Barauni power station

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Barauni power station is an operating power station of at least 500-megawatts (MW) in Barauni, Begusarai, Bihar, India with multiple units, some of which are not currently operating. It is also known as Barauni Thermal Power Station.

Location

Table 1: Project-level location details

Plant name	Location	Coordinates (WGS 84)
Barauni power station	Barauni, Begusarai, Bihar, India	25.391376, 86.023488 (exact)

The map below shows the exact location of the power station.

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Unit-level coordinates (WGS 84):

• Unit 6, Unit 7, Unit 8, Unit 9: 25.391376, 86.023488

Project Details

Table 2: Unit-level details

Unit name	Status	Fuel(s)	Capacity (MW)	Technology	Start year	Retired year
Unit 6	retired	coal: bituminous	110	subcritical	1983	2024
Unit 7	retired	coal: bituminous	110	subcritical	1985	2024
Unit 8	operating	coal: bituminous	250	subcritical	2018	–
Unit 9	operating	coal: bituminous	250	subcritical	2021	–

Table 3: Unit-level ownership and operator details

Unit name	Owner	Parent
Unit 6	Bihar State Power Holding Co Ltd [100%]	Bihar State Power Holding Co Ltd [100.0%]
Unit 7	Bihar State Power Holding Co Ltd [100%]	Bihar State Power Holding Co Ltd [100.0%]
Unit 8	Bihar State Power Holding Co Ltd [100%]	Bihar State Power Holding Co Ltd [100.0%]
Unit 9	Bihar State Power Holding Co Ltd [100%]	Bihar State Power Holding Co Ltd [100.0%]

Project-level coal details

• Coal source(s): Hazaribagh district, Jharkhand

Background

Three 15MW units at the plant, which were commissioned in the early to mid-1960's have been decommissioned. BSPHCL stated that Unit No. 4 & 5, both of which are Polish made 50MW units, were shut down in 1995. BSPHCL stated that it proposed recommissioning the units but the Central Electricity Authority "declared revival/R&M of these units not Techno-economically viable."

Units 6 and 7 are 110 MW each. They were built in 1983 and 1985, respectively, and were renovated and recommissioned in 2016.

Retirement plans

In Fall 2021, it was reported that NTPC was planning to shutdown aging units at the plant.

In 2017, NTPC chairman Gurdeep Singh and then Union power minister Piyush Goyal said that the company would gradually shut over 11,000 MW of coal-based power plants that were over 25 years old and replace some of these plants with efficient super critical plants, with less green house gas emissions. However, by December 2021, NTPC had rolled back its decision "given that higher power demand can only be met through such power." The decision was also reportedly influenced by the power crisis in China. An official stated: “We have not taken a final decision on Barauni power plant as of now, but that is also likely to be shut soon, given the high heat rate and its viability for the consumer.”

The 110 MW units were expected to be available in April 2023 to meet demand.

2024: Units 6 & 7 retired

On March 31, 2024, NTPC permanently shut down operations at Units 6 and 7, retiring a total of 220 MW of capacity at the Barauni power station.

Units

The power station consists of the following units:

Unit	Installed Capacity (MW)	Date of Commissioning	Status
1	15	1966	Retired
2	15	1963	Retired
3	15	1963	Retired
4	50	1969	Retired
5	50	1971	Retired
6	110	1983	Retired
7	110	1985	Retired
8	250	2018	Operating
9	250	~2018 or 2021	Operating

Expansion plans

BSPHCL has proposed a 500 megawatt (MW) coal-fired expansion to the plant, comprising two 250MW units referred to as Barauni 8 & 9. It is proposed that the new units at the existing power station be commissioned by June 2014, with the second 250MW unit commissioned four months later. BSPHCL states that it seeking to source an additional 2.65 million tonnes a year from a Ministry of Coal allocation over either the Rajmahal coal field or Urma Pahari Tola. BSPHCL states on its website that a "firm coal linkage still awaited."

The utility also states that 60 cusecs of water have been approved for the existing plant and the expansion by the Government of Bihar. However, the Central Water Commission (CWC) have only approved 45 Cusecs from the Ganga river.

In 2014 it was reported that during India Prime Minister Narendra Modi's visit to Japan, an agreement was reached between the two countries to launch a feasibility study by Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) for the setting up of a 250 MW supercritical thermal power plant (STPP) in Barauni. It was reported that the land, water, and coal (1.5 million tonnes per annum) requirements for the new plant were already met, and JICA had applied for environmental clearance in November 2013.

Environmental clearance for two 250 MW units was granted in May 2014, and the units were listed as under construction in 2015.

The new units were proposed for commissioning in 2016, later pushed to 2017.

Unit 8 was synchronized on November 14, 2017, and was planned for commissioning in 2018. Unit 9 was also planned for 2018.

Unit 8 was commissioned in January 2018 and unit 9 was reportedly commissioned in March 2018. The 2018 commissioning dates were also listed in a March 2021 list of power stations.

However, in June 2021, new headlines indicated that Unit 9 completed its 72-hour full load trial run operations in compliance with Central Electricity Regulatory Commission (CERC) norms that month, increasing the plant's installed capacity in commercial operation from 470 MW to 720 MW.

Coal supply

In March 2015 the new units were allocated a coal supply from Hazaribagh district, Jharkhand. Prior to this, the new units had been allocated the coal block at Urma Pahari, but that allocation was later annulled by the Supreme Court.

In December 2018 it was reported that the project had coal linkage with the Badam coal block in Bihar, which would also be owned by NTPC.

Financing

Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) was mentioned as a potential lender to the 660 MW expansion project in 2014. However as of 2019, it appeared that JICA did not proceed with the plan to finance this project. Financing of Unit 8 with 660MW was said to be suspended.

Ownership

The state government may make the Barauni Thermal Power Station (BTPS) a joint venture plant of the NTPC and BSPHCL.

In May 2018, a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) was signed between the Government of Bihar and NTPC for NTPC to assume full ownership of the Barauni Thermal Power Station, the Muzaffarpur power station, and the Nabinagar Super Thermal Power Project. The MoU is to improve the performance of Bihar's power sector. NTPC assumed full ownership of the Barauni plant in December 2018.

Articles and Resources

Additional data

To access additional data, including an interactive map of coal-fired power stations, a downloadable dataset, and summary data, please visit the Global Coal Plant Tracker on the Global Energy Monitor website.