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Deadline Extension for Emissions
The Ministry of Environment, Forests and Climate Change (MoEF&CC) recently extended by two years the deadline for coal-fired power stations to install sulphur emission-reduction equipment.
The Ministry had already extended the deadline for installing pollution control measures twice before.
India's government announced a two-year extension to the deadline for coal-fired power stations to install sulphur emission-reduction equipment.
Flue gas desulphurization is the process of removing sulphur compounds from the exhaust emissions of fossil fuel (coal-fired) power plants (FGD).
This is done by including absorbent materials, which can scrub out up to 95% of the sulphur from the flue gas.
The Ministry specified three distinct deadlines in the notification for the installation of pollution-control technology at three different types of thermal power plants.
The deadline has been extended from December 20, 2022 to December 31, 2024 for power plants within a 10 km radius of Delhi-NCR and cities with populations of one million or more (Category A).
The deadline has been pushed out to December 31, 2025 for power plants (Category B) that are within a 10 km radius of seriously polluted cities. Originally, it was set for December 31, 2023.
The new deadline for all other power plants in the nation (Category C) is December 31, 2026. Previous deadlines for these plants were December 31, 2024.
The notification also extends the deadline for retiring units—defined as power plants with an age of 25 or more—to 2027 and for non-retiring units to 2026.
In 2015, the environment ministry established new emission standards and set deadlines for achieving them.
The deadlines have been extended three times since then.
The Central Pollution Control Board formed a task team (CPCB). Its stated duties included classifying India's current thermal power plants and setting a timetable for each group of plants to comply with the new emission standards.
Based on their locations, the task force suggested classifying power plants into three groups.
Based on a modification to The Environment (Protection) Act of 1986, the classification of power plants was completed in April 2021.
Currently, about 60% of India's installed power producing capacity comes from thermal power.
It is created by burning fossil fuels, such as gas, coal, and others.
It has been the focal point of India's energy ecology for many years, in large part because it is India's most readily available and least expensive natural resource.
The estimated lifespan of India's coal reserves is 100 years, compared to around 50 years for gas and about 16 years for oil.
According to an expert panel established by NITI Aayog, India's coal-based power generation capacity will increase from its current level of about 202 gigawatts to 250 gigawatts by 2030.
Burning coal produces a number of major emissions. These consist of:
Sulfur dioxide (SO2), which causes respiratory diseases and acid rain
Nitrogen oxides (NOx), which cause respiratory diseases and smog
Particulates that cause lung sickness, respiratory diseases, fog, and haze
Burning fossil fuels releases the main greenhouse gas, carbon dioxide (CO2) (coal, oil, and natural gas)
Mercury and other heavy metals have been associated with developmental and neurological harm in both humans and other animals.
Power stations produce bottom ash and fly ash as byproducts of burning coal.
The deadline extensions have alarmed environmentalists because they may jeopardise India's carbon ambitions.
They contend that if the government repeatedly grants violators a pass, the 20–30% air pollution reduction goal set forth in India's National Clean Air Programme will never be reached.
Through this extension, the Central Government has made it quite apparent to all power companies that they should not take environmental regulations seriously.
Source: The Hindu