‘SuryaChambal Power Ltd.’ – A Green Powerhouse at Kota Biomass Based Cogeneration Power Plant Technological Challenges in Development of Biomass Power Page 14 Page 24 Page 27 SEP 2009 A QUARTERLY MAGAZINE ON BIOMASS ENERGY, PUBLISHED UNDER THE UNDP-GEF BIOMASS POWER PROJECT OF MINISTRY OF NEW AND RENEWABLE ENERGY (MNRE), GOVERNMENT OF INDIA. PUBLISHED BY WINROCK INTERNATIONAL INDIA (WII) INAUGURAL ISSUE Ministry of New and Renewable Energy Government of India
Transcript
‘SuryaChambalPower Ltd.’ – AGreen Powerhouseat Kota
Biomass BasedCogenerationPower Plant
TechnologicalChallenges inDevelopment ofBiomass Power
Page 14 Page 24 Page 27
SEP 2009
A QUARTERLY MAGAZINE ON BIOMASS ENERGY, PUBLISHED UNDER THE UNDP-GEF BIOMASS POWER PROJECT OF
MINISTRY OF NEW AND RENEWABLE ENERGY (MNRE), GOVERNMENT OF INDIA. PUBLISHED BY WINROCK INTERNATIONAL INDIA (WII)
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Ministry of New and Renewable EnergyGovernment of India
MESSAGE FROM THE EDITOR
(K.P. Sukumaran)
Adviser&
National Project Director
Today, Renewable Energy (RE) has emerged as a promising solutionto address the grim reality of climate challenge and energysecurity. India is positioned to maximize the gains from large
availability of solar, wind, biomass and hydro energy sources. As of now,India produces around 14,775 MW of grid interactive power from windbiomass, hydro, etc., which is equivalent to about 10 percent of the totalinstalled power generation capacity of 1,52,360 MW. The 11th Five Year Plan (2007-2012) hastargeted capacity addition of 14,000 MW from grid interactive and distributed RE power generation.Out of this, the share of Biomass and Bagasse Cogeneration power is around 2,100 MW. A sizeablebiomass power potential is still waiting to be tapped for a variety of barriers present.
With due recognition of such barriers, the Ministry of New and Renewable Energy (MNRE) is currentlyimplementing a UNDP/GEF supported project on, “Removal of Barriers to Biomass PowerGeneration in India”. The core objective of this project is to lay a sound framework so as tocatalyze a sustainable growth of the biomass power sector within the country through a series oftechnical, financial and capacity building measures. Dissemination of broad based information tothe stakeholders is one of the important activities of the present project. In that direction, thisquarterly magazine entitled “Bioenergy India” is being brought out under this project. It is intendedto cover technological, operational, financial and regulatory aspects of various biomass conversiontechnologies such as combustion, cogeneration, gasification and biomethanation.
Biomass specific project perspectives, technology innovations, industry/market outlook, financialschemes, policy features, best practices and successful case studies, etc. would also be included forpublication. This inaugural issue includes an overview of UNDP/GEF Biomass Power Project, twoarticles each on biomass combustion and cogeneration, besides GE experience on large capacityproducer gas engines, details on new policy initiatives, news snippets and books reviews etc.
This magazine is available on MNRE (www.mnre.gov.in) and UNDP (www.undp.org.in) websites.We hope that you would find this publication useful. I request you to share interesting information,which has bearing on the project development in biomass sector, to supplement our efforts. I alsolook forward to receiving your response and suggestions for making this newsletter more relevantand valuable, as we move along together.
Magazine on Biomass Energy September 2009 i
Magazine on Biomass Energy September 2009 ii
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MINISTERNEW AND RENEWABLE ENERGY
GOVERNMENT OF INDIA
MESSAGE
I am happy that the Ministry is bringing out a quarterly “BIOENERGY INDIA” focusing onactivities and issues related to the Biomass Power Sector including BagasseCogeneration.
In recent times, the Ministry has made significant progress in catalyzing generation ofGrid Interactive as well as Decentralized Distributed Power based on surplus biomass aswell as in evolving a conducive policy framework. There is, however, a need for evengreater thrust in this area in order to further facilitate the removal of existing barriers.
I hope that this Magazine will not only disseminate useful information but will also providea useful platform for experts, investors and other stakeholders to exchange their experiencesand expertise and to discuss issues related to harnessing biomass energy in an efficientand cost effective manner.
Magazine on Biomass Energy September 2009 iii
UNITED NATIONS
MESSAGE
The United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) is supporting the Government of India inpromoting sustainable environmental management. The thrust is on building national capacity forenvironmentally sustainable development, promoting best practices and supporting strategicallyselected interventions. Countering climate change is one of the important focus areas of UNDP forsupporting adoption of clean and environment-friendly technologies.
I am pleased that the Ministry of New and Renewable Energy (MNRE) is bringing out this quarterlymagazine – Bioenergy India – to disseminate information related to biomass power sector under aproject supported by the UNDP and the Global Environment Facility (GEF). The key objective of theproject titled “Removal of Barriers to Biomass Power Generation in India” is to accelerate the adoptionof environmentally sustainable biomass power technologies by removing the identified barriers, thereby,laying the foundation for the large-scale commercialization of biomass power through increased accessto financing. I hope that the experience and learnings emerged in implementation of the project willinfluence formulation and/or revision of policies of the Government of India in this sector. This magazinewill be an important tool to communicate the outcomes of this project for wider dissemination.
I extend my best wishes to all those associated with the publication of this magazine and hope that itwould benefit all concerned in this field.
Resident Coordinator’s Office
NATIONS UNIES
NEW DELHI, INDIA
55, Lodi Estate, New Delhl-110 003, IndiaTelephone: 24628877 Fax: 24627612 E-mail: [email protected] http://www.undp.org.in
Patrice Coeur-BizotUN Resident Coordinator &
UNDP Resident Representative
Magazine on Biomass Energy September 2009 iv
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SECRETARYGOVERNMENT OF INDIA
MINISTRY OF NEW AND RENEWABLE ENERGY
MESSAGE
With the growing concerns for Climate Change, Energy Security and Rising Cost of Fossil Fuels, the Renewables assumesa vital role in the total energy mix, not only in the developing economies like ours but in the entire world. India, currentlygenerates over 14,775 MW of grid interactive power from renewables which accounts for nearly 10 percent of the totalinstalled power generation capacity in the country, besides over 1,500 MW towards captive/combined heat and power/distributed renewable power.
Biomass Power Generation including Bagasse Cogeneration has continued to increase both in large and small scales,with an estimated addition of around 700 MW of power capacity during 2008-09, bringing the aggregate biomass powercapacity to over 2,200 MW.
While implementing various schemes and programmes of the Ministry, certain barriers were experienced which impendfaster realization of the available potential for variety of end-use applications. Studies on different aspects of biomassutilization for generation of energy and/or power commissioned under the UNDP/GEF Biomass Power Project will beuseful in evolving an integrated policy for optimum utilization of biomass which will take into account the economics ofscale, comparative merits of various options -distributed vs large biomass power plants -including the possibility of use ofbiomass at the point of consumption, preferably at the tail end of the grid, technology options for various end uses etc.The Model Investment Projects (MIPs) proposed to be established in different part of the country will be able to demonstratethe viability of new investment and financing model for mainstreaming the biomass sector. These MIPs are expected toact as the “Best Practices” and also to facilitate in developing comprehensive mechanism for management of field distributedas well as captive biomass/crop residues so that secured fuel supply linkages could be established for sustained operationof the plants at the planning stage of project development. The experience gained, I hope, would be helpful in formulatinga mission mode implementation of biomass programme.
I have no doubt that the publication of the quarterly Magazine “Bioenergy India”, which encompasses the full spectrumof biomass energy sector related information, will prove useful in creating awareness and dissemination of information.
An Overview of UNDP / GEF assisted Projecton “Removal of Barriers to Biomass PowerGeneration in India”BackgroundThe Ministry of New and Renewable Energy (MNRE) isimplementing a scheme for the promotion of GridInteractive Power Generation Projects based onRenewable Energy Sources that covers projects basedon biomass. Fiscal incentives such as accelerateddepreciation, import duty concessions, excise dutyexemption, tax holiday for 10 years etc. are beingprovided, besides capital subsidy for power generationprojects based on biomass and bagasse cogeneration.The State Electricity Regulatory Commissions (SERCs) inAndhra Pradesh, Haryana, Punjab, Madhya Pradesh,Maharashtra, Rajasthan, Tamil Nadu, Gujarat, Kerala,Punjab and West Bengal have announced preferentialtariff for such power projects, in addition to announcingRPOs. In the last 10 years, about 221 projects aggregatingto 1,904 MW have already been commissioned in differentparts of the country. The states which have taken aleadership position in implementation of biomass powerprojects are Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, Tamil Nadu,Chattishgarh, Maharashtra and Rajasthan.
While implementing the Program, certain barriers wereexperienced which impend faster realization of theavailable potential for a variety of end-use applications.Some of the major barriers experienced were inadequateinformation on biomass availability, existence of non-formal biomass markets, problems associated withmanagement of biomass collection, transportation,processing and storage, problems associated with settingup large size biomass plants, non-availability of costeffective sub-MW systems for conversion of biomass toenergy, non-versatility of boilers being able to take avariety of biomass stocks simultaneously, lack ofcapability in some sugar mills to generate bankableprojects on account of financial and liquidity problems,low capacity factors of some existing biomass projectsetc. Therefore, there was a need to address these barriersto achieve the target of 2,100 MW from biomass andbagasse cogeneration out of the total renewable basedgrid interactive power generating capacity of 14,000 MWplanned during the 11th Five Year Plan (2007-2012).
UNDP / GEF Biomass Power ProjectThe Ministry is currently implementing a UNDP / GEFassisted project on “Removal of Barriers to BiomassPower Generation in India.” The total outlay of theproject is USD 10.89 million (equivalent Rs. 54.45 Cr.)in which UNDP/GEF contribution is USD 5.65 million.The remaining USD 5.24 million is from GOI / MNRE.
Key Objectives of the ProjectThe key objective of the project is to accelerate theadoption of environmentally sustainable biomass powertechnologies by removing the barriers identified, andthereby laying the foundation for large scalecommercialization of biomass power through anincreased access to financing. The biomass conversiontechnologies that are proposed to be deployed arecombustion, gasification and cogeneration using differenttype of captive and distributed biomass resources. Variousother objectives are:
Technical Assistance (TA) for the barriers removingactivities which impede large scale deployment of thetechnology.Increased access to financing by creating contingentfunds for Investment Risks Mitigation and for settingup of Model Investment Projects (MIPs), which wouldact as “Best Practices” for faster replication of biomasspower in other states; andProjects to be undertaken in three different contexts –cooperative sugar mills, agro processors and biomassproducers, and distributed or decentralized biomass.
Institutional Arrangements - Though MNRE isresponsible for an overall execution and implementationof this multi-dimensional project, a managementstructure as outlined below has been activated with itsoperational office within the Ministry itself:
Project Management Cell (PMC) - A dedicated ProjectManagement Cell (PMC) has been established in theMinistry, which is responsible for all the actions. Shri KP Sukumaran, Adviser (Wind & Biomass) and Shri V.K.Jain, Director have been designated as National Project
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Director (NPD) and National Project Coordinator (NPC)respectively for the same.
Project Steering Committee (PSC) - A Project SteeringCommittee (PSC) has been constituted under theChairmanship of the Secretary, MNRE and membersinducted from various concerned Central Ministries andUNDP. The PSC is to approve annual work plans andimplementation arrangements, review project activitiesand decide on the proposals for extension, modificationof the program. The NPD is a Member Secretary of thePSC.
Project Executive Committee (PEC) - A ProjectExecutive Committee (PEC) has been constituted underthe Chairmanship of the Joint Secretary, MNRE andincludes NPD, NPC and UNDP as members. PEC is toconduct periodic review of the implementing activitiesand discussion on the issues requiring remedial measuresthat may arise during the course of projectimplementation.
Flow of Funds - Indian Renewable Energy DevelopmentAgency (IREDA) has been designated as the FundHandling Agency (FHA) of the project. Funds are placedat the disposal of IREDA by MNRE and UNDP &disbursed to all concerned out of these deposits on receiptof Payment Release Advice (PRA) from NPD.
Project Strategy and Implementation ApproachThe Project, specifically, has two components -(i) providing technical assistance for barrier removalactivities to various identified stakeholders; and(ii) extending contingent support for demonstrating theModel Investment Projects (MIPs).
Technical Assistance for Barrier Removal Activities:The Technical Assistance (TA) is for the activities thataddress barriers that are generic for the biomass sector.The major components of this assistance are clusteredinto four components designed to remove technologybarriers; information, policy and regulatory barriers;institutional barriers to biomass power deployment andsustained fuel supply linkages. The support will thereforebe utilized for identification of barriers and novelpractices, capacity building of different stakeholders,knowledge-experience (performance) sharing foradvocacy, and information dissemination. Specificsupport will also be provided to relevant stakeholders
for reviewing existing project development andstandardization of power purchase agreements, projectappraisal guidelines, bidding documents, etc., besidesestablishing secured fuel supply linkages for sustainedoperation of the plants, such as setting up of biomassdepots, entrepreneurs’ / farmers’ cooperatives, which willlead to rural employment generation, particularly ofwomen, and reduction in poverty.
