In a bid to promote use of waste for power generation, the ministry of new and renewable energy (MNRE) has appealed to all the industrial associations and industrial units to adopt technology for converting industrial wastes into energy.
Industry insiders see potential in the food processing industry, including sugar, distilleries, pulp and paper, dairies and poultry to make use of their waste material for converting them into gas and generate power from it. “Renewable energy has come of age now. Only this can bridge the prevailing demand-supply gap of power. We need to be energy efficient as well as self reliant by making maximum use of all the sources of renewable energy. Making use of industrial waste to produce power is one such way to do it,” said Deepak Gupta, secretary, MNRE at a seminar organised by Associated Chambers of Commerce and Industries of India (ASSOCHAM) in Ahmedabad on Wednesday.
According to government estimates there is a potential for recovery of about 1300 Mw of energy from industrial wastes, which is projected to increase to 2000 Mw by 2017. Gupta mentioned that at present project worth 130 Mw generation capacities are under operation in the country. Energy generated from farm wastes, sludge and manure can substitute the use of kerosene for lighting in rural areas, he informed.
The payback period for power generation from waste is estimated to be about two years. Additionally, experts maintained that industrial waste, which is otherwise dumped on land or water creating pollution can find suitable disposal by using it for power generation.
However, technologically there is high dependence on imported machinery for such plants. “The industrial units go for multiple installations at single location for higher power generation from gas. We provide plants having capacity in the range of 220 kilowatt to 4 MW. The initial cost is high but the payback period is less. The high cost is due to imported engines, which we source from Austria. India does not have manufacturers of such large gas engines,” said Vinayak Jadhav, Dy General Manager (sales), Clarke Energy, a distributor of GE Jenbacher gas engines. Gupta also urged industrial associations and individual units to come forward and initiate steps to transform waste to energy.
