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WATCH: In Punjab's Ferozepur, a biomass plant generates electricity with paddy stubble
The Punjab Pollution Control Board (PPCB) has also asked the state’s three thermal power plants to use paddy stubble as fuel to the extent of 10 per cent of total annual coal use. Two of these plants are with the state government.
Amid increasing concerns over air pollution stemming from the stubble burning practice in northwest India, a biomass power plant in Punjab's Ferozepur has managed to generate electricity using paddy stubble. According to officials at the plant, the biomass power facility uses 600 tons of paddy stubble per day, which equates to around 2 -2.5 lakh tons of stubble per year. The initiative is being deemed favourable for farmers as well, since they get to sell their paddy to such biomass facilities, thus generating income.
Satish Bedi, the general manager (commercial) at the Sukhbir Agro Energy Limited, told the ANI news agency, “The power plant's capacity is 18 MW per hr, it is stubble based and uses 600 tons of stubble in a day and around 2-2.25 lakh tons of stubble in a year.”
Bedi added that this initiative is favourable for farmers as they are paid for selling stubble.
“This is favourable for farmers,” the official was quoted as saying by the agency. “We take all the stubble from farmland and the land becomes empty for farming again. Farmers are also paid for selling the stubble. It is cherry on top for them.”
It was reported by the Hindustan Times earlier this month that the Centre has been pushing the Punjab government to focus on ex-situ management of the crop stubble, in view of the fact that the paddy harvest season is on. Tying the stubble in bundles and supplying it as fuel in biomass-based power generation plants, industrial boilers, and coal-based-super critical power generating units is the most common form of ex-situ management, with experts claiming that the overall management cost is lowered this way.
The Punjab Pollution Control Board (PPCB) has also asked the state’s three thermal power plants to use paddy stubble as fuel to the extent of 10 per cent of total annual coal use. Two of these plants are with the state government.
Satish Bedi, the official at the Sukhbir Agro Energy Limited, said that if more power plants are set up in the state, more electricity would be generated and the stubble burning problem could be eliminated.
“If 24-26 plants like this are set up in Punjab, we would generate a lot of electricity for the state,” he said. “This will resolve the environmental problem and also eliminate the stubble burning problem. Moreover, this plant provides direct employment to 1500 people, which will help in employment generation as well.”
