FGD installation can cut SO2 emissions by 67% at power plants in NCR: Study

Installing the flue-gas desulfurisation (FGD) technology in 12 coal-based thermal power plants within a 300-km radius of Delhi could lead to a dramatic 67 per cent reduction in sulphur dioxide (SO2) emissions, a new study has found.

The study conducted by the Centre for Research on Energy and Clean Air (CREA) said there are 11 coal-based thermal power plants within a 300-km radius of Delhi -- Dadri TPP, Guru Hargobind TPS, Harduaganj TPS, Indira Gandhi STPP, Mahatma Gandhi TPS, Panipat TPS, Rajiv Gandhi TPS, Rajpura TPP, Ropar TPS, Talwandi Sabo TPP and Yamuna Nagar TPS.

Additionally, the Goindwal Sahib power plant, located just outside this 300-km radius in Punjab, is also considered when making decisions about thermal power plants around Delhi.

Between June 2022 and May 2023, these plants released 281 kilotonnes of SO2?? into the atmosphere. However, with the integration of the FGD technology, this figure could be reduced to just 93 kilotonnes annually, the study said.

Despite a 2015 directive from the government to install the technology, only two plants -- the ?Mahatma Gandhi Thermal Power Station in Haryana and the Dadri Thermal Power Plant in Uttar Pradesh -- have made progress, with the Haryana plant fully equipped, the study noted.

The remaining plants have missed several deadlines for FGD installation.

The initial deadline was set for December 2017, followed by extensions in December 2019, March 2021 and December 2022. The most recent deadlines are December 2024 for four plants and December 2026 for the remaining one, the study pointed out.

The CREA report suggests that three power plants -- Talwandi Sabo (Punjab), Rajpura (Punjab) and Panipat (Haryana) -- which emit 48 kilotonnes, 35 kilotonnes and 40 kilotonnes of SO2?? annually -- could see the largest reductions in emissions.

Once the FGD technology is in place, these plants could cut their emissions by up to 83 per cent, reducing their annual output to just eight kilotonnes, six kilotonnes and seven kilotonnes respectively.

The analysis has also compared the impact of thermal power plant emissions with that of stubble burning and found that the annual SO2?? emissions from the National Capital Region's (NCR) thermal plants are 16 times higher than those caused by burning 8.9 million tonnes of paddy straw.

"Thermal plants emit 281 kilotonnes of SO2?? each year, compared to 17.8 kilotonnes from stubble burning," the report said. However, while stubble burning is not a significant contributor to SO2??, it does release greater quantities of particulate matter (PM2.5) and carbon dioxide (CO2), the study added.

The Union government had instructed all coal-based thermal power plants in the NCR to install the FGD technology by 2017 as part of efforts to curb SO2?? emissions. However, the slow pace of implementation has raised concerns about the effectiveness of these regulations.

Delhi's air quality worsened further on Sunday, with an AQI of 441, making it the second-most polluted city in the country.

The city's 24-hour Air Quality Index (AQI), recorded at 4 pm daily, stood at 441. On Saturday, the AQI was 417.