Power Plants of India Static GK: Complete List of Thermal, Hydro and Solar Power Plants with States and Capacities

Introduction

Questions on the power plants of India appear in almost every General Awareness paper. Examiners like this topic because it can be tested in many ways at once - the name of a plant, the state it stands in, the river it uses, the fuel it burns, the agency that runs it, and whether it holds a record such as "largest" or "first". A single line of preparation here can fetch you marks in UPSC Prelims, SSC CGL, IBPS PO and Clerk, RRB NTPC, Insurance and State PSC exams.

India is the third largest producer and consumer of electricity in the world, after China and the United States. As of mid-2026, India's total installed power capacity has crossed 540 GW. Of this, non-fossil sources (renewables plus nuclear) account for over 297 GW, which means India crossed the halfway mark of non-fossil installed capacity about five years ahead of its Paris Agreement promise. Coal, however, still supplies roughly 70 per cent of the electricity actually generated, which is why thermal plants remain the backbone of the grid.

This article organises the entire topic into three blocks - thermal, hydro and solar - with tables, memory tricks and one-liners. Since power sector data changes every few months, pair this with the daily current affairs section so that you always quote the latest capacity figures in your exam.

Core Concepts You Must Understand First

Before memorising plant names, fix these basic ideas in your mind. Most tricky questions are built on them.

• Installed capacity vs generation: Installed capacity is the maximum power a plant can produce, measured in MW or GW. Generation is the electricity actually produced, measured in units (kWh, MU or BU). Solar has a large installed capacity but produces less generation because the sun shines only part of the day. Coal has less installed share but higher generation share.
• Base load vs peak load: Thermal and nuclear plants run continuously and supply base load. Hydro and gas plants can be started and stopped quickly, so they serve peak load and balance the grid.
• Plant Load Factor (PLF): The ratio of actual generation to the maximum possible generation. A high PLF means the plant is being used efficiently.
• Pithead vs coastal plants: A pithead plant is built next to a coal mine (Vindhyachal, Sasan, Sipat). A coastal plant is built near a port and usually runs on imported coal (Mundra, Udupi).
• Thermal power principle: Fuel is burnt, water is heated into high-pressure steam, the steam spins a turbine, and the turbine drives a generator. The cycle used is the Rankine cycle.
• Hydro power principle: Stored or flowing water is dropped through penstocks onto turbines. The energy depends on the head (height of fall) and the discharge (volume of water).
• Solar power principle: Photovoltaic (PV) cells convert sunlight directly into electricity through the photovoltaic effect. Solar thermal plants instead concentrate sunlight to produce steam.
• Ultra Mega Power Project (UMPP): A coal-based project of 4,000 MW or more awarded through tariff-based competitive bidding, launched by the Ministry of Power in 2005-06 to add cheap bulk power through economies of scale.
• Pumped Storage Plant (PSP): Water is pumped uphill using surplus power and released downhill during peak demand. It works like a giant water battery, and India is expanding it rapidly to support solar and wind.

Classification of Hydro Projects in India

This classification is asked directly, especially the 25 MW cut-off and the two ministries involved.

India's Power Sector at a Glance

Learn this table as a block. Aggregate figures are asked as standalone one-mark questions in banking and railway exams.

Thermal Power Plants in India

Thermal power plants convert the heat released by burning a fuel into electricity. In India the fuels used are coal, lignite, natural gas, naphtha and diesel, with coal dominating overwhelmingly. India has over 270 thermal power stations and a thermal installed capacity of more than 240 GW, of which coal-based plants alone make up around 210 GW. Government planning documents indicate a further addition of nearly 88,000 MW of thermal capacity by 2031-32, because renewables are intermittent and thermal plants are still needed for round-the-clock supply.

Types of Thermal Power Technology

Major Thermal Power Stations in India

The table below is arranged roughly by capacity. Focus first on the top ten, then on your own state's plants, because State PSC papers almost always ask a local question.

Ultra Mega Power Projects (UMPPs) in India

Eight UMPP sites were identified, but only two are operational. This "8 identified, 2 working" pattern is itself an exam question.

NTPC Limited: Key Facts

NTPC alone can account for two or three questions in a paper, so treat this as a mini-topic. Aspirants preparing for PSU recruitment should also track it through the latest government job notifications, since NTPC recruits engineers and executive trainees every year.

