Govt. asks states to formulate plans for biomass co-firing in power plants
Recently, the Ministry of Power has asked the states to prepare a plan for biomass co-firing in power plants.
- The objective of the scheme is to prepare a time bound plan for ensuring use of biomass for co-firing in thermal power plants.
- The ministry has asked to prepare this plan before the Kharif crop season. This will help in controlling the activities of stubble burning and will also help in reducing air pollution.
- Earlier, in October 2021, the government had issued a policy for the use of agricultural waste based biomass. Under this, five to seven percent biomass co-firing with coal was made mandatory in all thermal power plants.
- The Ministry of Power also launched the ‘SAMARTH’ (Sustainable Agrarian Mission on use of Agro Residue in TPPs – SAMARTH) mission in the year 2021 to utilize biomass in thermal power plants. Here SAMARTH stands for Sustainable Agriculture Mission on the use of agricultural residues in thermal power plants.
Biomass Co-firing-
Biomass co-firing refers to the combustion of coal as well as biomass in coal-fired power plants.
Types of co-firing
- Direct Co-firing: In this, biomass and coal are burnt in the same furnace.
- Indirect co-firing: In this, solid biomass is converted into clean fuel gas using a biomass gasifier.
- Parallel Co-firing: A biomass boiler is installed completely separate in addition to the conventional boiler.
Importance of Biomass Co-firing:
- It reduces greenhouse gas emissions,
- It ensures additional income for the farmers,
- Coal-fired power plants can be retrofitted quickly and at a low cost,
- It uses only the existing network of coal plants.
Source – The Hindu