Contingent Financing for Model Investment Projects(MIPs)As part of this project, it is envisaged that 8-10 MIPs beestablished for generation of grid interactive anddecentralized distributed power. The aim is to showcasethe viability of new investment and financing modelsfor mainstreaming the biomass power sector, and theseare also expected to act as the “Best Practices” for fasterreplication in other states. As such, these projects willbe representing a cross-section of the type oftechnologies, feedstock, and regional diversityconsidered essential for stimulating the range of biomassoptions found within India.
In the biomass sector (other than the sugar mill subsector), the MIPs are categorized into less than 1 MWand greater than 1 MW of installed plant capacities.While MIPs with less than 1 MW are to be based ongasification technology, others may be based oncogeneration or combustion technologies. Thus the MIPswould reflect the specific characteristics of these sub-segments in addressing the barriers and wouldcorrespond to different approaches adopted for eachbiomass sector.
To promote investment through conventional financingchannels, a special provision through a ‘FlexibleFramework’ of contingent financing has been proposed.This framework would address barriers and risks that areincremental in the three identified biomass sectors. Thesupport in establishment of the MIPs will have twocomponents – Technical and Financial Assistance asoutlined below:
Technical Assistance for MIP’s:The Technical Assistance (TA) focuses on activities thataddress barriers specific to the MIPs. Technical supportto investors will be provided for project development,project appraisal, for verifying biomass assessment anddepot mapping to ensure secured supply of fuel,
Magazine on Biomass Energy September 2009 8
finalization of power purchase agreement and EPCcontracts, capacity building and information sharing, etc.Technical support will also be available for FIs foreffective implementation of MIPs through provision ofadditional resources for specific component includingsupervision and monitoring of MIPs, risk and barriersassessment specific to MIPs, pre-project activities supportand capacity building of FIs to increase their appraisaland supervision ability in handling biomass powerprojects.
The TA funds for MIPs will be a one-time grant to thedevelopment and successful commissioning of MIPs,which will enable all the stakeholders to learn about theintricacies of the project and related investments.
Financial Support for MIPsA customized, restructured financial model definingquantum and mode of financial incentives for these MIPsis currently under development. It is expected to haveone or more components of grant and/or loan to supporttowards equity, securities/guarantees for raising loan fromFIs, for bridging viability gaps, etc, besides incentives/support to FIs for strengthening their capabilities andexpertise in handling biomass project.
The said approach along with enunciation of thetechnical & financial features is expected to boost theconfidence levels of Fls in the biomass sector and willhelp them in the post project replication phases. Fls areexpected to then develop a new mechanism for partialor total funding for such investments in the post projectphase or to link them with their existing financingschemes and terms as appropriate.
Criteria for the Selection of MIPsThe broad criteria for short listing MIPs will be as follows:
Financial viability of the project / financial capabilityof the promoterInnovative character of the project [sub-criteria: a)Technology, b) Institutional Framework, c) Fuel supplychain and d) Waste / Emissions Management]Replicability (in the proposed state)Social and Environmental ImpactPast Experience of promoter and manufacturer (trackrecord)
The activities being taken up during the year 2009 - 2010under the project are as follows:
Development of technology package, benchmarkingand validation for different biomass power technologiesBiomass resource assessment studiesDevelopment of ‘Good Practice Documents’/‘GenericDocuments’ for enhanced capacities and confidenceof project promoters, financial institutions, regulators,policy makers, SNAs and other stakeholders througheffective information development & disseminationprogram, along with capacity building initiatives.Development of business, commercial and supportservices networks in different statesCreation of fund for contingent financingIdentification of sites and potential investors forestablishment of MIPs
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V. K. JainDirector & National Project CoordinatorMinistry of New and Renewable Energy, Block No. 14,C.G.O. Complex, Lodi Road, New Delhi- 110003, IndiaTelefax: 011-24369788; Email: [email protected]
Call for AdvertisementsWe invite organizations to advertise their profiles and products in the Bioenergy India magazine. Advertisementsfocusing on the Biomass Energy sector will be offered a space in the magazine. For details, please contact Sasi Mat [email protected]
The advertisement tariff is as follows:
Particulars Colour (Rs) Black and White (Rs)
Back Cover 20,000.00 ———Front and Back Inside Cover 18,000.00 10,000.00Inside Full Page 15,000.00 8,000.00Inside Half Page 8,000.00 3,000.00
Magazine on Biomass Energy September 2009 9
Overview of Bagasse based CogenerationProgram in India
IntroductionCogeneration facility is defined as one whichsimultaneously produces two or more forms of usefulenergy such as electrical power & steam or electricalpower and shaft power, etc., by the use of fuel. Use ofconventional combustion technology is made forproducing steam through burning of bagasse. The sugarmills usually generate power by burning of bagasse.The bagasse produced during the crushing seasonwithin a sugar mill is burnt in the boiler to generatehigh pressure superheated steam (87 ata and 5150C).Steam thus made available is fed into the steamturbine, which in turn is coupled to an alternator toproduce power. The outlet steam from the turbinecoming at a lower pressure is used for processingsugarcane juice to derive sugar.
It is a common practice with the sugar mills to usebagasse as a fuel during the crushing season andsubstitute its coal by biomass during the lean season i.e.non-crushing season. To put it in quantitative terms, asugar mill of 2,500 TCD can produce approximately 12-14 MW of useful power. In the normal course, a sugarmill without cogeneration uses about 50 percent ofbagasse for steam generation, while the surplus bagassewas sold to the paper mills for obtaining some additionalincome. In contrast, sugar mills with cogeneration makeuse of the entire bagasse and produce some surpluspower.
Captive requirements of power are met in this mannerand the remaining power is sold to the grid thus enablinga project developer to earn higher income. The keyoutcome is a definite increase in the profitability of sugarmills. Various state governments, including the state ofTamil Nadu, are successfully running cogenerationprograms. To put it in perspective, there are about18 private sugar mills and 3 cooperatives in Tamil Naduthat have installed cogeneration plants. As of now, thetotal installed capacity under cogeneration in this stateis around 466.10 MW. It is roughly equivalent to around30 percent of the cumulative capacity of bagasse
generation for the entire country. The exportable surplusis 256.11 MW as on March 31, 2009. Tentative cost of acogeneration plant often varies between Rs. 35-40million per MW. The Ministry of New and RenewableEnergy (MNRE) offers capital subsidy, while loan isavailable from the Indian Renewable EnergyDevelopment Agency Limited (IREDA) and otherfinancial institutions.
Early development of Cogeneration ProjectsFor India, biomass has always been an important energysource. From the days of the earliest recorded history tothe present, biomass has been the mainstay of energyfor cooking and heating. If biomass used in the countrywas to be substituted by petroleum products, we wouldneed to import an additional more than 30 million tonsof crude oil every year, costing Rs. 500 billion. It is thepower generation potential of biomass, however, whichhas been attracting greater attention in recent times. Highcost of diesel, non-availability of coal for captive powergeneration, recurrent shortages of power for industrial useand the recent thrust on distributed generation, have allbeen behind the interest in this option of power generation.
MNRE recognized the potential role of biomass powerin the Indian economy quite early, and since then hasbeen the vanguard of its promotion. Over the last twoand a half decades, biomass power has become anindustry which attracts annual investments of over Rs.1,000 crore, generates more than 700 crore units ofelectricity and creates employment opportunities of morethan 10 million man days, all in rural areas. As a furtheroutcome of the carefully planned mix of policy and fiscal/financial incentives introduced by the Government,capacity has been built up in the country for absorptionof biomass power technologies, their operation &maintenance, management of biomass collection,manufacturing of equipment and for resolving gridinterfacing issues. The significant capacity of successfulbiomass power projects, including cogeneration ones,established by private sector promoters, is a testimonyto the effectiveness of the Ministry’s efforts.
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CogenerationIndia is the world’s second biggest producer of sugarcane.Indian sugarcane production during 2006-07 was 320million tons, which in turn would have generated around45 million tons of dry bagasse. On calorific value basis,this is equivalent to almost 45 million tons of coal. India’s550 working sugar mills crush around 200 million tonsof cane per year and generate 60 million tons of mill wetbagasse (50 percent moisture), of which they consumearound 50 million tons for meeting captive requirementsof power and steam. Around 8 million tons of millbagasse is required for making paper by the paper mills.It was pointed out by a Task Force set up by the Ministryin 1993 that if, all the sugar mills existing at that time,were to modernize and adopt technically andeconomically optimum levels of cogeneration forextracting power from the bagasse, an additional 3500MW could be generated. Recent increase in cane millingcapacity, developments in cane milling and juiceprocessing technologies, and improvement in steam andpower generation devices have now made it viable togenerate still higher amounts of additional power. Thetrends also indicate that in future, mills would crush mostof the produced cane, releasing additional powergeneration potential through cogeneration. Ultimately,if all the cane was crushed in large mills, it may bepossible to get 6,000-7,000 MW additional powerthrough cogeneration. Sugarcane cultivation also resultsin production of trash in fields comprising mainly of dryleaves. It typically constitutes around 7 percent of cleancane, and is disposed off by burning in fields, or ismulched in the soil. There is an inherent potential forgeneration of around 2,000 MW of power by use of20 million tons of trash produced every year.
Evolution of Cogeneration TechnologiesThe most commonly used definition of cogeneration,which is also perhaps conceptually the most accurate,has been given by ASHRAE and states “sequentialproduction of both useful heat and electricity, by use offuel at only one point in the system.” In simple terms, itimplies that the exhaust of a steam turbine instead ofbeing sent to condenser, is utilized in a heating processso that overall usage of heat is improved.
As can be seen from the definition, the concept isindependent of fuel type. However, since MNRE isconcerned with renewable energy promotion, it was
asked to promote biomass-based cogeneration also. InIndia, the official definition of cogeneration states “afacility which simultaneously produces two or moreforms of useful energy such as electric power and steam.”Two types of cogeneration are defined as topping andbottoming cycles and certain qualifying conditions havebeen laid for each. These definitions and qualifyingconditions have been followed by some of the StateElectricity Regulatory Commissions also. However,detailed discussion on these is beyond the scope of thispaper. It may not be out of place to mention here thatthe gazette notifications on cogeneration were issued in1995 by the Ministry of Power, as a spin-off to the impactof MNRE’s Biomass Cogeneration Program.
The Biomass Cogeneration Program is currently dividedinto two components – bagasse based and non-bagassebased. While bagasse cogeneration is essentially sugarmills oriented, non-bagasse biomass cogeneration canbe used by any industry. The Ministry has two separateprograms for these.
Bagasse CogenerationIn India, sugar mills have almost always cogeneratedsteam and electricity using bagasse produced duringcrushing. However, the level of cogeneration hasimproved over the years as brought out in Table 1. Before1970s, steam generation pressures / temperatures werelow, boiler / turbine efficiencies were low, steamrequirements for process were high and hence the millswere neither self sufficient in their steam requirements,nor in electricity. Over the years, more efficient boilers /turbines and higher pressure steam generation wereadopted and by the 1990s, the mills started to not onlybecome self sufficient in steam and electricity, but theyeven had some surplus bagasse.
Alternative uses of the surplus bagasse for paper making,etc., were then explored but due to large quantitiesinvolved, disposal of surplus bagasse itself became aproblem in most cases. Taking note of the potential foradditional power generation by improving the efficiencyof use of bagasse, the Ministry initiated the program forpromotion of ‘optimum cogeneration’ in 1993-94. Itinvolves generation of all the technically andeconomically viable quantum of electricity from thebagasse produced by a mill, in addition to meetingoptimized steam requirements. The Task Force set up bythe Ministry in 1993 estimated that by use of optimum
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Table 1: Evolution of bagasse cogeneration in India since 1970s
Table 2: Change in marginal utility of bagasse with change in inlet pressure/temperature conditions
Note – In pure power generation mode, around 2 kg of bagasse is required for generation of 1 kWh. As compared to this, units generated fromthe additional fuel required to be burnt to enhance the pressure and temperature conditions show much less quantity of fuel requirement. Thus,higher pressure/temperature conditions are desirable.
Steam load – 55 T/h at 2 bar (a), Turbine– Back Pressure, Boiler capacity – 55 T/h
Inlet Temp 0C Gross Net Fuel Energy Marginal utilityPressure enthalpy enthalpy requried generation of fuelbar (a) (kcal/kg) (kcal/kg) (Tons/hour) possible (kWh) (kWh/kg)
cogeneration, 9 MW of surplus power could typicallybe generated from a 2,500 TCD mill. This could beachieved through increase in pressure/temperatureconditions of steam generation and also by improvingthe efficiency of bagasse use. The main justification forincrease in pressure and temperature conditions lies inimproved marginal utility of fuel. Table-2 brings this outexplicitly. It can be seen that for every increase in pressureand temperature, additional fuel consumed has a higherpower utility as compared to the case of its use for purepower generation.