Advantages of Thermal Power

• Reliable and dispatchable: Unlike solar and wind, coal and gas plants can generate whenever needed, which keeps the grid stable.
• Cost effective: Capital and operating costs per MW are competitive, and India has the world's fourth largest coal reserves.
• Location flexibility: A thermal plant can be built almost anywhere with access to fuel and cooling water, unlike hydro which needs specific terrain.
• Employment generation: The sector directly employs an estimated 3.2 to 4 lakh people, apart from mining and transport jobs.
• Supports industry: Assured base load power enables manufacturing, railways and heavy industry to run continuously.
• Less land per MW: A thermal plant needs far less area than a hydro reservoir or a solar park of the same capacity.
• Mature technology: Decades of operating experience mean skilled manpower, spare parts and domestic manufacturing capability are all available.

Disadvantages of Thermal Power

• Air pollution: Coal plants are major sources of particulate matter (PM2.5 and PM10), sulphur dioxide and nitrogen oxides. Studies by the Centre for Research on Energy and Clean Air have found that thermal plants emit far more sulphur dioxide and fine particulate matter than crop residue burning.
• Fly ash: Huge volumes of fly ash cause respiratory illness, soil contamination and leaching of heavy metals into groundwater. Fly ash utilisation in cement and road building is now mandatory.
• Thermal pollution of water: Hot water discharged after cooling raises the temperature of rivers and coastal waters, harming aquatic life.
• Heavy water demand: Cooling requires large volumes of fresh water, a serious problem in water-stressed regions. This is why plants like Simhadri switched to sea water.
• Fuel dependence: Plants running on imported coal are exposed to price shocks, as the Mundra projects discovered when Indonesia changed its coal pricing law.
• High running costs: Fuel and maintenance make the per-unit cost higher than hydro or nuclear over the plant's life.
• Carbon emissions: Coal is the largest single source of India's carbon dioxide emissions, which conflicts with net-zero-by-2070 commitments.

Hydroelectric Power Plants in India

Hydropower was India's original mainstay. In 1947 it accounted for about 37 per cent of installed capacity and more than 53 per cent of generation. From the late 1960s coal displaced it, and today hydro contributes a much smaller share. India's assessed hydropower potential is about 1,45,320 MW, of which only around 29 per cent has been developed. At a 60 per cent load factor this potential could meet roughly 84,000 MW of demand. India ranks fifth in the world in hydropower capacity, behind China, Brazil, the United States and Canada, and has close to 200 hydro plants along with a growing fleet of pumped storage stations. Installed hydro capacity is expected to rise from about 42 GW to about 67 GW by 2031-32.

Major Hydroelectric Power Plants in India

Hydropower Agencies and Facts

Advantages and Limitations of Hydropower

• Low running cost: Once built, a hydro plant has almost no fuel cost and can operate for a century, reducing India's fuel import bill.
• Clean and renewable: No combustion means no fly ash and negligible operating emissions.
• Fast response: Hydro units can be started or stopped within minutes, which makes them ideal for meeting peak demand and backing up solar and wind.
• Multipurpose benefits: Reservoirs also provide irrigation, drinking water, flood control, fisheries, navigation and tourism.
• High initial cost: Construction is capital intensive and slow, which looks unattractive next to falling solar prices.
• Drought risk: A weak monsoon directly cuts generation, as Tehri showed in 2016.
• Ecological disruption: Dams alter river flow, block fish migration and submerge forests.
• Displacement and culture: Large reservoirs displace tribal and rural communities with deep cultural ties to the land, which has led to long-running protests.
• Disaster risk: Dam failure or a glacial lake outburst can cause catastrophic damage, as seen in Sikkim in 2023 and Chamoli in 2021.

Solar Power Plants and Solar Parks in India

Solar is India's fastest growing energy source. Installed solar capacity rose from just 2.82 GW in 2013-14 to about 162 GW by June 2026, a rise of roughly 57 times, making India the third largest country in installed solar capacity. India met its original 20 GW target four years early, then raised it to 100 GW, and now works toward 500 GW of non-fossil capacity by 2030. The financial year 2025-26 saw a record addition of about 45 GW of solar. Rajasthan is the largest solar state by cumulative capacity, followed by Gujarat and Maharashtra, while Gujarat has led recent annual additions. Practise these fast-changing numbers using the daily current affairs quizzes rather than trying to memorise them once.

Largest Solar Parks in India

Other Notable Solar Power Plants

India has more than 40 major solar plants of at least 10 MW. The following mid-size and early plants are useful for state-level questions.

