Mahagenco Turns to Water Reuse in India

28 Dec 2013
Available with corporate subscription

Maharashtra State Power Generation Corporation reconfirmed on 18 October 2013 the timeline for completion of a sewage treatment and water reuse plant that will supply cooling and ash handling water to two new 660 MW units at its Koradi coal power station.  Mahagenco’s Koradi and Khaperkheda plants are located in Nagpur, northeastern Maharashtra state. The project, now six years under development, will be a first for a thermal power plant in India to rely exclusively on reused water for cooling and ash handling. Mahagenco’s intends to complete trial operations at Koradi by early 2015.

The Totladoh Reservoir, from which the Koradi plant draws cooling water, has a total capacity of 190 million m3, but competing demand from Nagpur Municipal Corporation (NMC), and other agricultural and industrial users, has forced Mahagenco to secure alternative water supplies. Koradi consists of seven units, including four decommissioned and three operational units, which total 620 MW of generating capacity. The eighth and ninth units (2 x 660 MW) are planned for commissioning in 2014 according to the utility’s capacity plan, followed by a tenth unit after 2015.

Bluefield Takeaways

  • Mahagenco juggles capacity planning, water needs to support portfolio expansion
  • Nagpur project highlights a next evolutionary step to mitigating water stress at thermal power plants
  • Key EPC providers tap into major wastewater opportunities for power