By Venkatachari Jagannathan, IANS,
Tiruchirappalli (Tamil Nadu) : State-owned power equipment producer Bharat Heavy Electricals Ltd (BHEL) will train its focus on manufacturing and selling 800-MW super-critical boilers, a top official said here Thursday.
“We can make 660-MW, 800-MW and 1,000-MW super-critical boilers. The 800-MW boilers are good for burning Indian coal,” BHEL chairman and managing director K. Ravi Kumar said here Thursday.
A super-critical plant has a thermal efficiency of 45 percent, as compared a sub-critical plant’s efficiency level of between 30 percent and 38 percent.
Speaking at the ‘Symposium on Joining Materials’ (SOJOM-2008), a welding seminar jointly organised by BHEL, the Indian Welding Society (IWS) and the Welding Research Institute (WRI), he said: “We will be signing joint venture agreements with the state electricity boards of Karnataka, Gujarat, Orissa and Madhya Pradesh for setting up power plants.”
“We have signed an agreement with Tamil Nadu Electricity Board recently,” he added.
BHEL has also signed a 50:50 joint venture with Nuclear Power Corp of India Ltd (NPCIL) and tenders have been floated for selection of appropriate turbine technology for 700-MW and 1,000-MW sets.
According to Kumar, BHEL is exploring the possibility of floating a company for power transmission, and is in talks with some Japanese forging companies for a joint venture for making high-quality forgings and castings used in nuclear power generation.
Speaking at the function, Atomic Energy Commission chairman Anil Kakodkar said: “Welding plays a crucial role in power, oil and many other sectors. The quality of welding depends on the skills of the welder. It is important to bring the knowledge base and skill base to the shop floors.”
The symposium will deliberate on issues related to materials joining, welding metallurgy, safety and environment and the latest developments in welding processes.