Floating Solar Power Plants in India

Floating solar means mounting photovoltaic panels on the surface of a water body using high-density polyethylene floats. It saves scarce land, cuts evaporation from reservoirs and gains a small efficiency boost because water cools the panels. India's floating solar potential is estimated at 280 to 300 GW, with about 90 GW considered readily developable.

Other Renewable and Non-Fossil Landmarks

These sit just outside the thermal, hydro and solar list but are asked alongside them, so learn them together.

Memory Tricks and Mnemonics

Facts stick only when they are chained together. Use these tricks and then test yourself on the static GK quizzes the same day.

Trick 1: Biggest Plant of Each Type - the VKB Chain

Remember the letters V-K-B for the three biggest plants in the three main categories.

• V for Vindhyachal - biggest thermal (Madhya Pradesh, 4,760 MW)
• K for Koyna - biggest hydro (Maharashtra, 1,960 MW)
• B for Bhadla - biggest solar (Rajasthan, 2,245 MW)

Extend it as "V-K-B plus M for Muppandal wind and K for Kudankulam nuclear" to cover all five sources.

Trick 2: Largest Plants State by State

Chain the state to its biggest plant in one sentence.

• MP means Vindhyachal, Gujarat means Mundra, Maharashtra means Chandrapur, Chhattisgarh means Sipat, Uttar Pradesh means Rihand or Anpara, Karnataka means Raichur, Tamil Nadu means North Chennai.

Trick 3: The Two Working UMPPs - "Only MS Passed"

Eight UMPPs were planned but only two are operational. Remember the initials M and S.

• M for Mundra (Gujarat, Tata Power), S for Sasan (Madhya Pradesh, Reliance Power) - "only MS passed the exam, the other six failed."
• The six that failed or stalled are Krishnapatnam, Tilaiya, Bedabahal, Cheyyur, Girye and Tadri.

Trick 4: NTPC Fact Chain - 1975 to 90 GW

• "NTPC = 1975 born, New Delhi based, Maharatna ranked, Singrauli first in 1982, Vindhyachal biggest, 90 GW crossed in 2026."
• Note the deliberate N-N-M-S-V order so you never mix up the first plant with the biggest plant.

Trick 5: Rivers and Their Projects - "Satluj Twins, Narmada Twins, Krishna Twins"

• Satluj twins: Bhakra Nangal and Nathpa Jhakri.
• Narmada twins: Sardar Sarovar (Gujarat) and Indira Sagar plus Omkareshwar (Madhya Pradesh).
• Krishna twins: Srisailam and Nagarjuna Sagar.
• Bhagirathi single: Tehri. Koyna single: Koyna. Mahanadi single: Hirakud. Periyar single: Idukki.

Trick 6: Dam Superlatives - the TBHNSI Story

Picture a tall dam getting shorter as you go down the list.

• T - Tehri is the Tallest dam (260.5 m).
• B - Bhakra is the second tallest and Nehru's temple of modern India.
• H - Hirakud is the longest earthen dam.
• N - Nagarjuna Sagar is the largest masonry dam.
• S - Sardar Sarovar is the world's second largest concrete dam.
• I - Idukki is built on Asia's first arch dam.

Trick 7: Supercritical Ladder - "Sipat Starts, Khargone Kicks Up"

• Sub-critical is standard and old. Sipat Started supercritical. Khargone Kicked it up to ultra-supercritical. Sipat again for Advanced ultra-supercritical.
• Numbers to attach: sub-critical about 33 to 37 per cent efficiency, supercritical about 40 to 45 per cent, ultra-supercritical about 46 to 48 per cent.

Trick 8: Firsts of Indian Power - the Ascending Years

• 1897 Sidrapong hydro, 1899 Kolkata's first commercial thermal station, 1902 Shivanasamudra hydro, 1920 Hussain Sagar thermal, 1969 Tarapur nuclear, 1982 NTPC's Singrauli, 2012 Charanka and India's first UMPP era.
• Notice that hydro came before thermal in India - a favourite trap.

Trick 9: Power Sector Players - Four Verbs

• "NTPC generates, PGCIL transmits, DISCOMs distribute, CERC regulates, and Coal India supplies the coal."
• For hydro add: "NHPC, SJVN, THDC and NEEPCO build the dams."

