Home / Asia / India / RAICHUR

RAICHUR

Coal power plant in Karnataka, India. Approximate location 16.3532, 77.3422.

CoalKarnatakaIndiasubcriticalCO₂ modelled

RAICHUR is a 1,720 MW coal power station in Karnataka, India. It is operated by Karnataka Power Corp Ltd. Based on reported annual generation of 8,065 GWh, it can supply roughly 2.3 million homes. It ranks #154 of 2,229 India power plants by installed capacity. Commissioned in 1996, it is around 30 years old — long-established. Its modelled annual emissions are 7,941,800 t CO₂/yr (Climate TRACE), equivalent to about 1.9 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).

1,720Source-backed capacity
8,065GWh reported / yr
2,304,400homes powered
7,941,800t CO₂ / yr (Climate TRACE)
1996commissioned (~30 yrs)

Plant data: WRI Global Power Plant Database (CC BY 4.0), id IND0000356.

Data status

Known data

FacilityRAICHUR WRI
CountryIndia · Karnataka WRI
Coordinates16.3532, 77.3422 WRI
FuelCoal WRI
MW installed capacity1,720 MW WRI source record; scope not independently normalised
OwnerKarnataka Power Corp Ltd WRI
Commissioned1996 WRI
Technologysubcritical WRI
GWh reported / yr8,065 GWh/yr WRI

Modelled source data

CO₂ emissions7,941,800 t CO₂/yr modelled · Climate TRACE

Calculated from dataset

Capacity rank in country#154 of 2229 calculated
Fuel-specific rank in country#142 of 716 calculated
Capacity vs country/fuel peers1.72× · 1,000 MW median · 716 peers calculated
Homes-powered equivalent2,304,400 calculated from reported generation
Climate27.8°C · HDD 0 derived from coordinates
Environmental severityC1 · 42/100 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 L100000102309); fuel: WRI source-record fuel

In context: how this plant compares

At 1,720 MW, RAICHUR is well above 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.

~7,941,800 t CO₂/yr (modelled) — in everyday terms

This facility's annual emissions are roughly equivalent to:

1.9 millionpassenger cars driven for a year
1.0 millionhomes' yearly energy use
132 milliontree seedlings grown 10 years to absorb it

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

Reported generation trend

2014: 9,983 GWh20142015: 10,423 GWh20152016: 10,504 GWh20162017: 9,834 GWh20172018: 8,065 GWh201811k GWh

Annual generation (GWh), WRI Global Power Plant Database (CC BY 4.0).

Owner

Operated by Karnataka Power Corp Ltd. All plants by this company →

Local climate & thermal context

This coal plant burns coal to raise high-pressure steam that spins a turbine-generator. It sits in a hot semi-arid steppe climate (Köppen BSh) — Northern Hemisphere, latitude 16.4°N — which shapes how much energy it can produce and how its output varies through the year.

27.8°Cannual mean temp
0heating degree-days (base 18°C)
3,578cooling degree-days (base 18°C)
387 melevation

Monthly mean temperature

J: 25 °CJF: 27 °CFM: 30 °CMA: 32 °CAM: 33 °CMJ: 29 °CJJ: 27 °CJA: 27 °CAS: 27 °CSO: 27 °CON: 25 °CND: 24 °CD33 °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 benign, low-corrosion environment (estimated ISO 9223 class C1 — Very low), with dust abrasion the leading environmental stress.

C1ISO 9223 corrosivity (indicative)
42/100environmental-severity index
8.7°Cseasonal temperature swing
323 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 #142 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 16.3532, 77.3422 from WRI Global Power Plant Database (CC BY 4.0). View on OpenStreetMap.

Frequently asked questions

What type of power plant is RAICHUR?

RAICHUR is a 1,720 MW source-record coal power plant in Karnataka, India, commissioned in 1996.

How much electricity does RAICHUR generate?

RAICHUR generates about 8,065 GWh of electricity per year.

How many homes can RAICHUR power?

Its output is enough to supply roughly 2,304,400 homes.

Who operates RAICHUR?

RAICHUR is operated by Karnataka Power Corp Ltd.

How much CO₂ does RAICHUR emit?

RAICHUR has modelled emissions of about 7,941,800 tonnes of CO₂ per year (Climate TRACE).

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