Bhavnagar: Govt-owned power equipment maker BHEL today said it has commissioned a 250-mw eco-friendly unit, using low-grade coal (lignite) as a primary fuel.

The lignite-based thermal unit, based on circulating fluidised bed combustion (CFBC) technology, is the second such facility to be commissioned at Bhavnagar Energy Company’s (BECL) 2×250 MW thermal power project at Padva in Bhavnagar district of Gujarat, a BHEL statement said.

According to the statement, the first unit of the project was commissioned earlier in May 2016. The project is based on CFBC technology – an environment-friendly one to utilise India’s large resource of low grade, high-moisture lignite.

BHEL has the unique distinction of engineering, supply, installation and commissioning of four units of India’s largest capacity CFBC boilers of 250 MW rating, including the two units at Bhavnagar.

Earlier in Gujarat, BHEL has executed the 4×125 mw Surat Lignite Power project in Surat district, also involving the CFBC technology.

CFBC boilers are highly fueled-flexible and can burn a wide array of fuels, including lignite, and are highly environment-friendly with very low pollutant emission.

The successful commissioning of CFBC technology-based units has reinforced BHEL’s leadership status in executing a variety of thermal power projects involving supply of state-of-the-art equipment suitable for Indian conditions, it added.