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Cuddalore IL&FS power station

Coal power plant in Tamil Nadu, India. Approximate location 11.5216, 79.7518.

CoalTamil NaduIndiasupercriticalCO₂ modelled

Cuddalore IL&FS power station is a 1,200 MW coal power station in Tamil Nadu, India. It is operated by Infrastructure Leasing & Financial Services Ltd. Based on its capacity (estimated), it can supply roughly 1.5 million homes (estimated). It ranks #340 of 2,229 India power plants by installed capacity. Commissioned in 2015, it is around 11 years old — relatively modern. Its modelled annual emissions are 7,199,700 t CO₂/yr (Climate TRACE), equivalent to about 1.7 million 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).

1,200Source-backed capacity
1,501,714homes powered (est.)
7,199,700t CO₂ / yr (Climate TRACE)
2015commissioned (~11 yrs)

Plant data: WRI Global Power Plant Database (CC BY 4.0), id CT-4703.

Data status

Known data

FacilityCuddalore IL&FS power station Climate TRACE
CountryIndia · Tamil Nadu Climate TRACE
Coordinates11.5216, 79.7518 Climate TRACE
FuelCoal Climate TRACE
MW installed capacity1,200 MW Climate TRACE source record; scope not independently normalised
OwnerInfrastructure Leasing & Financial Services Ltd Climate TRACE
Commissioned2015 Climate TRACE
Technologysupercritical Climate TRACE

Modelled source data

CO₂ emissions7,199,700 t CO₂/yr modelled · Climate TRACE

Calculated from dataset

Capacity rank in country#340 of 2229 calculated
Fuel-specific rank in country#317 of 716 calculated
Capacity vs country/fuel peers1.20× · 1,000 MW median · 716 peers calculated
Homes-powered equivalent1,501,714 calculated
Climate28.3°C · HDD 0 derived from coordinates
Environmental severityC5 · 51/100 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.

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 L100000102542); fuel: Climate TRACE source-record fuel

In context: how this plant compares

At 1,200 MW, Cuddalore IL&FS power station is well above the median coal plant in India (1,000 MW). Technically it is described as supercritical. 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.

~7,199,700 t CO₂/yr (modelled) — in everyday terms

This facility's annual emissions are roughly equivalent to:

1.7 millionpassenger cars driven for a year
939khomes' yearly energy use
120 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 Infrastructure Leasing & Financial Services 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 11.5°N — which shapes how much energy it can produce and how its output varies through the year.

28.3°Cannual mean temp
0heating degree-days (base 18°C)
3,760cooling degree-days (base 18°C)
3 melevation

Monthly mean temperature

J: 25 °CJF: 26 °CFM: 28 °CMA: 30 °CAM: 31 °CMJ: 31 °CJJ: 30 °CJA: 29 °CAS: 29 °CSO: 28 °CON: 26 °CND: 25 °CD31 °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 an aggressive, high-corrosion environment (estimated ISO 9223 class C5 — Very high), with marine salt corrosion the leading environmental stress.

C5ISO 9223 corrosivity (indicative)
51/100environmental-severity index
6.2°Cseasonal temperature swing
25 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 #317 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 11.5216, 79.7518 from WRI Global Power Plant Database (CC BY 4.0). View on OpenStreetMap.

Frequently asked questions

What type of power plant is Cuddalore IL&FS power station?

Cuddalore IL&FS power station is a 1,200 MW source-record coal power plant in Tamil Nadu, India, commissioned in 2015.

How many homes can Cuddalore IL&FS power station power?

Its output is enough to supply roughly 1,501,714 homes (estimated).

Who operates Cuddalore IL&FS power station?

Cuddalore IL&FS power station is operated by Infrastructure Leasing & Financial Services Ltd.

How much CO₂ does Cuddalore IL&FS power station emit?

Cuddalore IL&FS power station has modelled emissions of about 7,199,700 tonnes of CO₂ per year (Climate TRACE).

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