India plans to boost setting up of biomass power plants
Economic Times reported that there is a renewed interest in biomass power plants, which can not only generate electricity but also help dispose of — in a carbon-neutral manner — agriculture waste, burning of which in Punjab and Haryana is partly blamed for the alarming levels of pollution Delhi is experiencing.
Mr Piyush Goyal, Minister of New and Renewable Energy held a meeting of top officials on Monday to consider increasing incentives to boost this segment.
Mr Santosh Vaidya, joint secretary at the Ministry of New and Renewable Energy (MNRE), said that “We are thinking of a scheme to encourage setting up of biomass plants using agricultural waste, but I cannot say anything more at the moment.”
The government already provides financial assistance of Rs 20 lakh per MW for setting up biomass power plants, and Rs 15 lakh per MW for co-generation projects by sugar mills (using sugarcane waste left over after juice extraction). Such plants cost around Rs 4.5-6 crore per MW, while generation expense is around Rs 3.25-4.00 per kwH. They are also entitled to concessional import and excise duties while acquiring equipment, as well as a tax holiday for 10 years.
But unlike sun and wind energy, this segment has been languishing in India. At the end of 2015-16, the country’s total biomass power installed capacity (along with co-generation units) was 4831.33 MW, with another 1150 MW under construction. Capacity addition has in fact slowed in the past three years, from 465.6 MW in 2012-13 to 412.5 MW in 2013-14, 405 MW in 2014-15 and 400 MW in 2015-16. Barring Karnataka, Maharashtra, Tamil Nadu, Uttarakhand and Uttar Pradesh, no state added any biomass power or co-generation capacity in the last fiscal year. Rather, leading players like Orient Green Power have been trying hard to sell off their biomass power assets, as they are not profitable.
Punjab has an biomass power and co-generation installed capacity of 155.5 MW, of which around 62.5 MW are in operation. In Haryana, the capacity is 45.3 MW.
Source : Economic Times