were commissioned in 2009. Land was already allocated to the developers for
another five plants and work commencement started during March–April 2009.
According to information provided by PEDA, biomass power projects are
planned to be allocated in the following phases:
• Phase I—agreements reached with two companies—M/s Turbo Atom TPS and
M/s Green Field Energen Pvt. Ltd., in New Delhi and Chandigarh, respectively
for two tehsils, Ferozepur and Patti with a total capacity of 56 MW (for details
see Annexure 1).
• Phase II—three companies were there for Abohar, Sunam, and Ajnala,
respectively. The two companies of Sunam and Ajnala are canceled having
41 MW. With the capacity of 8 MW the company M/s Dee Development in
Abohar Tehsil is commissioned (see Annexure 1 for details).
• Phase III—six companies with different feed stocks. The M/s Green Plant of
Chandigarh is based on paddy straw which is planned in 14 tehsils with total
146.5 MW of capacity, out of which Garhshankar with 10 MW capacity is
likely to begin. M/s Universal Biomass of Muktsar which is mostly based on
cotton stock with 14.5 MW in Malout Tehsil is commissioned. The Malwa
Power Ltd., in the village Gulabewala in the district of Muktsar, was started
before PEDA took over with 6 MW. Other three companies have total capacity
of 65 MW (for detail, see Annexure 1).
PEDA has so far allocated 30 sites/tehsils for setting up plants with a total
generation capacity of 337 MW. Annexure 1 gives detailed status of biomass-based
power projects.
6 Conclusion
The use of agriculture waste for generating power is an innovative idea as biomass
is a carbon neutral fuel, which helps in reducing the greenhouse effect and global
warming. It can also be source of valuable carbon credits. Each project will benefit
around 10–15 thousand farmers in their command areas. According to one estimate,
farmers can earn around Rs. 1500–2000 per acre for their stubble waste that is
otherwise wasted at the moment. The farmer will have access to free power in
exchange of rice straw. Locally generated and distributed power will also reduce
wasteful transmission and distribution losses. Moreover, controlled combustion in a
modern boiler with electrostatic precipitators will be far less polluting than the open
burning of straw in the field as is being practiced at present. The ash generated
during the combustion can also be used as fertilizer in the field.
Since the PSEB is already planning to install additional power generating units
based on paddy straw, steps need to be taken to ensure the availability of paddy
straw in the respective areas. Consideration should be given to providing incentives
to the private sector to set up such units all over the state. Appropriate balers need to
516
P. Kumar
another five plants and work commencement started during March–April 2009.
According to information provided by PEDA, biomass power projects are
planned to be allocated in the following phases:
• Phase I—agreements reached with two companies—M/s Turbo Atom TPS and
M/s Green Field Energen Pvt. Ltd., in New Delhi and Chandigarh, respectively
for two tehsils, Ferozepur and Patti with a total capacity of 56 MW (for details
see Annexure 1).
• Phase II—three companies were there for Abohar, Sunam, and Ajnala,
respectively. The two companies of Sunam and Ajnala are canceled having
41 MW. With the capacity of 8 MW the company M/s Dee Development in
Abohar Tehsil is commissioned (see Annexure 1 for details).
• Phase III—six companies with different feed stocks. The M/s Green Plant of
Chandigarh is based on paddy straw which is planned in 14 tehsils with total
146.5 MW of capacity, out of which Garhshankar with 10 MW capacity is
likely to begin. M/s Universal Biomass of Muktsar which is mostly based on
cotton stock with 14.5 MW in Malout Tehsil is commissioned. The Malwa
Power Ltd., in the village Gulabewala in the district of Muktsar, was started
before PEDA took over with 6 MW. Other three companies have total capacity
of 65 MW (for detail, see Annexure 1).
PEDA has so far allocated 30 sites/tehsils for setting up plants with a total
generation capacity of 337 MW. Annexure 1 gives detailed status of biomass-based
power projects.
6 Conclusion
The use of agriculture waste for generating power is an innovative idea as biomass
is a carbon neutral fuel, which helps in reducing the greenhouse effect and global
warming. It can also be source of valuable carbon credits. Each project will benefit
around 10–15 thousand farmers in their command areas. According to one estimate,
farmers can earn around Rs. 1500–2000 per acre for their stubble waste that is
otherwise wasted at the moment. The farmer will have access to free power in
exchange of rice straw. Locally generated and distributed power will also reduce
wasteful transmission and distribution losses. Moreover, controlled combustion in a
modern boiler with electrostatic precipitators will be far less polluting than the open
burning of straw in the field as is being practiced at present. The ash generated
during the combustion can also be used as fertilizer in the field.
Since the PSEB is already planning to install additional power generating units
based on paddy straw, steps need to be taken to ensure the availability of paddy
straw in the respective areas. Consideration should be given to providing incentives
to the private sector to set up such units all over the state. Appropriate balers need to
516
P. Kumar