The figures have been worked out using simplified
assumptions (such as the assumption that the exhauststeam conditions remain the same) and hence are broadlyindicative in nature. The actual figures could be different,although they would follow a similar trend.
It is interesting to look at how various parameters likepressure, temperature and steam production and powergeneration are related to one another in Table 3.
Advancements in the steam generation technology andan increased confidence of the sugar industry have nowemboldened some mills to adopt even higher pressuresfor steam generation. Thus, while a typical 2,500 TCD
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part of the generated bagasse for use during the off-season. Some utilities have, however, proposed lowerfeed-in tariffs for off-season electricity, which reducesthe motivation for extra efforts in these directions.Technological innovations, such as building of capabilityfor conversion of boilers to fluidized bed furnace firingfor use of rice husk, and to traveling grate for bagassefiring, have also been proposed and installed in a fewprojects. This would enable highest operating efficienciesin both the modes.
Evolution of policies/incentives/othermeasuresThe penetration of a new technology is generally afunction of:
Attractive returns on investmentsConducive regulatory environmentAssured markets for the products being madeTechnical know-how & equipment availabilityManageable risksGood field referencesEasy financing
The Ministry endeavored to ensure these desirableconditions through measured interventions right from theearly years of the biomass power & bagasse cogenerationprograms. It will be no exaggeration to claim that thefavorable mix of policies, incentives and promotionalmeasures has been crucial for successfulcommercialization of biomass power. Brief notes on themain interventions and their impacts are given here.
Field ReferencesThere were no significant installations of biomass poweror grid connected bagasse cogeneration projects in thefield when the Ministry took up these programs in lateeighties/early nineties. This was a stumbling block,particularly for the sugar sector, which has traditionallyrelied on ‘peer references’, or on laid down guidelinesfor technology selection. In fact, Ministry was repeatedlyasked by sugar mills in those years, to get the ‘standardspecifications’ changed, so that these covered high-pressure, high temperature and efficient steam generation& optimum cogeneration. Use of high pressure andefficient steam generation to take full advantage ofthermodynamic efficiencies was sought to be inductedin the sugar mills by the Ministry with the help ofexpanded awareness creation and financial incentives,
Table 3: Power Generation and Steam Productionfrom Bagasse
Steam Steam Power BagasseCycle Production Generation Required(bar/0C) (tons)* (kW) (ton/MWh)
sugar mill cogenerating for its own needs would generate3.5-4.5 MW of electricity, in optimum cogenerationmode, this could go to 13.5 MW, of which 9 MW wouldbe sold. In a state-of-the art case, the surplus could be ashigh as 10-12 MW. When the Ministry initiated itsprogram on bagasse cogeneration, 45 bar / 440 0C steampressures were just being introduced. These were thenincreased to 65bar / 485 0C, after setting up of the initialdemonstration projects with Ministry’s capital subsidy.By 2004, the steam pressures/ temperatures had increasedto 85bar / 510 0C. In 2007, mills were adopting 110 bar/ 525 0C steam conditions. On the basis of cane, thesefigures would translate to surplus electricity generationof 80-130 kWh/ton. Optimum bagasse cogenerationbenefits not only the sugar mills but also the sugarcanefarmers as the value addition to their cane is enhancedand thus they can realize more gains from it.
An important aspect of surplus electricity from bagassecogeneration is the seasonal nature of its availability.Typical sugarcane crushing periods in India vary from160-180 days in the North and West to 200-240 days inthe South. Some mills have been able to increasecrushing to 300 days in a year through planned staggeringof plantations. However, the utilities consider bagassecogenerated electricity as seasonal, unfit for loadplanning. It is in this context that use of alternativebiomass materials during off-season, to ensure year roundoperation has been proposed and practiced in some mills.Most mills also build in the capability to use alternativebiomass materials at the design stage itself. Rice husk,cane trash, coal, cotton stalk, wood, etc., are some ofthe fuels used by mills to generate electricity during off-
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to partially cover the risks involved in use of the newtechnologies. A major and bold initiative of the Ministrywas announcement of capital subsidies for a fewdemonstration projects, even if, they were in the privatesector. The subsidies were an effort to, inter alia, bridgethe gap between economic and financial benefits ofbiomass power projects and thus improve theattractiveness of private investments. A subsidy of around30 percent of the capital cost was offered to a limitednumber of ‘demonstration’ cogeneration projects inmajor sugar producing states provided they used steamconditions of at least 60 bar & 450oC. Reimbursement ofcost of DPR preparation was also offered so that a shelfof projects could be built up. Announcement of attractivecapital subsidies kindled immediate interest amongpotential project promoters and a number of projectswere initiated during this period. Many of these werecommissioned by 1995-96 and thus the problem ofreferences was resolved.
Risk ManagementThe major risks faced by promoters in the initial projectswere:
Difficulty in ensuring year round supplies of biomass.Risks due to long term weather changes which couldaffect sugarcane productionRisks of unanticipated breakdowns, which couldreduce power outputIrregular payment by SEBs for electricity fed into thegrids which could affect revenue streams and thusimpact servicing of investmentsBreakdowns in power equipment which could alsolead to stoppages in sugar process streams, and whichcould impact generation of revenue even more
Interventions of the Ministry were designed to tackle therisks to as large an extent as possible. Subsidy on thecapital costs reduced the investment risks of promoters.The risk of loss because of stoppage of production wasmanaged by most projects by retaining the existingsystems till the new ones stabilized.
FinancingThe active involvement of leading financial institutions,apart from IREDA, was ensured through extensivedialogues, mechanisms such as chanelization of interestsubsidy through them, insistence on project appraisalby one of them before approval of subsidy, etc. Thepioneering role played by IREDA in this respect needs a
special mention. In those days IREDA acted more like aventure capital fund while backing Ministry’s policiesthrough financing of new and innovative projects. Itsliberal financial support to the initial projects also playeda key role in opening up of the sector and also for layingdown a framework for project appraisal and the structureand conditionalities of loans. Dialogues with specializedsugar mill financing institutions such as NCDC and SugarDevelopment Fund (SDF) were also established to inducethem to change their guidelines, which at that time didnot allow support for cogeneration of additional power.These days almost all the banks and financial institutionsare willing to finance biomass power and bagassecogeneration projects.
Current IncentivesMNRE has been providing financial incentives to theusers of various biomass power technologies. The levelof incentives is linked to the configuration of technologiesused. This is to promote more efficient and moderntechnologies. For bagasse cogeneration and gridconnected biomass power projects, the incentives arecurrently in the form of capital subsidies. In addition tofinancial incentives, a number of fiscal incentives arealso available for users of these technologies. Theseinclude concessions on income tax through accelerateddepreciation, concessional rates of customs andexcise duties, exemptions from sales tax, 10 year taxholiday, etc.
ConclusionThe Ministry has been fairly instrumental in promotingthe use of optimal cogeneration plants in the private sugarmills by adopting progressively higher steam parametersof up to 110 ata and 5400C. The resultant impact is interms of additional power generation. As such, thebagasse based route of cogeneration is quite achallenging one replete with enough entrepreneurialopportunities.
Ministry of New and Renewable EnergyBlock No. 14, CGO Complex,Lodi Road, New Delhi 110 003
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‘SuryaChambal Power Ltd.’ – A GreenPowerhouse at KotaKota is a city with various types of power plants – startingfrom thermal, hydel, nuclear and now this Green PowerPlant named SuryaChambal Power Ltd. based on biomass(Mustard Husk).
There are four biomass based power plants (IPP) inRajasthan which are supplying power to the RajasthanPower Grid. SuryaChambal is second in line, the firstbeing at Sri Ganganagar, commissioned in the year 2004.Two more plants were commissioned in the latter half of2006 in Uniyara and Kothputli. Thus it can be said thatthe operating experience of biomass – mustard husk – basedpower plants in Rajasthan is about 5 to 6 years only. In factthere are reportedly only four power plants (IPP) in thecountry, which were designed and are operating to datesolely on mustard husk as their main fuel.
Green PowerIt is said that power generated by the combustion ofbiomass is green power, which is right because it doesnot increase CO2 pollution in the atmosphere. Wheneversomething is burnt, CO2 is produced; however plants, inthis case mustard, during their life cycle compensate forthis by having already absorbed large quantities of CO2
from the atmosphere and releasing O2 into theatmosphere, for our benefit.
Apart from this, biomass based power plants in their ownsmall way also contribute towards saving conventionalfuels like coal, lignite, oil, etc., which are traditionallyused for generation of power.
Mustard HuskIn our country more than 50 percent of mustard is grownin Rajasthan. Mustard plants are cut manually at a heightof 1.5’ to 2’ from the ground level and are left in the fieldfor a few days for drying. Thereafter they are fed into amachine called the thresher for separating the seeds fromthe plant. In the thresher, the plant is shredded into verysmall pieces, and thus mustard husk is produced.
This mustard husk, which is considered a total wasteand not even used as fodder for cattle, is very light witha density of about 105 Kg/m3. Till a couple of years back,before the commissioning of these four Biomass basedpower plants, more than 90 percent of the mustard huskused to be burnt by the farmers in their fields and mixedwith the soil to prepare the fields for the next crop.Sometimes the farmers had to pay money to get theirfields cleaned of this waste. Even now 1.5’ to 2’ longstems, left in the field while manually cutting the plant,are either ploughed or burnt and mixed with the soiland thus are not being used for better purposes likeconverting it into energy or making proper manure foragricultural purposes. There is another method ofharvesting of mustard crop and that is by using a combinemachine instead of cutting it manually and then using
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Combine machine
Process flow diagram of biomass combustion usingmustard crop
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the thresher for separating the seeds. This combinemachine separates and collects the seeds effectively butit does not shred the plant into husk. It just cuts andleaves the plant lying in the field.
The problem with the entire process lies in the fact thatcollecting these plants and converting them into huskseparately puts additional costs thus making it unviablefor use in biomass based power plants. In fact, in remoteareas, farmers continue to burn the ready mustard huskin their fields either due to lack of information or poortransportation facilities.
SuryaChambal Power Ltd.SuryaChambal Power Ltd., formally known as ChambalPower Ltd., is a 7.5 MW capacity biomass (mustard husk)based power plant, located at Rangpur Village of DistrictKota, about 8 kms. from Kota railway station on the banksof the Chambal river. The project was started in April2004 and the plant was commissioned and synchronizedwith the Rajasthan Power Grid at 33 kV on 31st March ,2006, thus starting the supply of power through its GopalMill GSS situated near Kota railway station. The companyhas its headquarter in Mumbai. The promoter of thecompany, Mr. Sanjay Bagrodia is supported by a strongteam of professionals like Mr. V.K. Aundhe, Chief Advisor,Mr. S.R. Wagle, Chief Technical Officer and Mr. J. C.Dargar, Chief Finance Officer at the Head Office.
The company, while carrying out the feasibility study inthe year 2002, for putting up this 7.5 MW biomass basedpower plant, had chosen its present location at Rangpurvillage in Kota district due to the following reasons–
Water was available from the nearby Chambal River.
132/33 kV GSS was located at a reasonable distanceof about 8 kms.Government was planning to build a bridge over theChambal river near the site, connecting Keshoraipatan(Bundi District) to Rangpur village, which wouldfacilitate the procurement of biomass from Bundi in abig way.
However this bridge has still not been constructed andthe company is facing difficulty in procuring biomass atviable rates. The cost of biomass envisaged was Rs. 800/MT but now the actual cost has gone up to about Rs.1,400/MT.
The actual cost of the project was about Rs. 40 crore.The company has about 55 persons on its rolls and about90-100 persons on contract for biomass feeding, securityand other facilities. Apart from this, it generates about1,00,000 man days/annum of employment indirectly forloading, unloading and transportation of biomass. Also,farmers have started getting extra income for their wasteproducts. The company has never used fossil fuel tosupport biomass and purchases Rs. 10–12 crore ofbiomass annually and thereby generates income forfarmers and others in a region of 50 km. radius fromthe plant. This has improved the quality of life ofvillagers who are now using cooking gas, buyingtelevision sets, motor cycles and even sending theirchildren to the school.
The company faced initial teething troubles. However,after carrying out certain technical modifications, itstarted yielding satisfactory results. In the last two years,it has achieved more than 80 percent PLF annually. Not
Biomass power generation facility atSuryaChambal Power Ltd
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only this, it has achieved even 100 percent PLF monthlyon various occasions. The company is also engaged incontinuous improvement programs for operating theplant at optimum efficiency and projects for energysaving etc. The company is fully conscious of its socialresponsibilities and carries out various activities to raisethe quality of life of the villagers of Rangpur, like repairingof roads, providing water and lighting facilities,development of village school, encouragement to childrenby providing them with scholarships, conducting varioussports & games, awarding prizes at functions andcompetitions, conducting blood donation camps, joiningand participating in religious functions/festivals, etc.
