The NIAS Transition Plan for Thermal Power Plants (TPPs) recommends the progressive retirement of obsolete TPPs while shifting the load to existing and under-construction, modern TPPs and Nuclear Power Plants (NPPs) instead of retrofitting them with costly Flue Gas Desulfurisers (FGDs). Stack heights mandated for TPPs in India are designed to disperse SO2 emissions to ensure that ambient air SO2 levels comply with National standards. FGDs must be mandated only for TPPs in urban or sensitive or highly polluted areas since they increase specific CO2 emissions and water requirements and also hike tariffs. TPPs can use washed coal and retrofit high-performance Electrostatic Precipitators to reduce Particulate Matter (PM) emissions by 99.97 per cent without major capex.
