Union Minister of State (IC) for Power and New & Renewable Energy, Shri R.K Singh, launched a Web based monitoring System and a Fly Ash mobile application named ASH TRACK here today. These platforms will enable better management of the ash produced by thermal power plants by providing an interface between fly ash producers (Thermal Power Plants) and potential ash users such as – road contractors, cement plants etc.
Speaking on the occasion, Minister of State (IC) for Power and New & Renewable Energy, Shri R K Singh said that proper management of fly ash is important for not only the environment but for us also as the ash produced by the power plants occupies a lot of land space. He explained that at present, 63 per cent of the fly ash is being utilised and target is for 100 per cent utilisation of the fly ash. For this the Minister emphasized the need for education and awareness generation. He said that road contractors and construction engineers need to know the benefits of using fly ash in construction. The Minister asked the officials to work out the per kilometer construction costs of roads using fly ash, and said if it is found to be expensive, then measures need to be taken to reduce the cost by way of tax structure, subsidies and transportation services. Similarly, Shri Singh stressed upon the need to come out with a policy to encourage fly ash use in cement plant.
Analysing the data, Shri Singh said that in spite of increasing use of renewable energy, coal will remain the mainstay of Power sector in India. In fact the consumption of coal is going to increase as our economy grows.
Speaking on the occasion, Secretary for Power Shri Ajay Kumar Bhalla said that quality-wise Indian coal has much more ash content than other countries. Hence, he stressed upon the need for diverse approaches for the fly ash management. He suggested that there is a need to prevent the ash from coming to the power plant by washing the coal at its place of origin. Further, the Power Secretary talked about promoting R&D for increasing efficiency of power plants and reducing the ash generation. He said that our mantra should be ‘The least ash generated and maximum ash utilized.’ He also thanked Niti Aayog for providing full support to this project.
Users can download the Ash Track mobile app from Google Play Store for Android OS and from App Store for Apple IOS. The ASH TRACK Mobile App has following features
- For Consumers-
- App shows coal based power plants situated within the radius of 100 km and 300 km from a given location
- User can select power station from where he wants to take fly ash
- Ash availability, distance from user’s location, details of contact person will be displayed
- User can apply online for allocation of ash
- SMS will be sent to the applicant and the respective power plant instantly
- For Power Stations-
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- App shows perspective users within the radius of 100 km and 300 km of power plants
- Power station can see the location of prospective ash users surrounding the power plant like – cement plants, NHAI, Pradhan Mantri Gram Sadak Yojana (PMGSY) projects, brick producers, etc.
- Power plants can contact the prospective users for supply of ash
- Ash Utilisation Data –
- App gives plant wise, utility wise and state wise ash utilization status in the country
- Shows details of real time ash generation and utilization
The ASH TRACK App would be managing 200 million tonnes of fly ash by tracking coal based power plants situated within 100 km and 300 km from given location and availability of fly ash, along with prospective users within the same radius. The App gives plant-wise, utility-wise and State-wise ash utilization status in the country.
The thermal plants would regularly update fly ash generation, utilization and stock on the web portal and the app. This would allow effective monitoring and reviewing for increasing ash utilization. This would also help in protecting environment in terms of reduction in fugitive emissions, saving of precious top soil and conservation of land for sustainable development.
Fly ash, the end product of combustion during the process of power generation in the coal based thermal power plants, is a proven resource material for many applications of construction industries and currently is being utilized in manufacturing of Portland Cement, bricks/blocks/tiles manufacturing, road embankment construction and low lying area development, etc.
Member, NITI Aayog, Dr VK Saraswat, Additional Secretary (Power) Ms. Shalini Prasad, Additional Secretary (Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change) Shri Arun Kumar Mehta, CMD, NTPC Shri Gurdeep Singh, Joint Secretary (Power) Shri Aniruddha Kumar, Director (Power) Shri H S Pruthi were among the dignitaries present along with other senior officials of the Ministries.