Additional Notes

Frequently Confused Facts

• Vindhyachal vs Mundra: Vindhyachal (Madhya Pradesh, NTPC, 4,760 MW) is the largest thermal plant overall. Adani's Mundra TPS (Gujarat, 4,620 MW) is the largest private sector thermal plant. Read the question carefully.
• Adani's Mundra TPS vs Tata's Mundra UMPP: Two separate plants in the same taluka of Kutch. Adani Power runs the 4,620 MW Mundra Thermal Power Station, which is not a UMPP. Tata Power's Coastal Gujarat Power runs the 4,000 MW Mundra UMPP, which is India's first commissioned UMPP. Many study notes wrongly merge the two.
• Singrauli vs Vindhyachal: Singrauli STPS is NTPC's first station and lies in Sonbhadra district of Uttar Pradesh. Vindhyachal is NTPC's largest station and lies in Singrauli district of Madhya Pradesh. Same name, different state, different record.
• Sipat vs Khargone: Sipat had India's first supercritical units. Khargone has NTPC's first ultra-supercritical units.
• Koyna vs Tehri: Koyna is the largest completed conventional hydroelectric plant at 1,960 MW. The Tehri complex has a larger total of 2,400 MW, but that includes pumped storage and the separate Koteshwar dam, and Tehri's own record is that it is India's tallest dam. If the question says "largest hydroelectric power plant", the expected answer is usually Koyna; if it says "largest hydropower complex" or "tallest dam", it is Tehri.
• Ramagundam is not a hydro project: Some lists place Ramagundam among hydro plants. It is actually a 2,600 MW NTPC coal-based station in Telangana that also hosts a 100 MW floating solar plant.
• India's first thermal power plant: Most exam keys accept Hussain Sagar Thermal Power Station, Hyderabad (1920). Historically, the first commercial thermal generating station was CESC's 1,000 kW plant at Emambagh Lane, Kolkata, in 1899. If both options appear, choose Hussain Sagar unless the question specifically says "first commercial power station".
• Sidrapong vs Shivanasamudra: Sidrapong in Darjeeling (1897) is India's oldest hydro station. Shivanasamudra in Karnataka (1902) is Asia's first major hydroelectric station. Both are called "first" in different senses.
• Bhadla vs Khavda: Bhadla is the largest operational solar park today. Khavda is the largest planned renewable energy park and will overtake it. Check whether the question says "operational".
• Capacity share vs generation share: Coal is about 41 per cent of installed capacity but about 70 per cent of generation. Renewables are over half of installed capacity but a much smaller share of units generated.
• Small hydro vs large hydro: Projects up to 25 MW are small hydro under MNRE. Above 25 MW they are large hydro under the Ministry of Power. Both count as non-fossil capacity.

Repeating PYQ Patterns

• SSC CGL, CHSL and MTS: Direct matching of plant to state and river. Vindhyachal, Koyna, Bhakra Nangal, Tehri, Hirakud, Sardar Sarovar and Bhadla appear most often.
• UPSC Prelims: Conceptual and current affairs framing rather than plain names - supercritical technology, UMPP design, fly ash rules, flue gas desulphurisation, pumped storage, the 500 GW NDC target and river-basin hydro potential.
• IBPS PO, Clerk and SBI: Latest capacity milestones, NTPC and NHPC facts, agreements and new commissioning news from the last six months. Support this with banking awareness notes, since power sector financing by PFC, REC and IREDA is a linked topic.
• RRB NTPC, Group D and ALP: Firsts and superlatives - first thermal plant, first nuclear plant, oldest hydro plant, tallest dam, largest solar park.
• Insurance exams (LIC, NIACL, NABARD): Renewable targets, state rankings in solar and wind, and floating solar projects.
• State PSCs: Almost always a question on the state's own largest plant, its main river project and its state generation company such as MAHAGENCO, KPCL, TANGEDCO, GSECL, MPPGCL, APGENCO or WBPDCL.
• PSU recruitment (NTPC, NHPC, PGCIL, SJVN): Company-specific facts such as year of establishment, Maharatna status, first and largest plants, and current capacity milestones, usually combined with a technical or aptitude section. Revise these with your computer awareness notes, since PSU papers pair General Awareness with basic computer and technical questions.

Quick Insight

India's power sector is at a turning point, and that is exactly why examiners keep returning to it. Non-fossil sources now make up more than half of installed capacity, reached about five years before the promised deadline, and renewables even met more than half of peak demand on some days. At the same time coal generation still supplies most of the electricity actually consumed, and the government has cleared nearly 88,000 MW of fresh thermal capacity for the years up to 2031-32. The real story is therefore not coal versus solar but the search for firming capacity - pumped storage, battery storage and flexible thermal units that can fill the evening gap when the sun sets. Expect questions on battery energy storage systems, pumped storage projects, flue gas desulphurisation deadlines, green hydrogen and the retirement of old urban plants like Badarpur. Every one of these has already appeared in some form in a recent paper, so read them alongside your static GK notes and check the computer awareness quizzes too, since smart grid and SCADA terms are creeping into technical recruitment papers.

