Power from garbage among key points of Maharashtra government's renewable energy policy

The problems of managing solid waste in Maharashtra may soon be a thing of the past, as the state government grows intent on promoting generation of power from garbage. Electricity generated in this way will then be used to power streetlights and water and sewerage pumps through a distributed generation-based model.

A senior energy department official told dna that this would be one of the features of the state government's proposed off-grid renewable energy policy. "We plan to promote waste to energy projects through the policy," the official said. He added that generating biomass and distributing it for cooking, promoting solar lanterns, rooftop solar power projects which could be used for power backup, and solar water heaters, would be other features of the policy. It is scheduled to be presented before the state cabinet soon.

"We are aiming at meaningful use of solid waste. But the technology has met with a mixed response. While some projects have met with a good response, this is missing at other sites," the official said.

"Hence, we are looking at putting up these projects at the ward level like it has been done in Pune," the official explained. It is envisaged that power generated from waste will be stored and used to power streetlights and water and sewage pumps. The official said that evolving technology had led to the inconvenience (like foul smell) caused by these waste-to-energy projects being reduced.

Maharashtra has an assessed potential to generate 637 MW from municipal solid waste, industrial waste and sewerage (out of the country's 3,400 MW potential in the sector). Of this, Maharashtra has achieved just 22.51 MW and the new grid-connected renewable energy policy, which was approved by the state cabinet recently, aims at generating another 300 MW from such waste.

The official noted that these projects would help reduce solid waste problems in the state. For instance, Mumbai generates around 10,000 tons of garbage daily, which includes 2,500 tons construction waste, debris and silt; the rest is garbage. Of this, around 5,500 tons is disposed of at Deonar and 4,500 tons at Mulund. Residents of these areas complain of environmental degradation and health problems. Around 25 tons of bio-medical waste is also generated daily.

The state's new and renewable energy policy aims at creating 14,400 MW of fresh grid-connected installed capacity in the sector by 2019-20.

This includes 7,500 MW from solar energy. Wind energy and bagasse-based plants will contribute 5,000 MW and 1,000 MW respectively. Small hydro power projects, with a capacity of 5 MW and less, will make up for 400 MW. An additional 300 MW is proposed to be generated from industrial waste and 200 MW from biomass. Energy minister Chandrashekhar Bavankule has said that the policy will entail investments of Rs1 lakh crore and generate many jobs.