Having gained confidence by successfully running theplant at Rangpur, the company is now expanding andputting up another unit of 10 MW at Khatoli village inKota, about 100 kms. from Rangpur. Its sister concerns,Sathyam Power Pvt. Ltd. is putting up a 10 MW plant atMerta Road in Nagaur district and Prakriti Power Pvt.Ltd. is putting up a 12 MW Power Plant at Gangapurcity in Sawai Madhopur district.
BarriersThere are several barriers that require attention such as–
Construction of a bridge over Chambal River (asproposed), connecting Rangpur with Keshoraipatan.Payment of energy bills by purchasing discoms withinseven days of submission of bills, specially during themonths of February to June when mustard husk hasto be purchased and stored for the full year (actualavailability is between March to May without anydiscount)Annual average GCV should be considered 3,000Kcal/Kg for the purpose of fixing tariff.
Due to excessive increase in biomass price, presenttariff should be Rs. 5.50 per unit.Free wheeling of power should be allowed for IPPalso on similar lines as for CPP.Reserve area between two biomass based powerplants should be 100 kms. without any overlap.
Areas for DevelopmentThe company is putting its best efforts for thedevelopment in the following areas :
Technology development to convert mustard plant intohusk while using Combine machine for separating seeds.Cutting of mustard plants from the ground level sothat 1.5’ to 2’ of plant stem is not wasted.Technology development to prevent self ignition ofbiomass during the storage period.Development of economically viable collection systemof alternate biomass husk like Maize, Cotton, Soybean,etc., during the months of October to January.Development of technology so that its ash is used inthe cement industry.Technological development with regard to furnacesize, heating surface area and biomass conveyingsystem, to avoid choking of the system.
To conclude, SuryaChambal Power Ltd. has not onlyadopted the Green Technology to generate Power but italso maintains a neat, clean and lush green healthyenvironment, having 30 percent of its campus coveredby green trees and flowers.
Jyoti Ranjan, CEOSuryaChambal Power Ltd., Rangpur, Kota (Rajasthan)Email: [email protected]; Tel: 0744-2867328Mob: 9982219150
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Request for ArticlesBioenergy India is intended to meet the updated information requirements of a diverse cross-section of stakeholdersfrom various end-use considerations, be it biomass combustion, gasification or cogeneration. To meet such anobjective in a timely manner, the editorial team of the magazine invites articles, features, case studies and newsitems, etc., from academicians, researchers & industry professionals.
The contributions should be of about 2000-2500 words (maximum of 3-4 pages, which would include relevantgraphs, charts, figures and tables). Please send in your inputs along with your photograph to:
Dr. Suneel Deambi ([email protected]); Ashirbad S Raha ([email protected])Winrock International India; 788, Udyog Vihar, Phase V, Gurgaon-122001; Phone: 0124 430 3868
Magazine on Biomass Energy September 2009 17
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Large Capacity Producer Gas Engines-Experience of GE
AbstractIncreased ecological consciousness and the knowledgeof limited reserves of primary energy in the form of fossilfuels make it necessary to utilize the available energysources economically. Biomass, the originator of fossilcarbon sources can therefore produce similar energy withthe distinction that the carbon in biomass is sourced fromthe atmosphere and therefore, is a part of an intrinsicallybalanced carbon cycle. India’s increasing energy needshave put great pressure on the existing natural resources.Globally, India is in the fourth position in generatingpower through biomass and with a huge potential ispoised to become a world leader in the area of biomassenergy production.
There are three generic major biomass processingtechnologies based on direct combustion, pyrolysis andgasification. Gas engines are presently powered primarilywith natural gas, biogas or propane. The use of “specialgases” like producer gases, pyrolysis gas or gas fromgasification processes, gas with low calorific values orchanging gas compositions with respect to emission limitsof common air quality requirements is a new challengefor gas engine development. Highly sophisticated gasengines with intelligent engine management systems nowallow the utilization of gases, which could not be burnttill a few years ago. Jenbacher AG has already installedpyrolysis gas from domestic waste gasification (35 percentH2 content), gas from wood chip gasifier, and producergas from the chemical industry with an extremely lowheating value (0.5 kWh/m3). These experiences haveshown that the gases from gasifier or pyrolysis from wastecan be used in gas engines, as long as the gases fulfilcertain requirements.
Biomass Resource PotentialAs per MNRE’s recent annual report, the availability ofbiomass in India is estimated at about 540 million tonnesper year, covering residues from agriculture, forestry, andplantations. Principal agricultural residues include ricehusk, rice straw, bagasse, sugar cane tops,leaves, trash,groundnut shells, cotton stalks and mustard stalks, etc. Ithas been estimated that about 70-75 percent of these
wastes are used as fodder, as fuel for domestic cookingand for other economic purposes,leaving behind 120–150 million tonnes of usable agro industrial andagricultural residues per year which could be madeavailable for power generation. By using these surplusagricultural residues, more than 16,000 MW of gridquality power can be generated with the presentlyavailable technologies.
Biomass Processing Technologies
Direct CombustionBiomass combustion can produce heat or steam. Drybiomass has an energy content of approximately 10-20Giga Joules per tonne (GJ/t). This is comparable to thelower ranked coal, making biomass suitable for electricitygeneration. Lower grade waste heat from biomasscombustion can also be used in combined heat andpower (CHP) applications. The direct combustion ofwoody biomass for power production is currently thehighest volume bioenergy market worldwide. Biomassmay be used as the sole fuel for heat and powergeneration or may be blended with coal, in a processknown as co-firing. This technology is generally usedfor bagasse biomass, which is considered good biomassin India. However, with other biomasses which have highalkali content, there are some disadvantages in terms offouling of heating surfaces, corrosion of super heatercoils, agglomeration, secondary combustion and highunburnt carry over, etc.
PyrolysisPyrolysis is thermal decomposition of organic materialwith no or limited oxygen. The pyrolysis of biomass forbioenergy is a relatively undeveloped technology.Pyrolysis technologies using a wider range of low costbiomass feeds, including woody crops, wastes andresidues are under active development with severaloperating commercially. Reducing the capital intensityand improving the energy efficiency of pyrolysis isimportant in facilitating the uptake of the technology.
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GasificationGasification is a process in which oxygen-deficientthermal decomposition of organic matter (coal, oil orbiomass) produces non-condensable fuel or syntheticgases. Gasification combines pyrolysis with partialcombustion to provide heat for the endothermicdecomposition reactions. Gasification technologies offeran opportunity to use biomass more efficiently, especiallywhen used in the CHP mode. The heating value of thisgas varies between 4.0–6.0 MJ/Nm3, which is about 10-15 percent of the heating value of natural gas, unless thegas is combusted directly for power, it is cooled, filteredand scrubbed to remove any condensable and carry-over particles. The synthetic gas produced can then beused in a variety of energy conversion devices (forexample, internal combustion engines, gas turbines andfuel cells) or converted to high value fuels and chemicals.For power generation applications, gasificationtechnology has been gaining prominence in recent yearsas an alternative to direct combustion for various reasons,such as low emissions, high efficiency and less freshwater usage, etc.
Gas-characteristic Values and RequirementsRegarding the Quality, for use in Gas EnginesGas engines are presently powered mainly with naturalgas. But the use of renewable energy sources like landfillgas or sewage gas with low thermal heat values,represents a growing market for gas engines all over theworld. Gases and their respective constituents havedifferent properties, which can be assessed through theircharacteristic values such as methane number, heat value
and laminar flame speed, to mention only a few. To beable to achieve an ideal degree of energy conversion,these values must be considered when dealing with theengine.
Calorific value (LHV) and thermal value(HHV)Calorific value and thermal value indicate the energycontent of a gas. The former can be differentiated fromthe latter only by the heat from vaporization of the waterresulting from combustion. With regard to the calorificvalue after combustion, the water is in a liquid form afterliberating its condensation heat. Illustration 2 shows alogarithmic presentation of the thermal value of adifferent gas, which is already used in Jenbacher gasengines,. Illustration 3 shows examples for the methanenumber of different gases.
Natural Gas,Propane, LNG,
LPG...
Biological Gases(Landfill Gas,Sewage Gas)
Synthetic Gases(Wood Gas, Pyrolysis
Gas, Coke Gas...)
Gas characteristics of different gases
Gas Composition Density LHV Methane Laminar flame[kg/Nm3] [kWh/Nm3] number speed [cm/s]
Illustration 1: Adaptability of gas engines to multiplegas forms
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Physical propertiesThe methane number and the heating value are thedetermining physical values for standard gases likenatural gas, LNG, LPG or biogas. For low concentratedgases, like wood gas, the laminar flame speed is thedecisive criterion indicating whether it is possible forthe air-gas mixture to be completely burnt in the engine.The methane number is crucial physical value forassessing the knock resistance of a combustible gas. Themethane number requirement and the knock resistanceof the engine are influenced by constructional andoperational factors, respectively. In order to be able toguarantee fault free engine operation, it is necessary tokeep the pollutant concentrations in the fuel gas withinthe prescribed limits.
Measures for Reducing EmissionsDue to increasingly stringent governmental regulationsregarding delimitation of emissions, Jenbacher is workingintensively on methods to reduce further pollutants inthe engine exhaust gas. There are fundamentally twooptions (illustration 4) to reduce the emission of pollutantsfrom internal combustion engines, namely secondarytreatment of exhaust gas and measures implementedinside the engine.
Today, a majority of gas engines are operated as leanburn engines, depending on the required emission limits,with or without catalytic exhaust gas after treatment. Inparticular, applications with special gases areexceptionally lean burn engines.
Measures implemented inside the engine
Lean-burn concept for reduction of NOx
Through operating with a large amount of excess air (leanmixture), the combustion temperature is reduced andhence NOx formation in the combustion chamber isstrongly reduced. The “German TA-Luft” limit of NOx(< 500 mg/Nm³) can be complied with reliably andeconomically by the Jenbacher lean-burn engines. NOxemissions can be reduced by making the mixture evenleaner. This means, however, putting up with a loss ofefficiency, a reduction in output (and increasedmaintenance) to 250 mg/Nm³. A greater reduction of theemission is not possible at this time without secondarytreatment of the exhaust gas for natural gas. The lean-
Illustration 2: Thermal Value, Heating Value ofdifferent gases
Illustration 3: Methane Number of different gases
Illustration 4: NOx, CO and HC emission dependenton fuel/air ratio (λλλλλ)
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burn concept was pursued in Jenbacher and the LEANOXlean-burn (illustration 5) combustion process developeda process guaranteeing constant compliance with theprescribed NOx emission limits throughout the operatingtime of the engine.
LEANOX-control system
The air ratio Lambda (λ) is linked with the thermodynamicengine and gas-specific parameters. Both constant andvariable values are contained in this relationship. Lambdacan therefore be represented as a function of
engine output,mixture pressure (equal to boost pressure) and,mixture temperature after the intercooler.
These three values are measured and transmitted to theLEANOX control system. The signal output by theLEANOX controller moves the adjusting cone of the air/gas mixer into the desired position, so that the requiredair ratio is achieved (see illustration 5).
The main advantage of the patented LEANOX system isthe secure and reliable measurement of the input signalsfor fuel- air mixture control. There are no sensors in hotzones like the combustion chamber or the exhaust. Themixture pressure and temperature sensors are workingin low stress and stable environment conditions and arefree of deposits and aging. This allows a secure andreliable mixture control. The exact mixture controlguarantees not only an accurate emission control, but italso controls the whole combustion process and thusprotects the engine against high thermal or mechanicalstress.
Reduction of CO by measures inside the engine
The most common way to achieve the “TA-Luft” limitfor CO (< 650 mg/Nm³) with biogas is the implementationof internal measures. For example, reducing thecompression ratio, adjusting a later ignition point (closerto the top dead centre -TDC) and water cooled exhaustgas manifolds will help to reduce the CO emissionswithout exhaust gas after treatment.
Examples of Utilization of Special GasesJenbacher has been working, since the mid eighties, onthe utilization of special gases like pyrolysis gas or woodgas in gas engines. With the target of sufficientperformance output and an appropriate cost benefitrelation, a turbo-charged gas-otto- lean burn engine hasto be used. This requires a certain maximum gastemperature with low humidity and a low content ofheavy hydrocarbon compounds (e.g. tars). Besides theproblems of fluctuating gas qualities and contaminationof the gas, it is a challenge to fulfil the internationalemission standards (e.g. TA-Luft Standard) at theseapplications. To increase the basic know-how andunderstanding of the utilization of these kind of gases,Jenbacher participated on several Joule research projects,as well some demonstration projects, and also joinedsome other European and national projects. Next to theseactivities, commercial gas engine applications for H2-gases (e.g.: coke gas, H2 containing weak gas, etc.) havebeen available since 1995 and are in successfuloperation. All experiences of utilization of these specialgases with H2 will be directly used for the approach ofsolutions for problems with utilization of woodgas andpyrolysis gas in gas engines. The following examples givea short overview of some pilot plants operating with woodgas.
