BHEL bags order for phase 1 expansion of Patratu power plant in Jharkhand

Bharat Heavy Electricals Limited (BHEL) has secured a contract worth INR 11,700 crore ($1.8 billion) to supply three supercritical thermal units of 800MW each for the Patratu power plant in Jharkhand, India.

The three units will be part of phase 1 of the expansion project at the coal-based 840MW Patratu power plant at Patratu in Ramgarh district. Two more units of 800MW to be installed later on, for which there is likely to be a separate bidding in the future.

BHEL had won the order from Patratu Vidyut Utpadan Nigam Limited (PVUNL) after prevailing in an international competitive bidding process.

PVUNL is jointly owned by NTPC (74%) and the Jharkhand government through the Jharkhand Bijli Vitran Nigam (26%).

BHEL said that it will implement the order on an engineering, procurement and construction (EPC) basis.

According to the company, the new supercritical thermal units at the Patratu power plant in Jharkhand will help in reduced fuel consumption thanks to the high efficiency equipment, which would be operated at higher operating parameters.

The installation of the new supercritical thermal units will lead to the phasing out of the Patratu power plant’s ageing sub-critical units, thereby increasing its efficiency to a great extent.

BHEL says that the expansion project will further curb emissions by deploying Flue Gas Desulphurization (FGD) and Selective Catalytic Reduction (SCR) systems to capture SOx and NOx and other pollutants.

It claims that the project is the largest of its kind in India to be based on Air Cooled Condenser technology, which will help in conserving a huge amount of water.

BHEL intends to manufacture the major equipment of the Patratu power plant at its Haridwar, Hyderabad, Trichy, Bengaluru, Bhopal, Jhansi and Ranipet factories. The construction and installation works at the Patratu power plant location will be handled by its Power Sector – Western Region division.