BHEL begins work on Bawana power plant next month
Indian state-owned engineering firm Bharat Heavy Electricals (BHEL) will start work on September 1 to build a 1500-MW gas fired power plant at Bawana to the north of Delhi, which could start initial operations by the end of 2009.
The new plant, a ray of light for Delhi residents plagued by frequent power cuts, is also a key part of the city’s efforts to prepare for the 2010 Commonwealth Games. “Work on the boundary wall will start at the site on September 1,†a source overseeing the project tells PETROWATCH.
BHEL, we hear, plans to assess soil quality at the site “in the next few days†and “civil design†is also underway. Under its â€کturnkey’ contract, BHEL will have responsibility for equipment manufacture, material supplies, construction, and final commissioning of the plant.
“BHEL has started ordering turbines and other equipment,†we hear. “They will make some themselves, outsource some and even import equipment from abroad if needed.
†Delhi’s state-owned Pragati Power, the intended operator of the plant, has set aside 98 acres of land to BHEL for the project. The installed capacity of the power plant will be 1500-MW, but average power generated is expected at 1378-MW because turbine operation ratios differ between seasons.
“In winter a 250-MW gas turbine can generate power at full capacity and in summer the same turbine will give 210-MW,†our source says of Bawana’s six turbines. “Four turbines will be gas fired and two turbines will be steam.
†The gas turbines will generate 220-MW of power each and (two) steam turbines will generate 248-MW each by harnessing waste heat from the gas turbines. “Exhaust from your car gets into the atmosphere.
I am using the similar exhaust from gas turbines to generate power.†The turbines will come on line separately with the first 250-MW unit by December 2009 and the remaining five every two months after.
“By October 2010,†we hear, “all the turbines will be generating power.â€