Woodgas plant: “Harbøore – Vølund updraftgasifier” - 2 x J320GSIn 1988, ”Babcock & Wilcox Vølund Aps“ decided totake an active part in the development of gasifiers inorder to create a gasification principle with the possibilityof
achieving stable and continuous gas productiongasifying fuel with a moisture content of up to 50percentproducing gas for use in gas enginesachieving a high degree of automation for the totalplant
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To achieve these goals the updraft gasification principlewas chosen, because of the built-in drying zone. Themajor advantages of an updraft gasifier are its simplicity,an ability to gasify very wet fuels, high charcoalconversion and internal heat exchange leading to lowgas exit temperature and high gasification efficiency. Adisadvantage is the large amount of tar produced.Therefore gas cleaning is required to make the gas usablefor gas engines. After several years of development work,the first gasification plant was put into commercialoperation in 1993 at the district heating plant Harboørein Denmark, which currently supplies heat toapproximately 560 heat consumers and to the municipalbuildings of the town.
The gasifier has an output of 4 MW (thermal) and thegas has been burnt over the last years in a Low-NOx gasburner built onto a 4 MW hot water boiler. The primaryfuel is wood chips but successful tests have been made
Gas Engines 2 x J320GS
The Harbøore woodgas CHP plant
at the plant with other types of fuel, e.g. chunk-wood,bark and waste wood. The producer gas consists ofapprox. 15–18% hydrogen, 25–28% carbon monoxide,7–10% carbon dioxide, 3–5% methane and the rest beingnitrogen and water.
During the summer of 1996, a program to optimize anddevelop the gasifier was successfully completed.Subsequent research and development activities haveconcentrated on gas cleaning. Today the gas is cleanedthrough a complex system of gas scrubbers, heatexchangers and electrostatic filters, before it is fed intothe gas engines. In the beginning of the year 2000, twoJenbacher gas engine modules JMS 320 GS-S.L wereinstalled and the district heating plant was convertedinto a CHP plant. A significant part of the work has beenrelated to the conditioning of the gasifier product gas,for use in gas engines, a reliable solution based on gascooling and wet electrostatic precipitation. A noveltechnology for cleaning the resulting tar contaminatedwater has been demonstrated. The produced gas iscooled– using the district heating grid – to about 45 0C,during which a considerable amount of water/tarcondensate and also aerosols (microscopic water/tardroplets) are released. The aerosols are subsequentlyremoved from the gas stream by means of a wetelectrostatic precipitator. After this treatment, the gas isclean and applicable for the gas-engines (both tar anddust contents are below 25 mg/Nm3). The gas is boostedto a slightly higher pressure to accomplish an engineinlet pressure regulation – by means of a traditional “gastrain” – to slightly below atmospheric pressure.
Each unit has an electrical output of 648 kW and athermal output of 883 kW. With these high efficient gasengines, the woodgas can be converted, with an overallefficiency of up to 90 percent, into electricity and heat,depending on the heating water temperature level. Theengines are operated as lean burn LEANOX-controlledgas engines with an air access ratio of approximately1,6. Therefore, low NOx emissions can be obtained. Atotal of approximately 60,000 operating hours of the 2engines was successfully achieved by the end of 2008.Frequently performed internal inspections of the vitalparts of the engines show no sign of tar deposits or otherabnormalities up to now.
Woodgas plant: “Güssing – Fluidized BedSteam Gasification” - 1 x J620GSIn order to make the generation of electricity frombiomass possible, in the small, decentralised powerstations as well, another new type of power station wasrealized for the first time in Güssing/Austria. The biomasspower station at Güssing supplies 4500 kW heat fordistrict heating and up to 2000 kW electricity originatesfrom 1760 kg of wood per hour. In order to realize thisproject from the idea to the finished product, the partners,i.e. Austrian Energy as design engineer, scientists fromthe Technical University, Vienna, the EVN and the DistrictHeating Company, Güssing formed the authority network
RENET and developed this new, well planned system ofcogeneration on the basis of biomass gasification.
The heart of the power station is the fluidized bed steamgasifier. During gasification, the biomass is gasified withapproximately 85°0C under supply of steam. Using steaminstead of air, as a medium of gasification, results in anitrogen free, tar-poor producer gas, with a high heatingvalue. A part of the remaining coke is transported to thecombustion chamber via a circulating bed material(sand), which acts as a heat transfer medium as well.The heat dissipating to the bed material is then used forthe gasification process. The flue gas is carried offseparately, and the contained heat is recovered for thedistrict heating system.
Illustration 7: Principle sketch of an updraft gasifier
Fluidized bed steam gasifier Güssing
For the operation of a gas engine, the producer gas mustbe cooled and cleaned. The heat of the gas cooling isused again for the district heating. The dust is removedin a woven filter. After this procedure a scrubber reducesthe concentrations of tar, ammonia and sour gascomponents. Due to this special procedure, it is possibleto feed back all the residual substances into the process.As a consequence neither wastes nor waste water resultduring the process of gas cleaning.
The gas engine converts the chemical energy of theproducer gas into electrical energy. Beyond that, thewaste heat of the engine is used for the supply of districtheating system. The overall electrical efficiency is 25-28 percent and the total plant efficiency (electricity andheat) is even more than 85 percent.
The commissioning of the gasifier started in September2001 and the commissioning of the Jenbacher gas engineJ620GS matured in February 2002. Jenbacher’s aim with
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this pilot phase was the optimization of the gas enginefor this gas with a relative high H2 content (30- 40percent), by a new type of gas mixing system, the gassupply to the engine and special test applications for thereduction of the CO-emissions by an oxidation catalyst.During the first test run, the engine achieved the expectedoutput and the preliminary results of the catalyst test werepositive. Meanwhile, the plant is in commercial operationand has already achieved 40,000 operating hours by theend of 2008.
Gas engine J620GS
SummaryThe main criteria for the utilization of pyrolysis gas orwood gas are the contamination of the gas and thecontent of condensing hydrocarbons like tars. Thecommon NOx emissions (e.g. TA-Luft: NOx <500 mg/Nm) can be achieved by the lean burn combustionconcept without any exhaust gas after treatment. A furtherchallenge for the utilization of these kind of gases is theoften-required limits in terms of CO-emission, whichcannot be achieved without exhaust gas after treatmentdue to the typical high CO content of the wood gas itself.In the area of utilization of biomass renewable energysources, the gas engine, with the use of modern controland monitoring systems, presently represents thecommercially available technology.
Martin SchneiderProduct Management GE EnergyJenbacher Gas EnginesAchenseestr. 1-3; A 6200-Jenbach/AustriEmail: [email protected]
Call for Proposal(s) for Organizing of Seminar /Workshop / Business Meet on Generation ofEnergy / Power from Biomass under UNDP / GEFBiomass Power ProjectCommunication and Advocacy on Biomass Powerincluding Bagasse cogeneration, among variousstakeholders and Project Promoters, is one of the keyactivities to be undertaken under this Project.
Proposals are invited from interested organizations /institutions for organization of Business Meet / Seminar/Workshop / Conference on areas related to biomassmanagement and its utilization for the generation ofenergy/ power.
Funding PatternCategory-Event Level Exclusive Event for
The proposal should be submitted three months inadvance in the prescribed format, through the Head ofthe organization or the Registrar in case of universities,to Shri V.K.Jain, Director and NPC, Biomass PowerProject, Ministry of New and Renewable Energy, BlockNo. 14, CGO Complex, Lodi Road, New Delhi –110003, Telefax: 011-24369788, Email: [email protected].
Call for Proposals
The format and other details can be obtained from the Ministry or downloaded fromMNRE’s website www.mnre.gov.in
For more details please contact: Ravi Kumar DhulipalaEmail: [email protected]
Magazine on Biomass Energy September 2009 24
Biomass Based Cogeneration Power PlantAt Claris Lifesciences (Clarion Campus), Ahmedabad, Gujarat
Power cuts, blackouts and shortages in power supplyare a critical situation being faced by a majority of theIndian states. While the demand for power has increasedby 3.5 percent as compared to last year, total powerdeficit is at about 12-15 percent, thus creating significantmismatches in the power supply situation. The industrialsector is one of the largest consumers of electrical energyin India, and suffers from many problems includingshortage of electricity supply, power fluctuation, hightariffs, load shedding and staggering. All of these lead toheavy production losses besides reduction in efficiencyand productivity. Using standby DG sets is also a costlyoption.
Cogeneration Power: An Effective SolutionAs industry struggles to balance the demands of growthand progress, with the crippling power situation,Cogeneration plants are emerging as a highly promisingalternative to mitigate the risks faced by organizations,and also to scale up their output and productivity.
Claris Lifesciences: Leading the WayFor most people around the globe, a factory issynonymous with black smoke billowing out of toweringchimneys, foul stench filling the air, untreated water andwaste being funneled out, and many such grim pictures.
“Clarion” – a state-of-the-art manufacturing facility, setup by Claris Lifesciences at Ahmedabad, in Gujarat tellsa different story altogether. Located in the midst ofpicturesque environs, in a sprawling 80 acre area, thefactory embodies the classic yet rare convergence of
Green Initiative taken By Claris Life Sciences at its manufacturingfacility - Clarion Campus : A 2 MW Co Generation Power Plant
nature in all its beauty, and the practical world ofbusiness. Run on green energy, Clarion is a clearreflection of the endless possibilities that can existfor an organization which has imbibed the true spiritof “green”.
A 70 percent Carbon Neutral campus, Clarion owes itsverdant, pollution free environs to the fact that it hassuccessfully set up a biomass based cogeneration powerplant, which satisfies 100 percent steam load and 40percent electrical load of the manufacturing facility. Thiscaptive 2 MW Co-Generation Power Plant generates 16TPH (tonnes per hour) process steam to meet a part ofthe electrical load within the manufacturing facility ofthe campus.
The boiler for steam generation was supplied andcommissioned by Thermax Ltd. It is a Fluidized BedCombustion (FBC) boiler, where in Claris uses varioustypes of biomass as fuel. This boiler was designed andinitially commissioned on Lignite. Considering theenvironmental degradation, Claris took the decision tochange the fuel from fossil fuel to a renewable biomassfuel. The primary fuel for the co-generation power plantis a Castor De Oiled Cake (DOC) supported by saw dustand other agro residues like cotton stalk, which accountsfor no carbon emissions.
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A glimpse of Clarion campus
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FinancialThe total cost of the project was Rs. 10 crores during2005-2006. From 2006 to 2009, even when the projectwas not registered, Claris voluntarily opted to use thebiomass fuels without any CDM benefits. Hence, Clarisgot certification for Voluntary Emission Reduction (VERs)under the latest Voluntary Carbon Standards version 2.0(VCS 2007.1) prevailing at that time. Over the entirecrediting period, Claris has generated about 90,000 VERsfor sale.
The overall efficiency of co generation plant varies from60–75 percent depending upon the demand of processsteam as a first priority.
The efficiency goes up with more steam becomingavailable for electricity generation.
BenefitsGovernment of India’s fiscal benefit i.e. accelerateddepreciationDuty exemption on self generation. In case of usingfossil fuels in Gujarat, the generator needs to pay anadditional 40 paise per unit towards duty chargesOur entire installation is in-house, which does notcreate noise pollution in the campus and thesurrounding villages as wellLatest pollution control equipment (ESP – Electro StaticPrecipitator) is installed, which protects the dustemission, thereby ensuring that it is almost negligibleIn order to minimize internal dust emission , an inletair section of the boiler is positioned in such a waythat the smallest particles of fuel , if any, goes into theboiler, while sucking the air for combustionAsh generated from the plant is used in making ashbricks, which are then used as eco bricks for theroutine needs of the campusIn order to increase sustainability, more energy cropsare harvested and grown on the campus for utilisationin the boilersClaris has grown bamboos all around the campus,and all activities are diligently taken care of, right fromtrimming, to maintaining and collecting biomass,which is fed into the boilerWhile running this facility, the company successfullyportrays itself as a green and eco friendly company inIndia and outsideOur business associates have been emotionallyattracted by our initiatives and respect our efforts
For better dust management, at the Agro-residuecogeneration power plant, Claris has installed a uniqueindoor ESP (Electro Static Precipitator), within the campuspremises. The company also produces fly ash bricks fromthe ash available from the plant, which is later sold off tothe cement industries. This process helps bring down airpollution within the factory vicinity.
Technology - ProcessThe project has been initiated in 2 phases. The first phaseis under operation since August 2006. The technicaldescription of the first phase is as below:
Phase I - The biomass residues are combusted directlyto generate 16 TPH of high pressure (HP) steam at boileroutlet with operating conditions of 44 kg/cm2 and430 +/- 50 0C. Around 12 TPH of this HP steam isgenerated in the boiler. This HP steam is injected intothe steam turbine and at lower pressure i.e. at 9kg/cm2
around 12 TPH steam is extracted and the balance goesto the condenser after a full expansion in the turbine.The total configuration is made in such a way that priorityis given to steam for process and the left over steam isdirected towards the condenser for more electricitygeneration with a higher efficiency.
