Indian state uses bamboo for power generation
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Indian scientists are working on developing power plants supported by bamboo waste, by turning bamboo into gas and then electricity. The first two such projects will be set up in Assam by February 2006. This is being looked at as a highly cost-effective and eco-friendly way to generate power to support the region’s needs. The power stations will have a capacity of 1 megawatt each.
“Power from the two plants will be used by two paper mills although such bamboo-fuelled energy could be suitably used in off-grid and remote locations, and to meet captive industry and utility needs,” says Vinay S Oberoi, director of the National Mission on Bamboo Applications (NMBA). The electricity produced by the bamboo-based power plants -- about 2,000,000 Watts a year -- could help tide over the power crisis faced in many parts of India. The two power projects, set up at an estimated cost of Rs 100 million, were designed and developed by scientists at the Indian Institute of Science (IISc) in Bangalore and are suitable for application in the 10 kw to 1 mw range. Experts from the IISc, in collaboration with the NMBA, are working to develop a similar medium-sized power plant for the Indian army in the northeast. The NMBA is an agency set up by the Indian government to promote value-addition and commercialisation of the country’s 80 million tonnes of bamboo harvested annually. The government organisation, which has centres in five northeastern states, funds research into commercial, industrial and other uses for bamboo, which grows widely in the area. India is the second highest bamboo-producing country after China, and more than 55% of India’s annual bamboo crop is grown in the northeast. “We are confident the commercial success of gasification of bamboo for generation of electricity will help us solve the energy crisis facing India and allow our experts to pursue such ventures on a bigger scale,” says Oberoi. Assam will be the first state in India to use this “green power” and one of the first places in the world to tap the energy potential of the fast-growing grass. SOURCE: Infochange India News and Features |
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