The Union Environment Ministry ought to roll back its 2015 coverage mandating all of India’s 537 coal-fired vegetation to put in a category of kit referred to as Flue Gas Desulphurisation (FGD) in order to cut back sulphur dioxide (SO2) emissions. Instead, it ought to solely apply to these vegetation utilizing imported coal or excessive (>0.5%) sulphur coal, a study commissioned by the Office of the Principal Scientific Adviser, and executed by the National Institute of Advanced Studies (NIAS), Bengaluru, has discovered.
Although coal-fired vegetation have been to have put in FGD by 2018, solely 8% of the vegetation have put in the gear after the Environment Ministry prolonged deadlines. As of now, compliance has been pushed to 2027, 2028, and 2029, respectively, relying on the class of the thermal energy plant.
Currently, 230 thermal energy vegetation are in numerous phases of putting in FGD, and 260 haven’t but positioned an order. It is estimated, in keeping with the Central Electricity Authority, that FGD prices ₹1.2 crore per MW to put in. India has an put in coal capability of 218,000 MW, which is predicted to rise to 283,000 GW by 2032.
The rationale underlying the NIAS evaluation is that 92% of the coal utilized in Indian vegetation has low sulphur content material (0.3%-0.5%). Norms mandated by the Central Pollution Control Board requiring that the stack heights (exhaust columns) within the thermal energy vegetation be a minimal 220 metres, coupled with “Indian climatic conditions”, ensured that SO2 emissions didn’t threaten native air high quality. A study by the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT)-Delhi in 2024, which the NIAS study references, discovered that ‘acid rain’, essentially the most seen consequence of excessive SO2 emissions, “was not a significant issue” in India.
Moreover, putting in FGD in all vegetation would enhance energy consumption in addition to freshwater consumption within the vegetation, leading to a further 69 million tonnes of CO2 (2025-30), whereas decreasing SO2 emissions by 17 million tonnes. The study argues for SO2 emissions, citing an Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change evaluation as having “masked” world warming by 0.5C from 2010-2019 relative to 1850-1900. “Therefore, adding more long-lived CO2 emissions while removing short-lived SO2 emissions by installing FGDs indiscriminately in all TPP in India despite the low sulphur content of Indian coal will enhance global warming,” the NIAS study underlines. The report was authored by R. Srikanth, A.V. Krishnan, and Dizna James, on the NIAS.
The study recommends that as a substitute of SO2, efforts be made to deal with particulate matter (PM) air pollution that consequence from these vegetation, notably due to the excessive ash content material of Indian coal. Installing electrostatic precipitators developed by Bharat Heavy Electricals Limited, a public sector firm, would price solely ₹25 lakh per MW, in comparison with the ₹1.2 crore from FGD, and cut back PM air pollution by 99%, the study claims. “Controlling PM emissions from TPP [thermal power plants] stacks at this level will make the maximum impact on air pollution from TPPs even without FGD,” the study underlined.
“The Environment Ministry’s policy on the FGD was a mistake, but there is now enough evidence to back it up. It is time that the policy is rolled back,” Dr. Srikanth instructed The Hindu.
The findings of the study have been shared with the Office of the Principal Scientific Adviser in November 2024, Dr. Srikanth mentioned. The Hindu reached out to the Office of the Principal Scientific Adviser for remark however didn’t hear back until the time of going to press.
Published – April 17, 2025 09:13 pm IST