One-Liners for Quick Revision

• India's electricity rank - Third largest producer and consumer of electricity in the world - after China and the USA.
• Total installed capacity - Crossed 540 GW in mid-2026 - growing at more than 14 per cent a year.
• Non-fossil capacity - About 297 GW in June 2026 - more than half of total capacity, achieved five years ahead of the NDC target.
• NDC target - 500 GW of non-fossil capacity by 2030 - announced at COP26, with a long-term vision of 1,800 GW by 2047.
• Coal share - About 41 per cent of installed capacity but roughly 70 per cent of generation - the classic capacity versus generation trap.
• Thermal capacity - Over 240 GW in total with about 210 GW coal-based - spread over more than 270 stations.
• Thermal expansion plan - Nearly 88,000 MW of new thermal capacity planned by 2031-32 - because renewables are intermittent.
• Projected peak demand - 277.2 GW by 2026-27 and 366.4 GW by 2031-32 - as per the National Electricity Plan.
• Vindhyachal STPS - India's largest thermal power station at 4,760 MW - NTPC, Singrauli district, Madhya Pradesh, coal from Nigahi mines, 13 units.
• Mundra TPS - India's largest private thermal plant at 4,620 MW - Adani Power, Kutch, Gujarat, imported Indonesian coal.
• Mundra UMPP - India's first fully commissioned UMPP at 4,000 MW - Tata Power's Coastal Gujarat Power, five supercritical units of 800 MW.
• Sasan UMPP - 3,960 MW pithead UMPP in Singrauli, Madhya Pradesh - Reliance Power, captive coal from Moher coalfields.
• Tiroda TPP - 3,300 MW in Gondia, Maharashtra - Adani Power Maharashtra, five supercritical units, Wainganga river water.
• Chandrapur Super TPS - Maharashtra's largest thermal station at about 2,920 MW - MAHAGENCO, Western Coalfields coal, Erai dam water.
• Talcher Super TPS - 3,000 MW in Angul, Odisha - NTPC's flagship eastern station in the Talcher coalfield.
• Rihand Super TPS - 3,000 MW in Sonbhadra, Uttar Pradesh - NTPC, six units of 500 MW, water from Rihand reservoir.
• Sipat Super TPS - 2,980 MW in Bilaspur, Chhattisgarh - site of India's first supercritical units and of the planned indigenous advanced ultra-supercritical unit.
• Khargone STPP - NTPC's first ultra-supercritical station - 2 units of 660 MW in Madhya Pradesh.
• Anpara TPS - 2,630 MW in Sonbhadra - Uttar Pradesh's largest state-run thermal station under UPRVUNL.
• Korba Super TPS - 2,600 MW in Chhattisgarh - NTPC station in India's densest power belt.
• Ramagundam Super TPS - 2,600 MW in Peddapalli, Telangana - NTPC, and site of a 100 MW floating solar plant.
• Shree Singaji TPS - 2,520 MW in Khandwa - Madhya Pradesh's largest state-owned thermal plant.
• Damodaram Sanjeevaiah TPS - 2,400 MW in Nellore, Andhra Pradesh - APGENCO's coastal station, also called Krishnapatnam TPS.
• Tamnar (O P Jindal STPP) - 2,400 MW in Raigarh, Chhattisgarh - Jindal Power, an early private merchant plant.
• Kudgi Super TPS - 2,400 MW in Vijayapura, Karnataka - NTPC's main supercritical station in the south.
• Kahalgaon Super TPS - 2,340 MW in Bhagalpur - Bihar's largest thermal station, run by NTPC.
• Mejia TPS - 2,340 MW in Bankura, West Bengal - the largest station of Damodar Valley Corporation, India's first multipurpose river valley authority (1948).
• Farakka Super TPS - 2,100 MW in Murshidabad - NTPC station beside the Farakka barrage.
• Singrauli Super TPS - 2,000 MW in Sonbhadra, Uttar Pradesh - NTPC's very first power station, commissioned in 1982.
• Simhadri Super TPS - 2,000 MW near Visakhapatnam - the NTPC station that uses sea water for cooling.
• Dadri NCPS - 1,820 MW coal plus about 830 MW gas in Gautam Buddh Nagar - NTPC's dual-fuel station supplying Delhi and the NCR.
• North Chennai TPS - 1,830 MW at Ennore - Tamil Nadu's largest state-run thermal station under TANGEDCO.
• Raichur TPS - 1,720 MW - Karnataka's largest thermal station, run by KPCL.
• Bellary TPS - 1,700 MW in the Tungabhadra region - another major KPCL station.