The said project was registered under UNFCCC on 21st
February 2009 for the purpose of availing CDM relatedbenefits.
Process Flow
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towards green initiation as we are also in the domainof saving livesEnergy efficient measures like setting up of sky domesfor natural lighting and HVAC and VFD systems havebeen installed that bring down the campus specificcarbon footprintWell designed rainwater harvesting systems attemptto reduce fresh water extraction quantities and treatedwater from the effluent treatment plant is used forwatering of the campus lawnAttractive landscapes have been designed by soilexcavation during construction of the campus, whiletaking due care that the ecological aspects of the soilstay undisturbedMoreover, use of glass, metal panels and RCC structurehave enhanced an overall aesthetic beauty of thecampus
Claris has been successfully driving the philosophy ofgoing green and making sustainability the order of theday. Further as an extension of its initiatives, it has forayedinto a new business venture of clean energy generationand sustainable development, with a special emphasison Bio-Energy in the name of Abellon Clean EnergyLimited. With its expertise in microbiology,biotechnology and running a state-of-the-art biomassbased co gen plant; Abellon is poised to be the leader inall the domains of Bio-Energy in India and outside
The visible success of this project sets an example for otherenterprises in the sector to invest in such innovativemeasures. These may possibly lead to further reductionsin the GHG emissions - a win win situation for every one.
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Nirav ShahManager - Business DevelopmentAbellon Clean Energy LimitedEmail: [email protected]
Bio Energy EngineeringOctober 11-14, 2009Washington, USAContact: [email protected]
ISES Solar World Congress 2009October 11-14, 2009Johannesburg, South AfricaContact: [email protected]
International Congress on Renewable Energy(ICORE 2009)October 6-7, 2009India Habitat Centre, New Delhi, IndiaContact: [email protected]
National Conference on Renewable Energy 2009November 5-7, 2009Jodhpur, Rajasthan, IndiaContact: [email protected]
Third Renewable Energy Finance ForumNovember 20-21, 2009Mumbai, IndiaContact: [email protected]
Major Events
Biomass based co-generation set up
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Technological Challenges in Development ofBiomass PowerVarious estimates have been made about availability ofsurplus biomass at national, state and taluka level. Theoverall resource availability has been assessed1 at500 MNMT, out of which 120-150 MNMT can be usedfor power generation. At an average specificconsumption of 1.5 Kg/kWh and 100 percent biomasscollection efficiency at 100 percent PLF, potential wouldbe 10,000 to 12,000 MW. The overall potential couldbe lot more if some of the forestry residues like pineneedles, etc., are also factored in. Currently, only about2,000 MW is operating including very large contributionsfrom sugar cogeneration2. The issue therefore, is reallynot what the overall potential is, but how quickly canthe potential be converted into projects. In the last decadeor so, there have been few encouraging developmentsin different areas like regulatory and technologyenvironment and better financing ability of such projectsdue to availability of carbon finance. These have helpedin faster capacity addition particularly in the sugar cogensegment. Consequently more interest has been generatedin the market and many investors, both from India andabroad, have entered the field. All of the recently bidprojects by some of the States like Punjab, Haryana,Rajasthan, etc., have been successfully concluded.However, the conversion rate of bid projects has not beenas encouraging.
DSCL Energy Services (DSCLES) has been involved indeveloping biomass power globally besides its recentinvolvement in some exciting projects like:
High pressure (105 bar, 540 oC) high capacity (30 MW,170 TPH single boiler) bagasse cogeneration projects- four such projects in IndiaWorld’s largest single facility bagasse cogen project-105 MW at White Nile sugar complex at SudanIndia’s first commercial paddy straw based project-12 MW at PunjabProject consulting for development of 16 MW MSWbased projectFeasibility report preparation for over two dozenprojects in Punjab, Haryana, Rajasthan, Madhya
Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, Maharashtra, Gujarat, Biharand Tamil NaduGrid connected distributed power and cooking gasproject based on gasification of corn stalk in rural areain China (200 KW and cooking gas supply to 330households)20 KW R&D power generation project based ongasification of leafy biomassMNRE sponsored project on evaluation ofperformance of biomass based power projects in thestates of Punjab, Rajasthan, Chhattisgarh andMaharashtra
This article captures some of the learnings from theseprojects, particularly in the areas of:
Biomass characterizationFrom the perspective of development of commercialpower plants, biomass can be classified under thefollowing different categories:
Sources of biomassPhysical characteristicsCombustion propertiesAsh characteristics
Source of biomass – Different sources include agro-residue, agro-industrial residue, forest residue andmunicipal solid waste. The market for agro-industrialresidues like bagasse, rice husk, etc., is now establishedand it is possible to make a reasonable forecast on priceand availability. For the other biomasses, uncertaintywould remain. Financial and risk analysis must alwaysbe carried out to take care of these uncertainties.
Physical characteristics – Biomass can be either inwoody/granular form like chips, shells, husks or leafyform like straw, stalks, trash, etc. These characteristicsplay a very important role in the design of:
Biomass harvesting and collection strategyTransportation and storage systemFuel feeding system for the boiler andCombustion system
1 MNRE website-biomass atlas2 DSCLES estimate
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The bulk density of woody biomass on ‘as received’ basisusually ranges from 200 to 400 Kg/M3, whereas that ofleafy biomass is around 20 to 30 Kg/M3 . Thus, withoutdensification, a truck of about 30 M3 carrying capacitywould be able to transport 12 MT of woody biomass asagainst only about 1 MT of leafy biomass. Similarly, forstorage too, enormous space would be required.
Some densification can be carried out simply by sizingand binding, as is the age old practice by farmers.Densification technology like pressure baling is widelypracticed in the sugar industry. Pelletization is also quite
a common practice in the west. However, the energycost of pelletization is too high to make it economicalfor the power plant.
Presently, integrated reaper cum field baling system isthe most commonly used method for harvesting andsimultaneous densification of agro-residues like straw andstalks.
Stalk-leafy Shells-woody
Bagasse-mixed Chips-woody
Riverside green-leafy Straw/stalks-leafy
Fig 1: Different types of biomass
Table 1: Bulk density of different types of biomasses4
Type of fuel Moisture Bulk densitycontent (%) Kg/M3
In addition to densification, use of these machines helpsin improving collection efficiency too.
In Europe, most of the straw based power plants feedbales directly into the boiler thereby reducing the needfor additional fuel preparatory system in the power plant.
In the first demonstration, a straw fired plant was set upat Jalkheri in Punjab, India, with support from the DanishGovernment and MNRE, where a similar system wasused. However, the system was found too complex andcostly to maintain. Eight conveyors were used, four fromeither side of the boiler; from the main bale conveyors,diverters were used to load the individual conveyors.These diverters tend to malfunction with the slightestirregularity in the bale geometry/solidity, causingjamming of the conveyors. The binding threads used forthe bales are supposed to melt immediately as the baleenters the furnace, so that the bale gets dislodged andloosened fibers catch fire. Developing a nylon threadwith such fine characteristics became quite a challengingtask. This plant had to be modified with traditional fuelfeeding arrangement for better reliability. The fluidizedbed system used also created problems due to the ash
3 Maize, Soyabean stalk and alfa-alfa densification-Timothy J VanPelt et el, Iowa State University4 Smith, K.R.; Kaltschmitt, M.; Thrän, D. 2001 [19]
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characteristics creating difficulty in draining ash throughthe holes provided in the bed deck.
In the 12 MW project being constructed in Punjab, thesystem has been designed keeping in mind learning fromthe European projects, the Jalkheri project and a fewmustard residue based projects in Rajasthan. A largenumber of reaper baler machines have been procuredfor harvesting and baling of the available straw in theshortest possible time, so as to free the farmers’ land forthe next crop. Bale shredding and belt conveying systemsare being installed so that loose straw is fed and fired inthe boiler. Travelling grate stoker system has been usedinstead of the fluidized bed system.
Combustion properties – Moisture, ash and net calorificvalues are the important parameters; the moisture contentusually varies from 15-50 percent, depending on the typeof biomass and impact of natural drying. Most of thebiomass, on a bone dry basis, has heat content of about4,000 kCal/Kg and about 3,200 kCal/Kg on air dry basis.The moisture content in bagasse is about 50 percent.For the purpose of project design, the calorific value may
be taken at 2,000 kCal/Kg for bagasse and 3,000 kCal/Kg for other biomasses.
MSW is different from naturally available biomassdepending upon the characteristics of the city garbage.It is therefore, very important to carry out a detailedinvestigation, over an extended period, during all theseasons and covering all the zones for characterization.Technology choice (Incineration of as received biomassvs preparation of residue derived fuel, RDF, forconventional combustion) would be dependent uponthe characteristics.
Ash characteristics – Ash content in most of thebiomasses is quite low ranging from 2-6 percent exceptin husks and some woods, wherein it could be upto 18percent. More importantly, it is the chemistry of ash,which plays a key role in deciding the steam parametersand design of the boiler furnace. Ash content in MSW ismore a function of external impurities like inerts.
For certain biofuels, the ash melting temperature is arelevant driving force for combustion process, since a
Fig 3: Schematic-Straw bale feeding system in the boiler
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high process temperature initiates ash melting and slagexpansion, resulting in plant breakdown and highmaintenance. Low ash melting temperatures arecharacteristic for most of the leafy biomasses and energygrain, while woody biomass has less ash melting problems.
Ash fusion temperature and the ratio of basic and acidicsalts are the two important factors influencing clinkerformation. On the other hand presence of alkali salts,particularly oxides of sodium and potassium causesfouling in the convection zones.
MSW ash may contain heavy metals and other toxins. Thismay require incorporation of special treatment facilitiesfor conformance with environmental regulations.
Most of the leafy biomass as well as MSW containssignificant amounts of chlorides and sulphates. Thepresence of chlorides promotes corrosion in the hightemperature zones like superheaters, whereas sulphateshave an adverse impact in the low temperature zoneslike economizers, air preheaters, etc.
The design and engineering has to be done formaintaining the desirable temperatures at various zones.Adequate on-line cleaning arrangement should also beprovided in the various zones, which are prone to fouling.
Steam parametersFrom thermodynamic consideration, higher thetemperature, higher would be the cycle efficiency. Tomaintain the desired level of entropy at higher
temperature, pressure also has to be correspondinglyraised.
The practically attainable limits of temperature areinfluenced by fuel and ash characteristics. Superheatertemperature is selected such that there should not beany ash fouling in the superheater zone and corrosionof super heater tubes. The furnace temperature andcombustion system is influenced by the ash fusioncharacteristics. The presence of alkali matters reducesthe ash fusion temperature, which can cause clinkerformation. Grate material of construction and type ofcooling are also governed by this factor.
The gain from higher efficiency has to be examinedconsidering cost and extra revenue generation. Fromthe table below (for an MSW based project), it can beseen that almost 10 percent additional power can begenerated from the same amount of fuel by upgradingthe parameters.
For bagasse and rice husk fuels, it is possible to aim forthe highest level of prevalent pressure and temperatureon the basis of techno-economic analysis. Configurationsof 110 bar and 540oC have been established, but forother biomasses, we are on a learning curve. For difficultfuels like straw and mustard residue, the comfort zonesare still around 430 0C and 65 bar pressure. However, ina recent survey carried out by DSCLES, at least one planthas been observed to operate a mustard residue firedboiler at 68 bar and 450 0C temperature with manageablefouling problems.
Table 2: Gain from higher parameters5 (MSW Project)
Fig 4: A 30 MW straw fired plant in operation since2002 in Sanguessa, Spain
Some plants have been built in Europe (Fig 4 above) onstraw fuel at much higher levels of pressure andtemperature parameters with different technologicalinterventions like:
Pre-washing to reduce alkali contentHigh alloys for superheaterLow fouling flue pass design
However, the capital cost of such plants is very high andit is unlikely that such plants would be viable in Indiawithout financial/policy support.
Considering the present level, following parameters arelikely to become standards for different types of fuels6 :
Bagasse & rice husk >20 MW - 110 bar, 540oCBagasse & rice husk <20 MW - 87 bar, 510oCCotton sticks/other woody biomass - 67 bar, 465oCMustard residue/paddy straw - 67 bar, 440oCMunicipal solid waste - 40 bar, 400oC
Boiler design considerationsThe boiler design consideration has to factor in all thedifferent characteristics described above. Some of thecritical parameters influencing design considerations areshown in Table 3.
For good quality woody biomass of uniform sizedistribution, fluidized bed boiler is a preferred option. Infact, rice husk is probably the best suited fuel for fluidizedbed technology. For most of the other biomasses,travelling grate stoker is the best option. Though watercooled grate is a preferred option, but due to higher costand lack of design and manufacturing experience in thecountry, air cooled grates are being used.
