Singrauli coalfield
Topic: Energy Resources of India: Conventional and Non-conventional · NCERT: Class 12, Ch 5 "Mineral and Energy Resources"
Meaning
Singrauli is a coalfield on the Madhya Pradesh–Uttar Pradesh border, in the Sone valley. It is called India's "energy capital" because many large pithead thermal power plants are built there. These plants sit right on the coalfield, so coal does not have to travel far. This saves cost because coal is bulky and loses weight as ash when burnt. The power is then sent through the grid to far-off cities.
Example
NTPC's Vindhyachal thermal power station at Singrauli is a pithead plant that burns coal from the surrounding mines.
Don't confuse with
- Jharia coalfield: Jharia (Jharkhand) is the largest coalfield and is known for coking coal used in steel. Singrauli is known for power generation.
- Korba and Talcher: These are other coalfields with pithead power plants, in Chhattisgarh and Odisha respectively. They are not part of Singrauli.
Related concepts
- Coal reserves distribution
- Jharia coalfield
- Raniganj coalfield
- Hasdeo Arand coalfield
- Coal-bed methane
- Coal gasification