Himalayan Times (1962)

Six

Himalayan Times

August 5, 1962

NEYVELI THERMAL POWER STATION

What Is

The Neyvali Thermal
Power Houee, which will
eventually eerve as a baee
load station for the sa-
tire southern grid, ii the
moit important of the
constituent aohemes of
the Integrated Projeoi.

The Power Station,
will use 1 5 million tone
of lignite per annum and
will hare an installed
oapaoity of 260,006 KW
in fire unite of 50,000 KW
eaoh.

There will be fire
boilers, eaoh oapable of
producing 220 tons of
steam per hour at a pres.
sure of 100 atmospheres
and a temperature of
54U0C, and five turbo
alternators, eaoh with a
oapaoity of 50,000 KW.

The boilers will fire
raw lignite in purverised
form, dried as it drops
. into the boilers.

The Neyveli Thermal
Power Project is being
finanoed under the Indo-
Soviet 112 5 million Rou-
ble Credit Agreement of
March 1967.

The detailed projeot.,
report for the Power
House was prepared in
in the USSR in consul-
tation with Indian spe-
cialists of the Central
Water and Power Com-
mission and Contraots
were eonoluded in 19S9

Lignite

with the Soviet Organi-
sation for the preparation
of designs and working
drawings and for the
supply of raw material,
and reinforoement steel
and steel struoturals, sup-
ply of plant, machinery
and equipment.

So far the Soviet
Organisation has supplied
about 27,515 tone of equip-
ment and 12,021 tons of
steel and steel etruoturale.

The oontraot also
provides for the rendering
of neoessary teohnieal as-
sistance, both in the form
of Soviet experts for su-
pervision of ereetion and
operation, including train-
ing of Indian personnel
at similar installations in
the USSR.

A number of Soviet
teohnioiane are working
at Neyveli. A batoh of
19 Indian officials also
underwent training in
USSR.

The ereetion of the
first 50,000 KW of the
power station was com-
pleted in the last week
of May, 1962 and it hae
been under trial runs
sinoe then.- The Unit
has worked on full load
using lignite and the per-
formance hae been quite
satisfactory.

The remaining four
units of the power station

will be commissioned at
intervals of 6 to 6 months
eaoh and the entire 250,000
KW power station is ex-
pected to be in ■ operation
early in 1964.

The plant is. proposed
to be expended to 400,000
KW capacity during the
Third Five Year Plan
under the 337 8 million
Rouble Credit Agreement
of September 1960, by
the addition of one 100,009
KW. unit and more 50,000
KW unit.

Teohnieal disoussions
relating to the preparation
of the detailed project
report for the expansion
of the power station have
already eommeneed with
the Soviet authorities. .

Tan brown in colour
and light to the feel,
lignite is an inferior type
of coal. It is formed
from vegetal matter in
' two stages.

Millions of years ago,
the vegetal matter com-
bined with bio-ohemioal
deoay resulted in peat—
rotton wood.

This was the first
stage of transformation.
The eeeond stage is that
of consolidation and de-
hydration of the peat into
lignite.

When the pressure
on the lignite, particularly
the horizontal thrust, is
further inoreased, tho lig-
nite beoomes coal whioh
is more dense and less
bulky.