Tamil Nadu accounts for about 82% of India’s lignite reserves of 40.9 billion tonne, as per the National Electricity Plan Volume-I: Generation, notified by the Central Electricity Authority (CEA).
The State has lignite reserves of 33,309.53 million tonne, followed by Rajasthan with 4,835.29 million tonne and Gujarat with 2,722.05 million tonne. Jammu and Kashmir accounts for 25.55 million tonne, while Kerala and West Bengal together have 11.44 million tonne, it said.
At present, only a small percentage of the total lignite reserves have been exploited. There is considerable scope for their exploitation and use of lignite in thermal power stations subject to cost-economics, particularly in Tamil Nadu, Rajasthan and Gujarat, which have limitations in transportation of coal, the plan pointed out.
According to the data, of the all-India installed capacity of 3,99,496.61 MW, as on March 31, 2022, lignite accounted for 6,620 MW. As on December 31, 2022, the coal-based and lignite-based installed capacity accounted for 49.66% and 1.61 % respectively.
The National Electricity plan covers a detailed plan for the period 2022-27 and a prospective plan for the period 2027-32. It anticipates 28.74 billion units of gross lignite-based generation by 2026-27 and 28.18 billion units by 2031-32.
Tamil Nadu’s peak power demand is expected to be 21,736 MW by 2026-27 and 28,291 MW by 2031-32, as per the plan. The energy requirement is likely to be 1,44,086 million units by 2026-27 and 1,86,106 million units by 2031-32. The State met an all-time high demand of 19,387 MW and an all-time high daily consumption of 423.785 million units on April 20.
Tamil Nadu Generation and Distribution Corporation Limited’s (Tangedco) has an existing thermal capacity of 4,320 MW. A capacity of 3,440 MW would likely come up during 2022-2032 period, as per the plan. Currently, Tamil Nadu sources 7,170 MW of power as its share from central power generating stations, including NLC India Limited.
Recently, Tamil Nadu’s transmission utility had flagged the issue of frequent outage of Neyveli Thermal Station-II units. NLC had said that it would import coal and blend it with lignite for the first time.
The plan also pointed out that the combustion of fossil fuels such as coal and lignite had an impact on air, water and land, resulting in degradation of local and global environment.
In April this year, Union Coal Minister Pralhad Joshi had directed the removal of 3 lignite blocks in the State from the national auction list, amid opposition from farmers and all political parties in Tamil Nadu.