Ash
tions also tend to result in use of control
equipment with low efficiency and high- Sulphur Removal
er emissions.
Particulate matter is the only pollut- of mercury, and traces of arsenic, iron, most of the power plants operate ESPs to
ant for which any pollution controls are lead, and chromium contained in the control the dust emissions, only a hand-
widely used in India. A schematic of a coal was emitted in the flue gas. Similar ful a power plants operated flue gas des-
coal-fired power plant is presented in levels of entrainment were reported in ulfurisation (FGD) units, which are ef-
Figure 3 that shows flue gas from the an estimate of total trace metal emis- fective in controlling the SO2 and NOx
boilers at high temperature and velocity sions from coal-fired power plants in emissions. Among those to be commis-
passing through heat exchangers to China (Chen et al 2013). sioned through 2020, only seven power
recycle the residual energy. This then Besides flue gas PM emissions, fugitive plants are listed to have FGD (Prayas
enters the particulate control equipment dust from coal-handling plants and ash 2011). The FGD systems could range from
(electro-static precipitators (ESPs), and ponds (after disposal from the plants) is in furnace control via limestone injec-
cyclone bag filters) for removal of en- a problem. According to CEA, after the tion, wet scrubbing of flue gas (Figure 3)
trained ash. ESPs are installed in all coal- combustion and application of control and is known to further aide in removal
fired power plants. As removal efficien- equipment, ash collection at the power of PM. In India, there are no mandated
cies at ESPs are higher for coarse parti- plants ranged 70%-80% of the total ash in emission standards for SO2 and only the
cles, most of the PM dispersing from the the coal. It is assumed that the remaining stack heights are mandated assuming
top of the stack is in the size range of ash is dispersed from the stacks. In 2003, that the emissions will disperse to far-
respirable PM (10 mm or less). Lu, Wu an amendment notification from the ther distances, diluting the plume con-
and Pan (2010) measured fractions of MOEF mandated 25% bottom ash in all centrations. For example, MOEF requires
50-60% PM2.5 and 90-95% PM10 in the brick kilns within a 100 km radius of any all power plants with generation capaci-
total filterable PM in the flue gas at a 660 coal-based thermal power plant and all ty more than 500 MW to build a stack of
MW power plant. The PM in the flue gas building construction within 100 km for 275 m; those between 210 MW and 500
also contains high concentrations of any coal-based thermal power plant to MW to build a stack of 220 m; and those
Economic & Political Weekly EPW january 3, 2015 vol l no 1 65
NOTES

with less than 210 MW to build a stack that reduce pollution would seem to rep- power plants should be subject to tighter
based on the estimated SO2 emissions resent a simple solution. However, pow- emission standards based on those
using a thumb rule of height = 14*(Q)0.3, er plant regulation has thus far lagged found in emerging economies (like Chi-
where Q is the estimated SO2 emissions far behind other emerging economies na) and developed economies (like EU,
rate in kg/h. The stack heights for old and power plants by themselves have no Australia, and the US).
and new power plants ranged between incentive to improve pollution control. The stack emissions being point
150 m and 275 m. Combined with a strong demand for reli- sources, are limited in number, and can
Despite an estimated 30% of the total able electricity and lack of supply it is be monitored relatively easily as com-
NOx emissions in India originating from doubtful that pollution will be control- pared to non-point sources (such as
power generation (Garg et al 2006), cur- led in the absence of strong regulation vehicles, garbage burning, domestic
rently, there are no regulations to con- and enforcement. burning, and fugitive dust). Some of the
trol these emissions for coal-fired power Of all the operational coal-fired power larger power plants are now equipped
plants. Some of the new installations plants in the country, 70% are of the size with continuous monitors for the criteria
and extensions are equipped with low- less than or equal to 210 MW and these pollutants. However, this information is
NOx burners, with little details on their units tend to have the worst net efficien- not available in the public domain,
operational performance (Chikkatur et cy and plant load factor. We believe that either for analysis or for scrutiny of
al 2011). a bifurcated environmental standard for emission loads. This adds to the uncer-
PM emissions led to this different sizes of tainty of the estimates, for analysing the
Regulating for Cleaner Power power generation units. For example, impacts of the emissions, understanding
Coal remains the main fossil fuel for the Kolghat power plant in West Bengal the contribution loads, and for planning.
power generation in India. Supplies of has six units of 210 MW and the Raichur If the emission standards need strength-
other fuel sources such as naphtha and power plant in Karnataka state has ening or new policies to be introduced
natural gas are not stable and need to be seven units of 210 MW, each with a total for clean power and clean environment,
imported, which led to their lesser generation capacity of more than 1,000 the information dissemination should be
growth in this sector. Unlike pollution MW, are allowed to adhere to the lower more open, otherwise, the enforcement
from the transport or domestic sector, emission standard, only because the in- of the limited standards that do exist is
pollution from power plants is a point dividual boiler size is less than or equal nearly non-existent.
source. This means that there are a finite to 210 MW. The efficiency improvement From the power plants, we estimate
and known number of units from where of existing older power plants and tight- 30-60% of the PM pollution is secondary
pollution is released and thus can be ening of emission standards for all sizes in nature, with the most coming from
controlled better. Moreover, with a ma- should become a starting point to reduce chemical conversion of SO2 emissions.
jority of the power plants run by the coal consumption and atmospheric Since a majority of the power plants in
public sector, mandating technologies emissions. Going forward, coal-fired the country do not operate a dedicated

