National mission on clean coal technologies soon

MAHABALIPURAM - The government will announce soon its ninth national mission on clean coal technologies.

“The National Mission for Clean Coal (Carbon) Technologies will have several sub missions like the development of advanced ultra super-critical boilers for thermal power plants, carbon capture and value addition, including carbon capture and storage,” said R. Chidambaram, principal scientific advisor to the government.

Chidambaram is here for the Asian Nuclear Prospects 2010 (ANUP 2010), a conference on nuclear power in Asia.

He said 800 MW ultra super-critical boilers which can operate at very high temperatures will be designed and developed by three organisations - Bharat Heavy Electricals Ltd (BHEL), NTPC and the Indira Gandhi Centre for Atomic Research (IGCAR).

“The project report has to be prepared now. A memorandum of understanding (MoU) has been signed between the three organisations,” Chidambaram told IANS when asked about the project outlay and the mode of funding for the research and development.

He said the government is looking at international cooperation for this project on mutually beneficial terms.

The IGCAR will design and develop the advanced, ultra super-critical boiler that can operate at a pressure of 350 bar (a measure of steam pressure) and at a temperature of 700 degree centigrade.

BHEL will manufacture the boiler and other equipment needed for power generation and NTPC will operate the plant.

The whole project, starting from design, development, manufacturing, plant construction and commissioning, will involve an outlay of around Rs.10,000 crore. Construction of the plant is expected to start by 2018.

According to him, the Human Development Index (HDI) of a country should be measured in terms of per capita consumption of power and female literacy, though the UN measures the index based on three factors- per capita gross domestic product, life expectancy at birth and adult literacy.

He said for India to become a “developed” country its per capita power consumption should grow by six-eight times for which nuclear power will play a major role. And for nuclear power to be sustainable, the fuel cycle should be closed, he added.

About the National Knowledge Network (NKN) connecting various higher learning institutes, he said there is a proposal to connect Japan and Chennai.