• Ukai TPS - 1,695 MW on the Tapi river - GSECL station at a site that has both thermal and hydro units.
• Yeramarus TPS - 1,600 MW in Raichur, Karnataka - two supercritical units of 800 MW under KPCL.
• Vallur TPS - 1,500 MW near Ennore, Tamil Nadu - a joint venture of NTPC and TANGEDCO called NTECL.
• Wanakbori TPS - 1,470 MW in Kheda, Gujarat - one of GSECL's oldest large stations.
• Sanjay Gandhi TPS - 1,340 MW at Birsinghpur, Madhya Pradesh - MPPGCL station named after Sanjay Gandhi.
• Bhusawal TPS - 1,210 MW in Jalgaon - MAHAGENCO's key north Maharashtra plant.
• Udupi Power Plant - 1,200 MW on the Karnataka coast - Adani Power plant running on imported coal.
• Obra TPS - 1,198 MW in Sonbhadra - one of the oldest UPRVUNL stations.
• Trombay TPS - 1,180 MW in Mumbai - Tata Power's multi-fuel station and the site of India's first 500 MW unit and first electrostatic precipitator.
• Satpura TPS - 1,142 MW at Sarni, Betul - one of central India's oldest thermal stations.
• Tuticorin TPS - 1,050 MW in Thoothukudi - India's southernmost major thermal station.
• Bakreswar TPS - 1,050 MW in Birbhum - a major WBPDCL station in West Bengal.
• Ib Valley TPS (OPGC) - 420 MW Stage-I plus 1,320 MW Stage-II in Jharsuguda, Odisha - located in the Ib Valley coalfield.
• Khaperkheda TPS - 840 MW near Nagpur - MAHAGENCO station being expanded with supercritical technology.
• Mettur TPS - 840 MW in Salem - TANGEDCO station near the Mettur dam on the Cauvery.
• Budge Budge station - 750 MW in South 24 Parganas - run by CESC, India's oldest power utility, founded in 1897.
• Barauni TPS - about 720 MW after revamp, in Begusarai - old Bihar plant revived with two 250 MW units.
• Badarpur TPS - 705 MW in Delhi, decommissioned in 2018 - closed on Supreme Court and NGT orders as a major Delhi pollution source; Rajghat Power House was shut earlier for the same reason.
• Panki TPS - Kanpur, Uttar Pradesh - old 480 MW units retired and replaced by a new 660 MW supercritical unit.
• Talcher TPS (old) - 460 MW in Angul - the smaller NTPC station, separate from Talcher Super TPS at Kaniha.
• Paras TPS - 500 MW in Akola - a smaller MAHAGENCO station in western Vidarbha.
• Bandel TPS - 335 MW in Hooghly - one of West Bengal's oldest stations, under modernisation.
• Sabarmati TPS - 235 MW in Ahmedabad - Torrent Power's coal and gas station.
• Hussain Sagar TPS - India's first thermal power station as per most exam keys - 22.5 MW, opened in Hyderabad in 1920 by the seventh Nizam, shut in 1992.
• First commercial power station - CESC's 1,000 kW plant at Emambagh Lane, Kolkata, 1899 - the true historical beginning of thermal generation in India.
• UMPP definition - Coal-based projects of 4,000 MW or more awarded through competitive bidding - eight identified, only Mundra and Sasan operational.
• Thermal technology ladder - Sub-critical about 33 to 37 per cent, supercritical about 40 to 45 per cent, ultra-supercritical about 46 to 48 per cent efficiency - higher efficiency means less coal and lower emissions per unit.
• Gas-based CCGT - The most efficient thermal route at about 55 to 60 per cent - examples are Dadri Gas, Bawana and Ratnagiri.
• NTPC - India's largest power producer, established in 1975, Maharatna since May 2010, headquartered in New Delhi - crossed 90 GW in May 2026 with about 32 GW under construction.
• NTPC share - About 17 per cent of India's installed capacity and about 24 per cent of generation - listed on BSE and NSE after its 2004 IPO.
• NTPC Green Energy - The renewable arm targeting 60 GW by 2032 - part of NTPC's shift beyond coal.
• NTPC subsidiaries - THDC India, NEEPCO, PVUNL, Kanti Bijlee Utpadan Nigam, NTPC-SAIL Power Company and NTECL.
• Hydro potential - About 1,45,320 MW assessed, only about 29 per cent developed - could meet nearly 84,000 MW of demand at a 60 per cent load factor.
• Hydro rank - India is fifth in the world in hydropower capacity - behind China, Brazil, the USA and Canada; China alone holds about 29 per cent of global capacity.
