Delhi to get 4th waste to energy plant in 2 months as project enters final leg

Delhi generates 11,119 metric tonnes (MT) of solid waste daily, and half of it ends up at the three landfill sites in Okhla, Bhalswa and Ghazipur.

The construction work on Delhi’s fourth waste to energy plant at southeast Delhi’s Tehkhand is in the last stage, following the installation of boilers, officials associated with the project said, and added that the plant may start operations in the next two months.

The new trend in Delhi is towards using incineration as the primary method of waste processing, said officials. (Sanchit Khanna/HT PHOTO)

According to a senior Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD) official, the plant will produce 25 megawatts (MW) of power by utilising 2,000 tonnes of municipal solid waste (MSW) dailybeing dumped at the Okhla landfill site. Waste-to-energy plants burn waste to produce steam which runs turbines to generate electricity.

“The facility, spread over 15 acres in Tehkhand, comprises two boilers — the first unit will become operational in August this year, and the second one early September. Once the facility becomes operational, 100% waste from the south Delhi region will be processed smoothly,” the official said, asking not to be named.

Delhi generates 11,119 metric tonnes (MT) of solid waste daily, and half of it ends up at the three landfill sites in Okhla, Bhalswa and Ghazipur. “The waste to energy plant at Tehkhand is being developed in conjunction with a new engineered landfill site in Tehkhand, which is spread over 27.2 acres. The construction of the new landfill, at an estimated cost of ₹42.3 crore, is likely to be completed by March 2023. It will be used for disposing ash and inert material from waste to energy plants,” explained the official.

Currently, Delhi has three waste to energy plants in Ghazipur, Narela and Okhla, with a total capacity of processing 5,250 tonnes of waste to generate 52MW electricity. In 2019, the erstwhile North Delhi Municipal Corporation (NDMC) proposed to build a second plant with 1,500 tonnes per day (TPD) capacity near Bhalswa, and the former EDMC to build its second such facility in Ghonda Gujran.

The existing waste to energy plant at Ghazipur is under maintenance, and has been non-operational for several months. “The Ghazipur plant will again be functional from June 15,” said another official in the know of the development.

The new trend in Delhi is towards using incineration as the primary method of waste processing, said officials. Usage of waste to energy plants face resistance from many local residents, with several protesting against pollution caused by these plants. Experts, too, have repeatedly pointed out that the city needs to focus on segregation of household waste into dry-wet components, instead of setting up waste to energy plants fed with mixed unsegregated waste.