Home / Asia / India / Bhilai Steel power station

Bhilai Steel power station

Coal power plant in Chhattisgarh, India. Approximate location 21.184, 81.4237.

CoalChhattisgarhIndiasubcriticalCO₂ modelled

Bhilai Steel power station is a 500 MW coal power station in Chhattisgarh, India. It is operated by NTPC-SAIL Power Co Ltd. Based on its capacity (estimated), it can supply roughly 626k homes (estimated). It ranks #550 of 2,229 India power plants by installed capacity. Commissioned in 1982, it is around 44 years old — long-established. Its modelled annual emissions are 3,272,100 t CO₂/yr (Climate TRACE), equivalent to about 763k cars driven for a year. In context, coal supplies about 70.8% of India's electricity; the national grid averages 670 gCO₂/kWh (26.7% low-carbon) (2025).

500Source-backed capacity
625,714homes powered (est.)
3,272,100t CO₂ / yr (Climate TRACE)
1982commissioned (~44 yrs)

Plant data: WRI Global Power Plant Database (CC BY 4.0), id CT-4758.

Data status

Known data

FacilityBhilai Steel power station Climate TRACE
CountryIndia · Chhattisgarh Climate TRACE
Coordinates21.184, 81.4237 Climate TRACE
FuelCoal Climate TRACE
MW installed capacity500 MW Climate TRACE source record; scope not independently normalised
OwnerNTPC-SAIL Power Co Ltd Climate TRACE
Commissioned1982 Climate TRACE
Technologysubcritical Climate TRACE

Modelled source data

CO₂ emissions3,272,100 t CO₂/yr modelled · Climate TRACE

Calculated from dataset

Capacity rank in country#550 of 2229 calculated
Fuel-specific rank in country#477 of 716 calculated
Capacity vs country/fuel peers0.50× · 1,000 MW median · 716 peers calculated
Homes-powered equivalent625,714 calculated
Climate26.5°C · HDD 0 derived from coordinates
Environmental severityC3 · 40/100 derived from coordinates

Not available

GWh reported / yrNot available not in dataset

Known, modelled and calculated values are kept separate. Missing fields are shown as unavailable.

Capacity provenance

The public capacity above is the current source-record value. A 2026 tracker candidate lists 560 MW for Bhilai Steel power station, but it is not used as the public primary value until scope is verified (unit vs operating vs installed/project total).

Capacity claim grade: B_SCOPE_PARENT_COMPLEX - recommended action: build_parent_complex_model - confidence: not_comparable_without_scope. This follows a claim-based data model: value + scope + source + confidence, rather than silently overwriting records.

Data provenance

The capacity and/or fuel fields on this page include a source-backed provenance label from GEM, an official registry, Wikidata, OSM, or a cross-source match.

capacity: GEM tracker 2026 (location L100000102132); fuel: Climate TRACE source-record fuel

In context: how this plant compares

At 500 MW, Bhilai Steel power station is below the median coal plant in India (1,000 MW). Technically it is described as subcritical. Coal plants burn pulverised coal to raise high-pressure steam for a turbine; they run as baseload but are the most carbon-intensive mainstream source and the first targeted for retirement or efficiency retrofits.

Capacity comparison computed from the WRI Global Power Plant Database; fuel-type context is general engineering background.

~3,272,100 t CO₂/yr (modelled) — in everyday terms

This facility's annual emissions are roughly equivalent to:

763kpassenger cars driven for a year
427khomes' yearly energy use
55 milliontree seedlings grown 10 years to absorb it

Equivalencies via US EPA Greenhouse Gas Equivalencies; modelled emissions from Climate TRACE.

Capacity vs largest coal plants in India

Ontimavadi power station: 6,300 MW6kOntimavadi…Welspun Mega Industrial & Energy Park: 5,280 MW5kWelspun Me…Darlipali power station: 4,800 MW5kDarlipali …VINDH_CHAL STPS: 4,760 MW5kVINDH_CHAL…MUNDRA TPP: 4,620 MW5kMUNDRA TPPMundra Thermal Power Project (Adani): 4,620 MW5kMundra The…MUNDRA UMPP: 4,000 MW4kMUNDRA UMPPTata Mundra Ultra Mega Power Project: 4,000 MW4kTata Mundr…

Installed capacity (MW), WRI Global Power Plant Database (CC BY 4.0).

Owner

Operated by NTPC-SAIL Power Co Ltd.

Local climate & thermal context

This coal plant burns coal to raise high-pressure steam that spins a turbine-generator. It sits in a tropical savanna climate (Köppen Aw) — Northern Hemisphere, latitude 21.2°N — which shapes how much energy it can produce and how its output varies through the year.

26.5°Cannual mean temp
0heating degree-days (base 18°C)
3,123cooling degree-days (base 18°C)
293 melevation

Monthly mean temperature

J: 20 °CJF: 23 °CFM: 28 °CMA: 32 °CAM: 35 °CMJ: 31 °CJJ: 27 °CJA: 27 °CAS: 27 °CSO: 26 °CON: 22 °CND: 20 °CD35 °C

This site has effectively no heating season (tropical/equatorial climate), so winter heat loss is not the driver here. The thermal concern shifts to year-round process heat and humidity/heat-driven corrosion of hot equipment.

Climate normals: WorldClim 2.1 (1970–2000 monthly normals, 10 arc-min, CC BY 4.0); zone: Köppen-Geiger world climate classification (Kottek et al. 2006, 0.5° grid). Degree-days & heat-demand index computed by PowerAtlas — a modelled heat-demand proxy, not a measured site figure.

Site climate & environmental severity

For a plant’s outdoor hardware — heat-recovery steam generators (HRSG), expansion joints, valves, flanges and their insulation — the local climate sets how fast unprotected steel and coatings degrade. This site sits in a moderately corrosive environment (estimated ISO 9223 class C3 — Medium), with humidity / wetness the leading environmental stress.

C3ISO 9223 corrosivity (indicative)
40/100environmental-severity index
14.7°Cseasonal temperature swing
407 kmdistance to coast

Higher environmental severity is exactly where protective removable insulation pays back most: a sheltered micro-climate slows corrosion, UV and thermal-cycling damage and extends outdoor hardware service life. This is an indicative site-climate context — not a condition assessment of any specific plant or operator.

Indicative estimate via the ISO 9223:2012 informative method (atmospheric corrosivity from temperature, time-of-wetness and airborne salinity), using WorldClim climate normals, the Köppen-Geiger class and coast distance. Indicative, not a measured corrosion rate.

How it compares & nearby plants

The #477 largest coal power plant of 716 in India by capacity.

India has 716 coal power plants in this dataset, together about 806,969 MW of capacity.

Nearby power plants

Location

Coordinates 21.184, 81.4237 from WRI Global Power Plant Database (CC BY 4.0). View on OpenStreetMap.

Frequently asked questions

What type of power plant is Bhilai Steel power station?

Bhilai Steel power station is a 500 MW source-record coal power plant in Chhattisgarh, India, commissioned in 1982.

How many homes can Bhilai Steel power station power?

Its output is enough to supply roughly 625,714 homes (estimated).

Who operates Bhilai Steel power station?

Bhilai Steel power station is operated by NTPC-SAIL Power Co Ltd.

How much CO₂ does Bhilai Steel power station emit?

Bhilai Steel power station has modelled emissions of about 3,272,100 tonnes of CO₂ per year (Climate TRACE).

Built from open public data; no personal information. Operate this site? Request a correction or removal.