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Financial implications of emission standards for coal power plants

The Center for Study of Science, Technology and Policy (CSTEP) modelled the current emission concentrations in the flue stacks of different plants based on unit capacities, vintage and their coal linkages. Coal from Indian mines have high ash content (which contributes to PM emissions), while imported coal from South Africa and Indonesia have high sulphur content. Assuming average plant operating conditions and combustion conversion factors from literature, CSTEP’s analysis indicates that in order to meet the standards, concentrations of SOx need to be reduced by 67–95%, NOx by 41–95% and PM10 by 50–85%. CSTEP evaluated the health implications of complying with the new standards. Over 3.2 lakh premature loss of lives, 5.2 crore (52 million) Respiratory Hospital Admissions (RHA), and 126 million Work Loss Days (WLD) can be avoided till 2030, if the standards are met by 2025 (Srinivasan, et al., 2018).

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