Remote Monitoring of Discharge Water Temperature at JSW Ratnagiri Thermal Power Plant

Discharge water temperature from a thermal power plant is a very sensitive issue. With the ever increasing power demand, the thermal power plants tend to generate more and more energy. Hence the cooling stations inside the plant work beyond the normal capacity, generating higher volume of very hot discharge water. When thrown into nearby sea or river, the discharge water may considerably increase the waterbody temperature. National permissible limit for it is +7°C, Above which, the habitability of the living aquatic entities would be hampered. This study aims to remotely monitor the temporal water temperature variations between inlet & discharge points of thermal power plant. Satellite data based remote temperature sensing method is carried out here. Methodology involves utilization of thermal band data from Landsat 7 & Landsat 8 satellite imagery. The thermal image based analysis helps to create temperature profiles along the plant intake and outflow water channels, extending up to the sea. This analysis would also help to correlate the temperature variation at different points on the sea surface to that at high temperature points within the power plants. This comprehensive analysis carried out for the JSW Ratnagiri power plant provides valuable insights into the temperature dynamics, ensuring compliance with the environmental standards and promoting sustainable practices in vicinity of the thermal power plant.