Captive Power Plant EPC for Factories and Industrial Parks
When grid supply is unreliable or too expensive, a captive plant turns a cost centre into a controlled operating cost.
A captive plant is not a small utility plant — it is a process utility. The load profile follows the factory, not the grid, and downtime is measured in lost production rather than lost revenue. That changes the design priorities: redundancy, fuel flexibility and maintainability matter more than headline efficiency.
We have built captive plants for continuous-process industries where steam and power demand move together. In most cases the right answer is cogeneration — extracting steam for the process and power from the same fuel — and the economics only work if the steam-to-power ratio is measured properly at the start.
Where this plant type fits
- Cement and lime — Waste heat recovery from kiln exhaust plus supplementary firing for 5–25 MW.
- Textile and dyeing — Gas or biomass cogeneration supplying steam and power to continuous process lines.
- Food and beverage — Bagasse, husk or gas fired CHP with steam for evaporation and sterilisation.
- Paper and packaging — Black liquor or biomass boilers with extraction-condensing turbines.
- Industrial parks — Central utility plant selling steam and power to multiple tenants.
- Mining and mineral processing — Heavy fuel oil or gas plants in remote locations, designed for high ambient temperature and dust.
Quick facts
Typical project duration and full scope detail are set out below. For a specific site, ask us for a preliminary configuration.
Request a quoteTypical technical range
Values below are the range we design within. The final specification follows the fuel analysis and site conditions.
| Parameter | Range / Description |
|---|---|
| Capacity range | 2 – 60 MW electrical, with process steam as required |
| Fuel options | Natural gas, biomass, HFO, diesel, waste heat, or dual fuel |
| Configuration | Cogeneration, trigeneration, or power-only with islanding capability |
| Grid interaction | Parallel with grid, island mode, or seamless transfer between the two |
| Redundancy | N+1 on critical auxiliaries; black-start capability optional |
| Cooling | Air-cooled condensers common in water-scarce industrial sites |
| Typical construction period | 10 – 20 months |
What is in and what is out
An explicit boundary is the difference between a quotation and a contract. This is the standard split for a captive & industrial power plants project.
- Load and steam demand profiling
- Technical and economic option study (fuel, size, configuration)
- Full plant design and equipment supply
- Grid interconnection and islanding protection
- Erection, commissioning and load testing
- Operator training with plant-specific procedures
- Optional O&M and spare-parts agreement
- Factory process modifications downstream of the plant boundary
- Fuel supply and long-term logistics
- Utility interconnection agreements and permits
- Substation works owned by the utility
Frequently asked questions
Answers to the questions we are asked most often on this subject. If yours is not here, ask us directly.
Will a captive plant be cheaper than grid electricity?
It depends almost entirely on your fuel cost and your current tariff. As a rule of thumb, a gas or biomass captive plant becomes attractive when the delivered fuel cost is below roughly 60% of the equivalent grid cost per kWh, and when your load factor is above 60%. We run the comparison with your actual twelve-month bill data.
Can the plant run in parallel with the grid and export surplus?
Yes. Parallel operation with export is standard where local regulation allows it. We design the protection and metering for both parallel and island modes, with seamless transfer if the grid fails.
How much space does it need?
A 10 MW gas engine plant typically needs 1,500–2,500 m² including the gas station and switchyard. A biomass plant of the same output needs considerably more, mainly for fuel storage — 4,000–8,000 m².
What happens if the plant trips?
The design basis is that a single generating unit trip must not stop the factory. We size the configuration so that N+1 redundancy covers the critical load, and we set up automatic load shedding for non-critical circuits.
Other solutions that may fit
Biomass Power Plants
We build biomass power plants that run on the fuel you already have — palm oil residue, rice husk, sugarcane bagasse, wood chips or mixed agricultural waste.
View solution →Gas Engine Power Plants
Fast, modular and highly efficient: gas engine plants are usually the quickest route from a gas source to reliable electricity.
View solution →Tell us what you need to build.
Send us the fuel type, target capacity and site country. We will reply with a preliminary configuration, an indicative budget range and the questions we still need answered.