The 7 MW plant will be set up in Samgauli, Punjab on build, own, operate basis
The Government of Punjab will bestow the onus of constructing and operating a waste to energy (WtE) plant in to the National Thermal Power Corporation (NTPC). The plant is slated to be built in the village of Samgauli, in Derabassi, Punjab.
The project will be developed by the NTPC on build, own, operate (BOO) basis. The entire set up, once erected, will generate power from waste and supply it to Punjab State Power Corporation Limited (PSPCL). Amarinder Singh, the chief minister of Punjab, sent forth an approval for an MoU (Memorandum of Understanding) between NTPC and the Mohali Municipal Corporation (MMC). The Mohali Municipal Corporation has been ear marked as the nodal agency that will assist in execution of the W2E project. The chief minister has given this approval in principal, which means the finalization is yet to be ascertained.
The chief minister, Amarinder Singh gave the go ahead for the 7 MW waste to energy plant construction only recently. The project had been stalled for a decade as the fifty acres of land n Samgauli was embroiled in the Golden Forest Land scam, wherein multiple owners staked claim to the land. Ultimately, the Punjab government got possession of the maximum part of this land.
This waste to energy project, upon completion, will play a major role in the execution of the State Action Plan on Climate Change (SAPCC) and the Swachh Bharat Abhiyan. The estimated time for commissioning of the project has been stated to be two years. The project will be a part of the Gmada-Patiala municipal solid waste cluster.
Waste to energy (WtE) is the mechanism of generating energy from the primary treatment of waste, or the processing of waste into a fuel source. This treatment process effectively solves two problems, that of waste management and energy generation. WtE is an ecological and cost effective method of energy generation. Municipal solid waste (MSW) has always been a challenging issue for urban local bodies. A huge part of the problem is sorted through the channeling of this MSW into energy in the WtE plant.
This will be a pilot project for the NTPC in the state of Punjab. However, the NTPC has executed similar projects at Kawas in Surat (Gujarat), Varanasi, Uttar Pradesh (UP), Indore in Madhya Pradesh (MP) and East Delhi Municipal Corporation (EDMC). PSPCL will sign a power purchase agreement (PPA) with the NTPC after a tariff agreement has been arrived at as per the Central Electricity Regulatory Commission’s (CERC) norms.
India has a significant waste to energy (WtE) potential. According to Ministry of New and Renewable Energy (MNRE), India has a potential of generating 1700 MW from urban waste (1500 MW from MSW and 225 MW from sewage). There is also a potential of generating 1300 MW from industrial waste in the country.
Image Credit: Pixabay
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