The Health Effects of Coal Electricity Generation in India

Abstract

To help inform pollution control policies in the Indian electricity sector we estimate the health damages associated with particulate matter, sulfur dioxide (SO2), and nitrogen oxides (NOx) from individual coal-fired power plants. We calculate the damages per ton of pollutant for each of 89 plants and compute total damages in 2008, by pollutant, for 63 plants. We estimate health damages by combining data on power plant emissions of particulate matter, SO2 and NOx with reduced-form intake fraction models that link emissions to changes in population-weighted ambient concentrations of fine particles. Concentration-response functions for fine particles from Pope et al. (2002) are used to estimate premature cardiopulmonary deaths associated with air emissions for persons 30 and older. Our results suggest that 75 percent of premature deaths are associated with fine particles that result from SO2 emissions. After characterizing the distribution of premature mortality across plants we calculate the health benefits and cost-per-life saved of the flue-gas desulfurization unit installed at the Dahanu power plant in Maharashtra and the health benefits of coal washing at the Rihand power plant in Uttar Pradesh.

Contract Enforcement and Productive Efficiency: Evidence From the Bidding and Renegotiation of Power Contracts in India

“…The modal heat rate is slightly below 10,000 btu per kWh, with the 25th percentile at 8192 btu per kWh and the 75th at 12,546 btu per kWh. This distribution has a similar central tendency, but broader dispersion, than the distribution of operating heat rates reported for Indian plants from engineering estimates (Cropper et al (2012)). the 60th percentile of the estimates.…”

“…Robust standard errors in parentheses. 15 I assume a calorific value of coal of 6300 kcal per kg (the benchmark gross calorific value for the Newcastle coal index) and a plant heat rate of 11,615 btu per kWh for this conversion (close to the mean operating heat rate of 11,424 btu per kWh of Cropper, Gamkhar, Malik, Limonov, and Partridge (2012)). that experienced a one INR per kWh increase in cost are 0.242 (standard error 0.099) more likely to renegotiate, on a base of about half.…”

“… I assume a calorific value of coal of 6300 kcal per kg (the benchmark gross calorific value for the Newcastle coal index) and a plant heat rate of 11,615 btu per kWh for this conversion (close to the mean operating heat rate of 11,424 btu per kWh of Cropper, Gamkhar, Malik, Limonov, and Partridge ()). …”

Information strategies for energy conservation: A field experiment in India

“…In other words, they did not know whether they were above or below average users in the complex. If households in the control 17 See Table VI of Cropper et al (2012) and Table VIII of CEA (2011). The average emissions factor was based on PM 2.5, SO 2 , NO x and CO 2 emissions.…”

Designing Fiscal Policy to Address the External Costs of Energy

“…As regards regression coefficients for a baseline country, those in Zhou et al (2006) for China are viewed as a good starting point (e.g., Cropper et al 2012). They obtained these coefficients by first calculating intake fractions (separately for direct PM 2.5 , SO 2 and NO x ) for a representative sample of coal plants, using a detailed air quality model (CALPUFF) applied to China matched to spatially disaggregated population data, and then running regressions of these intake fractions on populations residing at four distance classifications from each plant, and other variables.…”