Rajasthan mulls use of lignite for power production

New options would reduce dependence on coal, says Chief Minister

With the demand for agricultural power connections increasing sharply across the State, the Congress government in Rajasthan has decided to conduct a survey to assess the use of lignite as a long-term solution for power production as an alternative to coal. The State has extensive lignite deposits in its western region and Bikaner district.

Rajasthan has been getting coal from Parsa East and Kante Basin in Chhattisgarh for its thermal power plants, but the availability from the captive mines is getting affected because of near exhaustion in the first phase. The lignite mining capacity of 10 lakh tonnes is available in Bikaner district’s Gudha West.

Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot said at a review meeting of the Energy Department here this week that 2.31 lakh agricultural power connections would be released during the first phase in 2022-23 and 2.58 lakh in the second phase during 2023-24. “The State government is committed to providing cheap electricity to farmers along with an uninterrupted power supply,” he said.

The Central government’s Neyveli Lignite Corporation is already generating electricity in its 250 MW power plant in Bikaner’s Barsingsar village, while the power is being produced in two plants of 135 MW each run by a private company. The combined work of mining and power generation is likely to increase the State’s power production capacity and reduce the cost of electricity.

An ambitious roadmap was prepared earlier this year for mining of lignite in Gudha West and installation of a new lignite-based thermal power plant in its vicinity. This will ensure utilisation of lignite within the State.

Mr. Gehlot said the exploration of new options would reduce dependence on coal, while the use of lignite was a priority area for the State government. He said an action plan would also be formulated shortly to maintain a balance in the domestic, agricultural and industrial power supply.