To provide NTPC Group in India comprehensive insight in the feasibility of replacing open stockyard storage of coal by enclosed storage, ESI has finished a thorough report to compare both solutions. One of the outcomes is a payback period of 3.5 years for the Eurosilo system.
As in more regions in the world, the environmental legislation in India drives the power industry to innovate and to incorporate more sustainable systems in thermal power plants. This does not match with the open stockyard storage of coal at virtually all thermal power plants in India. Open stockyard storage of coal is cheaper to implement. But the measures to counter the pollution of groundwater and air, plus the losses of coal present annually recurring costs during operation.
Therefore ESI and L&T-Sargent & Lundy Ltd, one of the leading engineering consultants for thermal power plants in the world, undertook an extensive study to compare enclosed storage and open stockyard storage.
To determine the impact on environmental aspects and on the total cost of ownership and logistic efficiency, it took almost a year to complete the study. Based on the specifics of the Indian power industry, the outcome shows a payback period for the higher investment in a Eurosilo system of only a couple of years. After that, the Eurosilo continues to provide annual cost savings for the rest of the lifecycle of 25 years.