New Delhi: NLC India Limited, a Navratna PSU under the Ministry of Coal, has for the first time commenced production of coal, the company said in a regulatory filing on Tuesday. The coal produced from Talabira II and III mines in Odisha, which was allotted to NLC in 2016 with a capacity of 20 Million Tonne per annum will be used to meet the requirement of its existing and future coal-fired power plants.
Commenting on the development, Rakesh Kumar, Chairman and Managing Director, NLC India Limited, said, "By achieving success on this project during the difficult time of COVID-19 lockdown situation, our team has not only helped the company on its growth path but has also contributed to energy security of the country, especially when avoiding import of coal is the topmost priority."
This coal block has been developed through the MDO model. The model allows a contractor to carry out the entire gamut of activities right from land acquisition, R&R, mine planning to the development and operation of mine and coal extraction and coal transportation on behalf of the mine owner who holds the mining lease. This mine has a low stripping ratio of 1.09 and coal is of G 12 grade which will enable the company to generate competitive power in the time to come, NLC said.
In the recent past, NLC India Limited has successfully commissioned its one of the two Units of lignite-based power plant (1000 MW — 2 units of 500 MW each), the first of its kind in the country. During 2019-2020, NLCIL has also successfully achieved a Renewable Energy Generation capacity of 1,404 MW, comprising 1,353 MW of solar and 51 MW of wind power.