Each year,the Badarpur power plant releases 5 mega million tonnes of carbon dioxide into Delhis air. Now,years after the Delhi government announced that thermal plants will be moved out of the Capital,Badarpur which produces 720 Megawatts of power is likely to become a gas plant within a year. The Delhi government has written to the Petroleum ministry asking for gas allocation for the plant following a report on Delhis carbon footprint identifying the existing coal plant as a major polluter. Chief Secretary Rakesh Mehta has spoken to the National Thermal Power Corporation,and wait is on for the ministrys nod. I have spoken to NTPC. It has agreed to shut down thermal operations and is willing to run a gas-based power generation facility provided the gas is supplied by the ministry, Mehta said. We are aiming to create a 1000-Megawatt gas-based power plant at Badarpur. Gas also pollutes,but it is much less than thermal power generation. The Badarpur plants emissions are currently unacceptable, he said. Power generation is the big villain in the report on Delhis carbon footprint,which identifies the most polluting sectors. In 2007-08,power generation from the five plants in Delhi Badarpur,Indraprastha,two at Rajghat and Pragati created 9.7 Mega Million Tonnes (MMT) of carbon dioxide. In comparison,the entire road transport network created between 7-8 MMT. Another concern is fly ash. As per plans,350 acres covered by fly ash within the power station will be converted to a city forest once the gas-based conversion is made.