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66 january 3, 2015 vol l no 1 EPW Economic & Political Weekly

 NOTES

FGD system, most of the SO2 from coal particulates more stringent and intro- Chen, J, G Liu, Y Kang, B Wu, R Sun, C Zhou and
D Wu (2013): “Atmospheric Emissions of F, As,
combustion is emitted and ends up in re- duce new emission standards for other Se, Hg, and Sb from Coal-fired Power and Heat
spirable PM fraction, resulting in more pollutants, Generation in China”, Chemosphere, Vol 90,
No 6, pp 1925-32.
health impacts. In the environmental • enforce the standards by revising the
Chikkatur, A P, A Chaudhary and A D Sagar (2011):
impact assessment studies, required be- current environment impact assessment “Coal Power Impacts, Technology, and Policy:
fore the commissioning of a power plant, procedures, which do not factor human Connecting the Dots”, Annual Review of Envi-
ronment and Resources, Vol 36, pp 101-38.
a provision for an FGD for all power health as a primary indicator, Finkelman, R B (2007): “Health Impacts of Coal:
plants is discussed for future years, but • make the implementation of FGD for Facts and Fallacies”, AMBIO: A Journal of the
Human Environment, Vol 36, No 1, pp 103-06.
not yet mandated. We believe that FGD reduction in emissions of multiple pol- Garg, A, P R Shukla and M Kapshe (2006): “The
technology should become mandatory lutants, Sectoral Trends of Multigas Emissions Invento-
ry of India”, Atmospheric Environment, Vol 40,
for all new power plants and a provision • introduce continuous monitoring at No 24, pp 4608-20.
should be introduced to implement the the plant stacks, such that the data is in Guttikunda, S K and P Jawahar (2013): “Coal Based
same for the larger and older power the public domain in real time. Thermal Power Plants in India – An Assess-
ment of Atmospheric Emissions, Particulate
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combined benefits of an FGD in conjunc- Notes sions.Info, New Delhi, India.
IEA (2012): World Energy Outlook 2012, Inter-
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Thermal Power Corporation; Indraprastha Pow-
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related health impacts, but also a reduc- Uttar Pradesh Rajya Vidyut Utpadan Nigam; Gu- informatics and Biomedical Engineering
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ricultural lands. garh State Power Generation Company; Mahar- Consequences of Inaction, Organisation for Eco-
As part of environment impact assess- ashtra State Electricity Board; Andhra Pradesh nomic Co-operation and Development, Paris,
Power Generation Corporation; Karnataka Pow- France.
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of power plants should include influenc- The West Bengal Power Development Corpora- Implications and Need for Rationalisation,
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200 km. Since, the size of power plants 2 The private sector entities include – Jindal Facing India’s Coal Sector, Pune: Prayas Energy
is expected to increase in the coming Power; CPL India; Azure India; Adani Power; Group.
Reliance Power; and Tata Power. Reddy, M S, S Basha, H V Joshi and B Jha (2005):
decades, with the mandated stack 3 Available at http://www.urbanemissions.info “Evaluation of the Emission Characteristics of
heights of 275 m, the emissions can be Trace Metals from Coal and Fuel Oil Fired Pow-
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expected to travel and influence areas References Journal of Hazardous Materials, Vol 123, No 1-3,
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India, New Delhi. “Global Estimates of Ambient Fine Particulate
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er, keeping in mind that health impacts
of the emissions from power plants in In-
dia can be severe. An environmental out-
look study concluded that a least-cost EPW 5-Year CD-ROM 2004-08 on a Single Disk
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