Under the auspices of the Indo-German Energy Partnership, it has become a well-established tradition to organize two workshops annually at different locations in India. On May 20 and 22 of this year, they took place in Lucknow and Jaipur under the theme “Technical Pioneers of the Energy Transition.” More than 150 participants discussed how to successfully transform India’s energy system. The flexible operation of coal-fired power plants plays a crucial role in this – approximately three-quarters of India’s electricity production relies on coal.
It has become clear that achieving a minimum load of 55 percent is no longer a major challenge for most coal-fired power plants. This fulfils a key requirement set by the Central Electricity Authority – a key regulatory body in India’s electricity sector. The next goal is to further reduce the load to 40 percent. This has been the subject of many intense discussions – regarding the technical requirements for doing so as well as the effects of flexible power plant operation on plant components. Prof. Dr. Claudia Weise and Dr. Christian Ullrich from the vgbe reported on the experiences that have been gathered in Germany and Europe in this regard.
The workshops were organized by the Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ) GmbH and India’s Excellence Enhancement Centre (EEC). On behalf of the Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Energy, GIZ is responsible for implementing the Indo-German Energy Partnership, which is celebrating its 20th anniversary this year.