• Hydro basins - Brahmaputra about 66 GW, Indus about 34 GW, South Indian rivers about 24 GW, Ganga about 21 GW - Brahmaputra has the largest untapped potential.
• Hydro in 1947 - About 37 per cent of capacity and over 53 per cent of generation - coal overtook it from the late 1960s.
• Hydro expansion - Capacity expected to rise from about 42 GW to about 67 GW by 2031-32 - with over 90 per cent of hydro run by the public sector.
• Small hydro rule - Projects up to 25 MW fall under MNRE as small hydro; micro up to 100 kW, mini 101 kW to 2 MW, small 2 to 25 MW, mega 500 MW and above.
• Koyna Project - India's largest completed hydroelectric plant at 1,960 MW - Maharashtra, four dams, four stages, underground powerhouses in the Western Ghats, built from 1954.
• Tehri complex - 2,400 MW on the Bhagirathi in Uttarakhand - India's tallest dam at 260.5 metres, eighth tallest in the world, includes Tehri PSP and the 400 MW Koteshwar dam; built by THDC, now under NTPC.
• Srisailam Project - 1,670 MW on the Krishna - India's third largest working hydro project, in the Nallamala hills.
• Nathpa Jhakri - 1,500 MW on the Satluj in Kinnaur - India's largest underground hydro project, six turbines of 250 MW, run by SJVN, completed in 2004.
• Sardar Sarovar - 1,450 MW on the Narmada in Gujarat - world's second largest concrete gravity dam, with riverbed and canal head powerhouses.
• Bhakra Nangal - 1,325 MW on the Satluj - Nehru's temple of modern India, reservoir Gobind Sagar, managed by the Bhakra Beas Management Board.
• Subansiri Lower - 2,000 MW on the Subansiri in Arunachal Pradesh and Assam - NHPC's largest project under construction, delayed by fish migration and downstream concerns.
• Indira Sagar - 1,000 MW on the Narmada in Madhya Pradesh - India's largest reservoir by storage volume, built by NHDC.
• Chamera Project - Three NHPC stages on the Ravi in Chamba - 540 MW, 300 MW and 231 MW.
• Dulhasti Project - 390 MW on the Chenab in Kishtwar - NHPC run-of-the-river project relevant to the Indus Waters Treaty.
• Nagarjuna Sagar - 815 MW on the Krishna - the world's largest masonry dam.
• Hirakud - About 348 MW on the Mahanadi in Odisha - India's longest earthen dam and the first big multipurpose project after independence.
• Pong Dam - 396 MW on the Beas in Kangra - reservoir Maharana Pratap Sagar is a Ramsar site famous for the bar-headed goose.
• Idukki Project - 780 MW on the Periyar in Kerala - built around Asia's first arch dam.
• Teesta Urja (Stage III) - 1,200 MW run-of-the-river project in Sikkim - severely damaged in the 2023 South Lhonak glacial lake outburst flood.
• Tapovan Vishnugad - 520 MW NTPC project in Chamoli - damaged in the February 2021 Uttarakhand disaster.
• Sidrapong - India's oldest hydro station, commissioned in 1897 in Darjeeling - it electrified one of Asia's earliest hill towns.
• Shivanasamudra - Commissioned in 1902 on the Cauvery in Karnataka - Asia's first major hydro station, first supplying the Kolar Gold Fields.
• Siang Upper Project - Proposed 11,000 MW on the Siang in Arunachal Pradesh - would become India's largest hydro project; a live current affairs and strategic issue.
• Hydro agencies - NHPC is the largest hydro developer, SJVN runs Nathpa Jhakri, THDC built Tehri and NEEPCO covers the North East.
• Solar capacity - About 162 GW by June 2026, up from 2.82 GW in 2013-14 - roughly a 57-fold rise, making India third in the world in solar capacity.
• Record solar year - About 45 GW of solar added in FY 2025-26 and 6.65 GW in March 2026 alone - the highest ever annual and monthly additions.
• Leading solar states - Rajasthan first by cumulative capacity, then Gujarat and Maharashtra - together nearly 60 per cent of India's solar capacity.
• Solar Park Scheme - Launched by MNRE in December 2014 for parks of 500 MW and above - target later raised from 20,000 MW to 40,000 MW.
• Bhadla Solar Park - India's largest solar park at 2,245 MW - Jodhpur district, Rajasthan, about 14,000 acres of the Thar desert, once the world's largest, record low tariff of about Rs 2.44 per unit.
