Gas-based power plants seek to bid under renewable bundling scheme

Gas-based power plants seek to be included in an ongoing scheme which proposes to sell renewable energy and thermal power together in a bundle. In the existing format, the scheme does not allow gas-based plants to supply power even though sector experts feel that these power stations are better suited than their coal counterparts for balancing renewable energy.

In a letter written to Union power minister RK Singh, the association of power producers (APP) said that about 25,000 megawatt (MW) of gas-based power plants are currently lying idle, adding that this fuel form causes less harm to the environment compared to thermal power generation. “Therefore, out of the ongoing 5,000 MW round-the-clock (RTC) renewable energy plus thermal tenders, a portion may be carved out for gas-based power to test the market,” APP wrote in the letter, reviewed by FE.