Energy efficiency and greenhouse emission burden from coal-fired electric power plants - A case study of the Indian power sector

This article presents the experimental energy efficiency and estimates of C O2 emissions of low-grade power station coals as well as of coal-fired powe r generation, transmission, and distribution systems. It has been shown tha t increase in ash and moisture in coal increases the greenhouse emission bu rden. Simultaneously, increase in the maturity of coal increases its greenh ouse index. The sensitivity of the CO2 generation index to the gross electr ic efficiency, auxiliary power efficiency, and transmission and distributio n efficiency is brought out. The variation of the energy efficiency and gre enhouse index with plant size is attributed to the fact that the smaller-si zed units are old, whereas the bigger units are of recent origin. It has be en shown that through planned overhauls, 5-9% reduction in CO2 emission can be achieved, while from renovation and modernization schemes the reduction expected is 17-22%.