• Pavagada Solar Park - 2,050 MW in Tumakuru, Karnataka, also called Shakti Sthala - India's second largest, built on land leased from farmers.
• Khavda Renewable Energy Park - 30 GW planned in Kutch, Gujarat - the world's largest renewable energy park, about 26 GW solar plus 4 GW wind, with about 9.9 GW already operational by mid-2026.
• Kurnool Ultra Mega Solar Park - 1,000 MW in Andhra Pradesh, commissioned in 2017 - was the world's largest single-site solar park at the time.
• NP Kunta - 978 MW in Ananthapuramu, Andhra Pradesh - a major NTPC and APSPCL park.
• Rewa Ultra Mega Solar - 750 MW in Madhya Pradesh - first Indian solar project to supply the Delhi Metro, famous for record low tariffs.
• Charanka Solar Park - 690 MW in Patan, Gujarat, commissioned in 2012 - India's first large solar park and the model for the national scheme.
• Kamuthi Solar Project - 648 MW in Ramanathapuram, Tamil Nadu - built in about eight months and once the world's largest single-location solar plant.
• Andhra Pradesh solar cluster - Kurnool, NP Kunta, Ananthapuramu II, Galiveedu and Kadapa - the densest set of ultra mega solar parks in one state.
• Welspun Solar MP - 151 MW in Neemuch, Madhya Pradesh - was Asia's largest single-location solar plant when commissioned.
• Omkareshwar Floating Solar Park - India's largest floating solar project - 278 MW operational of a planned 600 MW on the Narmada in Khandwa, Madhya Pradesh, coordinated by RUMSL with SJVN, NHDC and AMP blocks.
• Ramagundam Floating Solar - 100 MW NTPC plant in Telangana - India's largest floating solar plant before Omkareshwar.
• Kayamkulam Floating Solar - 101.6 MWp NTPC project in Alappuzha, Kerala - one of India's largest floating installations.
• Floating solar potential - Estimated at 280 to 300 GW in India, with about 90 GW readily developable - saves land and cuts reservoir evaporation.
• Muppandal Wind Farm - India's largest onshore wind farm at about 1,500 MW - Kanyakumari, Tamil Nadu, developed by TEDA using Arabian Sea winds.
• Jaisalmer Wind Park - India's second largest wind farm in Rajasthan - developed by Suzlon, crossed 1,000 MW in 2012.
• Wind capacity - About 57 GW, led by Tamil Nadu and Gujarat - India ranks fourth in the world in wind power capacity.
• Tarapur Atomic Power Station - India's first nuclear power station, commissioned in 1969 in Palghar, Maharashtra.
• Kudankulam - India's largest nuclear power station, in Tirunelveli, Tamil Nadu - built with Russian collaboration, with more units under construction.
• Nuclear capacity - About 8.78 GW, operated by NPCIL under the Department of Atomic Energy.
• Power sector roles - NTPC generates, PGCIL transmits, DISCOMs distribute, CERC and SERCs regulate, CEA plans and Coal India supplies coal.
• Coal geography - Jharkhand leads in reserves while Chhattisgarh and Odisha lead in production - the Damodar and Mahanadi valleys are the core coal belts.
• Thermal employment - An estimated 3.2 to 4 lakh people are directly employed in thermal power - apart from mining and transport jobs.
• Pollution control - Flue Gas Desulphurisation systems are being installed across coal plants to cut sulphur dioxide - Vindhyachal's units are among those being fitted.

The fastest way to lock these facts in is to answer questions on them the same day you read them. Move straight to the static GK quiz section for plant-to-state matching practice, and if you are targeting bank exams, follow it with the banking awareness quizzes, because power sector financing and PSU news are tested together with General Awareness.

Capacity figures in this topic change every few months, so revise them through the current affairs quizzes rather than memorising them once. Once your General Awareness preparation is on track, check the latest government job notifications so you never miss an application deadline for NTPC, NHPC, SJVN, PGCIL or state power board recruitment.