The grate design is a function of the heat and moisturecontent in the fuel and the pre-heat temperature of FD air.However, at higher air temperatures, there may beproblems with maintenance of the grate and also clinkerformation.
The optimization exercise needs to be carried outconsidering the ash chemistry and operational efficiency.As the grate area increases, complex mechanical andthermal problems are faced. This puts a limitation onthe maximum size of travelling grate biomass fired boiler.In India, to the best of the knowledge of the author, thesingle biggest size of 170 TPH was installed in the year20067 and has been operating successfully since then.
6 DSCLES analysis7 DSM Sugar, Dhampur and Asmoli and Chaddha Sugar, Dhanaura8 Characterizing fuels for biomass, Thermal Energy Systems
Fig 5: Loading of grate for biomass firing8
Furnace height, particularly the height of the nose fromthe grate top should be adequate so as to ensure completecombustion of all the particles below the nose. Any carryover can cause secondary combustion in the convectionzone leading to serious problems like choking of fluepassages, extensive fouling of the convection andsuperheater tubes and high temperature corrosion of thesuperheater.
Having taken care of the preventive measures by design,it is still very important to provide an adequate numberof soot blowers in different zones. At DSCLES, we are
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Area/property Issue Design consideration Remarks
Low bulk density Feeding the Densification In most of the European plants, bales arerequired quantity Bale feed directly fedin the boiler Pellets are also used
High capacity feeders High capacity screw feeders have beenand spreaders successfully developed and used in the
operating mustard residue fired boilersin India
Bridging and Obstruction free chutes Divergent chutes with ground internalchoking and feeders finish
Providing access forpoking/cleaning on line
Non-uniform fuel Combustion Type of combustion Travelling grate stoker seems tosize efficiency equipments be the best solutionClinkering Operation of the Managing temperature Fluidized bed helps in maintainingcharacteristics combustion lower temperature, but is ill suited as far
equipments Ease of breaking and as extraction is concernedremovalFurnace area Water cooled travelling grate is the best
solution followed by air cooledtravelling grate
Fouling characteristics- Fouling of heat Managing the temperature Managing the temperature bandwidthpresence of oxides of transfer area/ at the furnace exit between the volatilization andsodium and potassium choking of Adequate provision of condensation points
passages furnace height and volumeGenerous soot blowingarrangement
Corrosion characteristics- High temperature Steam temperature Usually kept below 4300C. However,presence of chlorides corrosion of super parameter with use of higher alloy, it is possible to
heaters raise the temperature.Superheater should be preferablylocated in the convection zone, thoughthis can increase the cost.
Table 3: Boiler design consideration
G. C. Datta RoyChief ExecutiveDSCL Energy Services Co LtdEmail: [email protected]
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working on developing a system of monitoring of thepressure and temperature profiles of such boilers on areal time basis and integrating the soot blowing controlsystem for automatically managing the boiler cleanliness.
ConclusionSome of the technological features discussed above havebeen successfully deployed in the mustard residue firedprojects in Rajasthan. Most of these projects have loggedin over 80 percent PLF on 100 percent biomass. Thefuel feeding and soot blowing systems have beenmodified in stages and it is hoped that reliability of these
projects would be comparable to coal fired plants. Thestraw based project in Punjab is expected to becommissioned in a few weeks’ time. This project wouldbe the first one to use all the technological features asdiscussed above. The successful operation of this projectis expected to open new vistas for development ofbiomass based projects in the country.
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Supporting Biomass Power Developmentthrough Programmatic CDM
India is an agriculture dominated country and plenty ofbiomass is generated here every year. The availabilityof biomass in India is estimated at about 540 milliontonnes every year, out of which 120-150 million tonnescan be made available for power generation. It isestimated that the potential of biomass power generationis nearly 21,000 MW in the country. The renewablebiomass used for power and heat generation is a GHGneutral source, therefore, biomass based energy cansignificantly reduce GHG emissions if, substituted forconventional grid power. It is estimated that this can helpmitigate around 100 million tonnes of CO2 every year.
As biomass based energy generation has great potentialfor meeting the energy requirements in an environmentfriendly way, the Ministry of New and Renewable Energy(MNRE) has been providing many incentives for biomassbased power systems. In addition, biomass based powerplants result in GHG emission reduction and thus areeligible for availing carbon credits under the CleanDevelopment Mechanism. This additional carbonrevenue helps these projects in increasing their IRR by2-4% depending upon the technical features.
In India, there is a huge power shortage for industrieslocated in remote areas. Incidentally, in these regionsthe potential of decentralized biomass based powerplants is vast because of biomass availability. However,such decentralized units are generally smaller in sizeand the potential for Certified Emission Reductions (CERs)earnings is also less. Therefore, such projects do notconsider CDM benefits in their business model,apprehending the complexity in the process and theaccompanying huge transaction cost, which does notvary significantly with the project size. The risksassociated with the registration and the amount oftransaction cost paid before the registration is so highthat the projects with potential of earning below 5000CERs are not generally advised to enter the CDMcycle. Because of these reasons, despite being a majorsource of finance, many biomass power projects donot enter the CDM pipeline to earn the CERs. The“Programmatic CDM” approach is a promising way
of providing these projects with carbon credits that theydeserve.
Programmatic CDMThis approach is mainly characterized by a Program ofActivity (PoA) and many CDM Project Activities underthe PoA. This mechanism is a relatively new concept inan international climate change regime. As an extensionof the conventional CDM, it allows bundling andregistration of similar kind of GHG emission reduction(or removal) projects having different implementationschedules over a period of time.
According to the CDM Executive Board, a CDM programof activities (PoA) is a voluntary coordinated action by aprivate or public entity, which coordinates andimplements any policy/measure or stated goal (i.e.incentive schemes and voluntary programs). It leads toanthropogenic GHG emission reductions at source ornet anthropogenic greenhouse gas removals by sinks,which are additional to any that would occur in theabsence of the PoA, via an unlimited number of CDMProgram Activities (CPAs).
A CPA, basically, is a single, or a set of interrelatedmeasure(s), to reduce GHG emissions or result in netanthropogenic greenhouse gas removals by sinks, appliedwithin a designated area as defined in the baselinemethodology.
Therefore, PoA is an umbrella program with a numberof similar activities called CPAs. The PoA is implementedat three levels i.e. the program level or PoA, activity levelor CPA and end user level. The PoA is governed by amanaging or coordinating entity, which takes care ofCDM registration and issuance of CERs. The CPAs areimplemented by many implementing agencies or CPAoperators, which take care of the implementation andmonitoring of the activity.
Programmatic CDM and Biomass ProjectThe programmatic CDM is an innovative mechanism tosupport projects, which are decentralized in nature,
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small/medium in size and having relatively low potentialof earning carbon credits. Most of the biomass projectsare characterized by these indicators. Typically, thereare three major categories of biomass projects. Theappropriateness of PoA for biomass projects is illustratedin table 1.
The power generated by biomass has the potential ofmeeting the demand of many industries in thesurrounding region. A program designed for biomassapplication for industries can be taken up in aprogrammatic CDM cycle. The important playersinvolved in the Program of Activity would be:
Managing or coordinating agency at the PoA levelImplementing agency at the CPA levelIndustries (Large or SMEs)/ users
SMEs generally do not have sufficient capital to invest inpower plants that can help them meet their powerrequirements. Even if they set up a biomass power plant,they would not take the risk of entering the CDMregistration process, as it would not yield sufficientnumber of CERs. If a PoA is launched by a coordinatingentity, then it can provide the initial financial support interms of capital and CDM registration costs for individualpower developers implementing the CPAs. As the PoA isnormally big in size, sufficient number of CERs will begenerated. Depending upon the financial model and CERsharing agreement, the coordinating agency will benefitfrom the power generated and the carbon credits earnedfrom the project. The coordinating entities may betechnology suppliers, industry associations or any groupwith a huge network and penetration in the rural areas.The agencies implementing the CDM project activitiescould be state nodal agencies, NGOs, microfinanceinstitutions, private players, etc.
Elements Biomass based Biomass based Biomass basedpower heat cogeneration
Sites Multiple, clustered Multiple, clustered Multiple, clusteredPossibility of adding new devices over time High High HighCER potential per unit device per year Medium Medium/High Medium/HighSize of device Medium/Large Medium/Large Medium/LargeEx-ante identification of project sites Less difficult Less difficult Less difficultProject developers/promoters Many Many ManyDegree of Replicability of projects High High High
Table 1: Appropriateness of Biomass Power Projects for Programmatic CDM
Fig 1: CDM PoA implementation framework forBiomass application in Industry
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A typical CDM PoA implementation framework,involving Technology Supplier as coordinating agencyat the PoA level, MFIs at the CPA level and SMEs as endusers, is illustrated in Figure 1:
A business entity/technology supplier launches aprogram. MFI is interested in clean energy technologyand buys it from the supplier. MFIs give this technologyto an end user, on loan, which is repaid back ininstallments. The end user enjoys the benefit withoutpaying huge capital costs initially. The MFI also providesnecessary training to end users for operation andmaintenance (O&M) and also bears the expenses of a
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group formed to carry out the necessary monitoring andverification. The technology supplier further invests inR&D and MFI provides vocational training to locals fortheir development. The CDM revenue is shared by thetechnology supplier and the MFI. However, this may varydepending upon the financial model involved in the PoAand CPAs. Normally, the sharing of CERs is based on aCER sharing agreement.
Alternatively, a program can be launched by a cluster ofSMEs, where the cluster will invest in one biomass powerplant to fulfill their demand of power. Many such clusterscould be formed and a program can be launched tosupport all such clusters. MNRE or any governmentagency can play the role of the coordinating agency inthis case and they can provide necessary support to anyfinancial institution or a group of financial institutions,which can then invest in the CPAs. Depending upon thefinancial structure, the CER revenue may be realized fullyby these financial institutions or may be shared betweenthe FIs and the end users.
Advantages of Programmatic CDM forBiomass Power projectsThe above frameworks show that the Programmatic CDMapproach can be helpful in removing certain inherentbarriers normally associated with smaller anddecentralized projects. It can prove advantageous forsuch projects in the following ways:
Availing carbon credits will become economical asthe entire program including small project units willbe registered as one project. Therefore, the transactioncost per project will be significantly reducedAdditional benefits though CERs will attract privateinvestors and other interested parties to participate inthe programCER benefits availed under programmatic CDM willincrease the penetration of the latest modern biomasspower technologies in the remote areas. The existingpractices are well below the baseline standard in theseareas.Since programmatic CDM will be launched as aprogram with effective implementation, monitoring,verification and maintenance framework, the smoothfunctioning of power plants and generation of powerwill be ensured.As multiple stakeholders will be involved in the entireprogram, it will lead to significant employmentgeneration in the region
Challenges in Programmatic CDMAlthough the programmatic CDM approach could be auseful way of supporting the decentralized and smallscale biomass projects in remote areas, the concept hasyet not been fully adopted. In India, not a single projecthas been registered till date. There is scope for manyimprovements in terms of the guidelines and rules ofthis approach. The concept, in particular, faces strongresistance from validators, who perceive manydisincentives for them in the existing framework. Also,the methodologies for registering PoAs are not robustand there are still many issues, which have made theprocess very complex. Various stakeholder workshopsand meetings have taken place recently to address theseproblems and some reforms have been made. However,more aggressive efforts are needed from the CDMExecutive Board, Designated National Agency, Validatorsand consultants, to speed up the entire process.
ConclusionTo conclude, it can be said that Programmatic CDM isan effective way of implementing small scale anddecentralized biomass power projects in remote areasof India. The approach has good potential to make carboncredits available for these projects and thus create aproper institutional framework of stakeholdersessential for the sustainable operation of the projects.The need of the hour is to remove the proceduralbarriers in the existing approach so that a largernumber of projects and players can take advantageof this concept. The role of central governmentagencies and state nodal agencies is particularlycritical in this context. In the line of programs likethe Bachat Lamp Yojana of BEE, which is also aProgrammatic CDM approach for achieving energyefficiency, some programs can be launched to facilitatethis process. It is likely that once programs enter theprocess, the reforms required will become more evident.Subsequently, intensive efforts can be made to bringabout these reforms, which will not only help theproposed program but also forthcoming programs .
Anjan Katna & Aloke BarnwalConsultants at Emergent Ventures India Pvt. Ltd.Email: [email protected]
The article is based on the report prepared by Emergent VenturesIndia Pvt. Ltd for MNRE titled “Framework for ProgrammaticCDM in Renewable Energy”.
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Central Electricity Regulatory Commission (CERC) hasnotified the tariff regulations for electricity generated fromrenewable energy sources. These regulations have beenfinalized keeping in view the statutory mandate toElectricity Regulatory Commissions for promotingcogeneration and generation of electricity fromrenewable sources of energy. The Tariff Policy had alsomandated CERC to lay down guidelines for pricing non-firm power, especially from non-conventional sources,to be followed in cases, where such procurement is notthrough competitive bidding.
