Why Burn Stubble When You Can Sell It? NTPC Generates Electricity Via Agri-Waste At Dadri Power Plant
State-run NTPC’s Dadri power plant has begun generating power via a technique called biomass co-firing which uses agriculture waste as fuel, reports Economic Times (ET).
“We have started producing electricity by partially replacing coal from pellets made of paddy straw and other agricultural residues in one unit of Dadri power plant. Blending of this bio-mass pellets in co-firing is one of the new initiatives towards improvement in environment measures at the plant. Currently, the plant has started with 10 per cent biomass co-firing in power generation,” said Chief General Manager, NTPC Dadri, A K Das.
Biomass co-firing reduces emissions from coal-fuelled generation and doesn’t require substantial infrastructural investments.
This mechanism can help address the problem of seasonal stubble-burning in states like Punjab which is considered a key cause for Delhi pollution.
Issues Remain
However, biomass has lower thermal efficiency, higher cost and higher technical risks as compared to coal. Also, biomass usually has a lower bulk energy density and is wet.
Though the direct costs of biomass like agricultural wastes might be low, the transportation, preparation, and handling costs are prohibitively high.