Ennore SEZ Super Critical Thermal Power Project (Vayalur)

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Ennore SEZ Super Critical Thermal Power Project (Vayalur) is a power station under construction in Vayalur, Ponneri, Thiruvallur, Tamil Nadu, India.

Location

Table 1: Project-level location details

Plant name	Location	Coordinates (WGS 84)
Ennore SEZ Super Critical Thermal Power Project (Vayalur)	Vayalur, Ponneri, Thiruvallur, Tamil Nadu, India	13.291667, 80.309722 (exact)

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

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Unit-level coordinates (WGS 84):

• Unit 1, Unit 2: 13.291667, 80.309722

Project Details

Table 2: Unit-level details

Unit name	Status	Fuel(s)	Capacity (MW)	Technology	Start year
Unit 1	construction	coal: unknown	660	supercritical	2026 (planned)
Unit 2	construction	coal: unknown	660	supercritical	2026 (planned)

Table 3: Unit-level ownership and operator details

Unit name	Owner	Parent
Unit 1	Tamil Nadu Generation and Distribution Co Ltd [100%]	TNEB Ltd
Unit 2	Tamil Nadu Generation and Distribution Co Ltd [100%]	TNEB Ltd

Project-level coal details

• Coal source(s): Indonesia

Background

TANGEDCO has proposed to build two supercritical 800MW units on a reclaimed ash disposal area of the North Chennai Thermal Power Station. The plant is proposed to be built on 500 acres of land owned by the Tamil Nadu Electricity Board near the village of Vayalur, Tiruvallur district, Tamil Nadu, India.

The project received environmental clearance for a 2 x 800 MW coal plant in 2014. The capacity of each unit was, however, reduced to 660MW while calling engineering, construction, and procurement (EPC) tenders for the project in the same year.

According to the India government (March 2016), the project was under construction with a planned commissioning of 2018-2019. The EPC contract was awarded to Bharat Heavy Electricals (BHEL).

In December 2016 the India government reported that work at the site was held up from October 2015 onwards due to a court case filed against TANGEDCO by one of the EPC bidders. On October 18, 2016, the court ruled in favor of TANGEDCO and work on the site reportedly resumed on November 2, 2016.

Planet satellite photos show construction did not substantially begin until June 2018, and then advanced through October 2018.

In 2019, TANGEDCO got a two year extension from the government to finish construction of two slow-moving thermal power plants at Ennore with a combined capacity of 1,980 MW. In 2020, a second extension was granted for the project until 2024.

According to the government's Broad Status Report in October 2020, the power station was planned for commissioning in 2022. By November 2021, the date was pushed back to 2023. By 2022, it was delayed to 2024.

In the May 2023 Broad Status Report, the power plant was estimated to be commissioned in 2025. While the report did not include the Ennore SEZ power plant in its list of "on hold" power projects, it appeared that the last active construction work on the project had taken place in 2021, with the next construction steps to resume in 2024. The following were listed as critical issues to the power plant's further progress:

• " Slow progress in civil works of CWP , Fire Protection, CHP,AHP (non performance by contractor, hence re-tendering of some package )
• Delay in readiness of Chimney due to delay in supply of borosilicate lining materials.
• Inadequate manpower of BHEL at site
• External Conveyor package work held up due to NGT issues
• FGD work is yet to be awarded."

In October 2023, TANGEDCO sought an amendment to their Environmental Clearance for "a revised route alignment of seawater pipelines and coal pipe conveyance system." Later that month, the recently reconstituted EAC returned the proposed amendment in its 'present form' due to construction violations committed without prior EAC approval. Further details of the construction violations and proceedings are available below (See: Violations, opposition & permitting developments).

According to the April 2024 Broad Status Report of Under Construction Thermal Power Projects, the two units' expected commercial operation dates had been pushed back to October and December 2026.

Violations, opposition & permitting developments

A suo moto case (No.162/2021) was registered by the National Green Tribunal against various projects including the Ennore SEZ project based on news published in Times of India dated July 1, 2021. The NGT (Southern Zone, Chennai) constituted a committee and instructed it to look into the issues and submit a report. Accordingly, the NGT Committee recommended that "TANGEDCO shall resume the activities pertaining to NCTPS Stage-III and Ennore SEZ power plants within [Coastal Regulation Zone (CRZ)] area in Kosasthalaiyar River/Buckingham Canal/Backwaters only after obtaining amendment to the existing CRZ clearance from MoEF&CC."

In April 2022, an Op-Ed made the case that with two power plants under construction and two in the pre-licensing stage, the predominantly working class Ennore-Manali industrial area remains a site of structural environmental and social discrimination.

According to reporting from September 2023, amid local opposition, TANGEDCO had allotted nearly Rs 18 crore to carry out various infrastructure projects in the thirteen local panchayats around the power station.

EC issues following violations (2023)

As detailed in the October 2023 Meeting Minutes of the Expert Appraisal Committee, an application by TANGEDCO for amendments to the Ennore SEZ power station's EC had been returned due to the company's years-long violations of its existing EC. According to the EAC deliberations, the owners had "changed seawater pipelines and coal pipe conveyance system without obtaining necessary clearance/ amendments from the Ministry and started construction since 2017 [sic]." The construction violations had previously been brought before the NGT in 2021, after which the owners were instructed to obtain new EC for the change in construction plans. In the October 2023 EAC meeting, the committee instructed TANGEDCO to submit a new Terms of Reference for the project under the 'violations category.'

Financing

It was reported in 2019 that the Power Finance Corporation is funding the project, at an estimated total investment of Rs98bn (£1.07bn). As of December 2020, 55% of financing had been secured.

Coal supply

TANGEDCO has stated that coal for the project would be 30% imported coal and 70% domestic through Ennore Port. TANGEDCO states that the project would require 5.46 million tonnes per annum of coal. TANGEDCO proposes that 3.82 million tonnes per annum be sourced from the Kalinga Block, Talcher, Mahanadhi and IB Valley and 1.64 million tonnes per annum from unspecified overseas sources.

The 2014 environmental clearance stated coal for the power station would be imported.

In January 2022, with Ennore SEZ and other coal projects set to take off with a generating capacity of 5,700 MW, Tangedco bid for two coal blocks – Meenakshi coal block in IB Valley and Bankhui coal block in Talcher – to meet the growing needs of the state.

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.