These regulations assume special importance in view ofthe National Action Plan on Climate Change, whichstipulates that minimum renewable purchase standardsmay be set at 5 percent of the total power purchases inyear 2010, and thereafter should increase by 1 percenteach year for ten years. The new tariff regulations areexpected to promote new investments so that renewableelectricity supply can expand to meet the goals stipulatedin the National Action Plan.
Specifying capital cost norms and fixing tariff upfront forthe whole tariff period are the two main features of thenew regulations. The regulations provide normativecapital costs for projects based on different renewabletechnologies. These capital costs are to be revised everyyear for incorporating the relevant escalations. The normsthemselves would be reviewed in the next control period,which will start after a period of three years. However,the regulations have enabling provisions to review thecapital cost norms for solar power projects every year,in view of the fact that the costs for these technologiesare expected to decline more rapidly.
Also, the tariff permitted to a project under theseregulations would apply for the whole tariff period, whichis 13 years. The tariff period for solar power has beenkept as 25 years and for small hydro below 5 MW, it hasbeen kept as 35 years in view of the specialconsiderations required for these technologies. Thisfeature of upfront tariff for the whole tariff period is amajor initiative to ensure regulatory certainty.
The tariff philosophy in these regulations is to givepreferential tariff to the projects based on renewabletechnologies during the period of debt repayment.Preference has been given mainly in respect of returnon equity, shorter loan repayment period and highernormative interest on loan. Thereafter, these projects areexpected to sell power through competitive route.
The tariff model adopted is levellized tariff in order toavoid front loading of tariff while, at the same time,ensuring adequate project IRR.
These regulations also provide that in case of solar power,which is comparatively an evolving technology, as wellas for other new technologies, such as municipal wastebased generation, the project developer can alsoapproach the Commission for a project specific tariff.
The Forum of Regulators has also agreed to implementRenewable Energy Certificate (REC) mechanism, which willbe an alternative route for fulfilling renewable purchaseobligations. This mechanism is mainly aimed at addressingthe mismatch between renewable resources availabilityin the local region and the renewable purchase obligations.CERC would play a supportive role for designing andregulating national level REC registry and REC market.
Further, in order to address the technical problemsrelating to absorption of large volumes of non-firm power,such as wind, in the grid, CERC has constituted an experttask force which has representation from CentralElectricity Authority, States, System Operator and C-WET.The Task Force has been mandated to giverecommendations in respect of forecasting of the powergeneration from these technologies, ensuring gridreliability and equitable sharing of costs involved inensuring reliable operations. The Task Force will alsorecommend appropriate grid connectivity standards forrenewable sources based generating stations.
Table 1 shows the policies introduced by State ElectricityRegulatory Commission for purchase of electricity frombiomass and bagasse based cogen power projects.
CERC Notifies Tariff Regulations for Green PowerT
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Updated as on 30/06/2009
Table 1: Policies introduced by State Electricity Regulatory Commission for purchase of electricity frombiomass & bagasse cogen power projects
State Partici- Wheeling Banking Buy Back Third Party Otherpation Sale Incentives
A.P* Pvt. 28.4% + Allowed at @Rs.4.05/kWh, Not —Rs.0.5/kwh 2% for 8-12 (09-10) (BM) Allowed
monthsChhattisgarh* Pvt. 6% Not allowed @Rs.3.21/kWh Allowed As to other industry;
(09-10) (BM) Electricity Duty Exemptedfor 1st five years
* Policy announced by State Electricity Regulatory Commission in respective State.+ The Uttar Pradesh Electricity Regulatory Commission (UPERC) has just announced tariffs for Biomass power &Bagasse based Cogeneration as per Tables 2 & 3 below:
Table 2: Effective Tariff for Biomass Power Plants#
Biomass New Projects- (Total Cost: Rs./kWh)
Year of Commissioning FY 2009-2010 FY 2010-2011 FY 2011-2012 FY 2012-2013 FY2013-2014
$24 Million in Biomass Research andDevelopment GrantsThe U.S. Departments of Agriculture and Energy haveannounced projects selected for more than $24 millionin grants to research and develop technologies to producebiofuels, bioenergy and high-value biobased products.Of the $24.4 million announced, DOE plans to investup to $4.9 million with USDA contributing up to $19.5million. Advanced biofuels produced through thisfunding are expected to reduce greenhouse gas emissionsby at least 50 percent. “The selected projects will helpmake bioenergy production from renewable resourcesmore efficient, cost-effective and sustainable,” saidEnergy Secretary Steven Chu. “These advancements willbenefit rural economies through creation of newprocessing plants and profitable crops for U.S. farmersand foresters.” “Innovation is crucial to the advancementof alternative, renewable energy sources, and theseawards will spur the research needed to make significantprogress in bioenergy development,” said AgricultureSecretary Tom Vilsack.
Biomass Power Plant investments receivinga boostShriram EPC has a significant presence in the wind energyarea. It is now making forays into biomass powergeneration by committing investments of Rs. 7,300million through its group company Oriental Green Power.The intention is to serve both the national and internationalmarkets. As per the company plan, the investment wouldbe directed towards setting up of 146 MW capacity plants.Each MW thus installed would cost around Rs. 50 million.Most of these plants are expected to be operational by2010. As of now, the company operates biomass plantswith a total production capacity of 22 MW.
Reinforcing the R&D efforts at IIScMNRE has recently sanctioned a project on “AdvancedBiomass Research Centre” to the prestigious IndianInstitute of Science (IISc), Bangalore, at a total outlay ofRs. 90.84 million. The far sighted objective is to furtherstrengthen the research cum design capabilities of thegroup at Combustion, Gasification and PropulsionLaboratory (CGPL). It is equally significant to mentionhere that biomass gasifier specific technical know-how
News Snippets on Biomass Power
has already been transferred by IISc to a selective fewindustrial units presently in commercial production.
Mega Joint Venture for Biomass PowerGenerationA strategic partnership between the energy giant AREVAand Astonfield Renewable Resources Limited, for largescale biomass power production, is going to begin soon.The idea behind the venture is to set up biomass basedpower plants across India with an aggregated capacityof 100 MW at an estimated investment of around 100million. As per the information available, AREVA’s Bio-Energy unit in Chennai will be fully responsible fordesigning, constructing and commissioning biomass plantsacross India. The work on the first of these plants is aboutto be taken up in the state of West Bengal. Presently, AREVAis managing about 100 bio energy plants spread throughoutthe world, which have either been commissioned or areunder various stages of construction.
Cogeneration Projects in Maharashtra aimedfor an early startThe government of Maharashtra has just initiated ascheme to offer 5 percent equity in respect ofcogeneration projects sanctioned by the high levelcommittee with a clear cut objective to enable their earlycommissioning. Under this specific initiative, around 55sugar mills in the state have been shortlisted for thepurpose. This committee has so far released sanctionsfor 18 projects and accordingly orders for procurementof major equipment like boiler and turbines have beenplaced with the reputed names in the industry. It isplanned that a cumulative capacity of 265 MW beinstalled under this major initiative. On the technicalfront, the minimum pressure and temperatureconfiguration has been kept at 87 ata and 5150C for theseprojects. Expectedly, a few sugar mills may use the evenhigher pressure and temperature configurations of110 ata and 5400C.
Poultry Litter based 3.36 MW BiomassPower PlantA 3.36 MW biomass power plant using poultry litter wascommissioned at Duppalapudi village in East Godavaridistrict of Andhra Pradesh some time back. The project
Magazine on Biomass Energy September 2009 40
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Title: The Handbook of BiomassCombustion and Co-firing
Publisher: Earth Scan Publications*Editors: Sjaak van Loo and Jaap KoppejanNo. of Pages: 464Price: £75
This unique handbook presents both thetheory as well as applications of biomasscombustion and co-firing. From basicprinciples to industrial combustion andenvironmental impact, it manages totouch every topic in a clear andcomprehensive manner. It offers a solid
grounding on biomass combustion, and also throws lighton how to improve combustion systems. Written byleading international academicians and industrialexperts, and prepared under the auspices of theInternational Energy Agency (IEA) BioenergyImplementing Agreement, the handbook is an essentialresource for anyone interested in biomass combustionand co-firing technologies; the activities of which mayvary from domestic woodstoves to utility-scale powergeneration. The book covers subjects including biomassfuel pre-treatment and logistics, modeling of thecombustion process and ash-related issues and alsofeatures an overview of the current R&D needs withregard to biomass combustion.
Title: The Biomass AssessmentHandbook
Publisher: Earth Scan Publications*Author: Frank Rosillo Calle, Sarah
Hemstock, Peter De Groot,No. of Pages: 269Price: Rs. 6557
Responding to the need for reliable anddetailed information on biomassconsumption and supply and overcomingthe lack of standardized measurementand accounting procedures, thishandbook provides the skills to understand the biomassresource base and the tools to assess the resource as wellas the pros and cons of exploitation. The topics coveredinclude assessment methods for woody and herbaceousbiomass, biomass supply and consumption and remotesensing techniques. International case studies, rangingfrom techniques for measuring tree volume totransporting biomass help to illustrate the step-by-stepmethods and are based on fieldwork experience. A set oftechnical appendices offer a glossary of terms, energy units,and other valuable reference data. The Handbook providesinvaluable reading for energy consultants, agronomists,foresters, project developers, natural and social scientists,environmental policy analysts and students interested inbioenergy and environmental studies.
may generate around 256 lakh units per year out of whichabout 223 lakh units are to be exported to the grid aftermeeting the captive power requirements of the plant.The raw material in this case-poultry litter is beingcollected from the poultry farms located within a 25km radius from the site of the power plant. As per theavailable estimates, the total availability of poultrylitter in East Godavari district is around 800 MT/dayand the plant needs around 165 MT/day. A storagecapacity for keeping the raw feedstock for around tendays has also been constructed. The litter is fed to
the boiler on a continuous basis and thesupplementary fuel i.e. rice husk is stored elsewhere.The mixing proportion of the poultry litter and ricehusk is 75 percent and 25 percent respectively. Anelectrostatic precipitator has been installed to controlthe particulate emissions into the atmosphere. Thegaseous emissions of poultry litter combustion have avery low content of sulphur, chlorine and heavy metals.The steam turbine installed in the power plant is acondensing turbine, which is designed to drive thegenerator directly to generate power at 50 Hz.
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MNRE Program on Biomass and BagasseCogeneration based Power GenerationBiomass is an important energy source for powergeneration in developing countries, including India.Biomass power has assumed the shape of an industry inthe last 15 years and is attracting an annual investmentof over Rs. 1,000 crore, generating more than 9 billionunits of electricity per year and creating employmentopportunities in the rural areas. Megawatt scale electricitygeneration, through the combustion and cogenerationroutes, is employed under the Biomass/Cogenerationprogram. The government has introduced a host ofmeasures to create awareness amongst stakeholders,demonstrate commercial viability and attract investmentsin this sector. This has resulted in significant capacity
Item Description
Accelerated Depreciation 80 percent depreciation in the first year can be claimed for the following equipmentsrequired for cogeneration systems1. Back pressure, pass out, controlled extraction, extraction cum condensing turbine
for cogeneration with pressure boilers2. Vapour absorption refrigeration systems3. Organic rankine cycle power systems4. Low inlet pressure steam inlet systems
Income Tax Holidays 10 years income tax holidayCustoms Duty Concessional customs and excise duty exemption for machinery and components
for initial setting up of the projectsGeneral Sales Tax Exemption is available in certain states
Table 2: Fiscal Incentives
Program Special Category States Other States
Biomass Power Projects Rs. 25 lakh X (Capacity in MW) ^ 0.646 Rs. 20 lakh X (Capacity in MW) ^ 0.646Biomass Cogeneration Rs. 18 lakh X (Capacity in MW) ^ 0.646 Rs. 15 lakh X (Capacity in MW) ^ 0.646(private sugar mills)Bagasse Cogenerationprojects by Cooperative/Public/Joint Sector40 bar & above Rs. 40 lakh* Rs. 40 lakh*60 bar & above Rs. 50 lakh Rs. 50 lakh80 bar & above Rs. 60 lakh Rs. 60 lakh
Per MW (maximum support Per MW (maximum supportRs. 8.0 crore per project) Rs. 8.0 crore per project)
* for new sugar mills (which are yet to start production and sugar mills employing back pressure route/seasonal/incidental cogeneration) subsidies shall be one-halfof the level mentioned above.
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addition of biomass and bagasse cogeneration projects insugar mills through the private sector. The Ministry hasbeen promoting optimal cogeneration plants in privatesugar mills by adopting progressively higher steamparameters of up to 110 ata and 5400C, which providesfor additional power generation.
Pattern of Central Financial Assistance (CFA)for Biomass Power and Bagasse CogenerationProjectsThe Ministry offers assistance for biomass power andbagasse cogeneration projects undertaken in the specialcategory states and other states as per Tables 1& 2 below:
