UP’s new bio-fuel policy to reduce pollution due to stubble burning

The proposed policy seeks to promote and incentivise setting up of power generation plants based on paddy straws and also makes it mandatory for state-owned thermal stations to use agricultural residue as raw material with coal to fire the power plants.

The Uttar Pradesh government is ready with a new bio-fuel policy which is being seen as a significant move to deal effectively with the environmental crisis arising out of stubble burning by farmers in the state.

Straw and stubble burning by farmers are a major cause of air pollution in north India. (HT FILE PHOTO)

The proposed policy seeks to promote and incentivise setting up of power generation plants based on paddy straws and also makes it mandatory for state-owned thermal stations to use agricultural residue as raw material with coal to fire the power plants.

“The draft policy titled Uttar Pradesh Bio-Fuel Policy-2020 is ready and will soon be put before the cabinet for approval before the final policy is rolled out to effectively manage crop residues/stubble, among other things, in the state,” said a senior official dealing with the issue.

According to the draft policy accessed by Hindustan Times, the state government will provide various incentives to private developers to set up paddy straw-based biomass power plants of 100 mw each through competitive biddings in the first phase, and depending on the experience, 300 mw plants can be set up in the next phase.

To assure developers of remunerable returns on their investment, it will be binding on the UP Power Corporation Ltd (UPPCL) to enter into long-term power purchase agreements with them to buy power from such plants for 20 years at the tariff to be fixed by the UP Electricity Regulatory Commission (UPERC).

The state government will provide an annual grant of more than ₹250 crore to the UPPCL to buy power that might be a little costlier than what it procures from other sources.

“Setting up such power plants will stop 10 million tonnes (MT) of paddy straw from being burnt by farmers in their fields every year,” the draft policy points out. It is estimated that that around 16 MT paddy straw is produced in the state, of which 4 MT is used by farmers themselves while the 12 MT paddy straw is burnt in the fields.

Another significant feature of the proposed policy is that it seeks to make it mandatory for the UP Rajya Vidyut Utpadan Nigam Ltd (Uprvunl) to use agricultural residue in ‘pellet’ form as a raw material along with coal in its power plants to generate electricity.

The NTPC, according to sources, is already using agricultural residue along with coal to fire its thermal plants at various places across the country after it found the experiment at the Dadri thermal plant to be successful. The National Green Tribunal (NGT) had floated the idea three years ago.

Under the new policy, local urban bodies will make the solid waste available to the biomass energy plants at their premises free of cost.