Greentech Lead India: A total of six urban waste management projects are under installation in India, and one has been commissioned already, according to the information from the Ministry of New and Renewable Energy.
Three of these projects are located in India, including the project already commissioned and has been promoted by Timarpur Okhla Waste Management Private.
Other projects include those managed by East Delhi Waste processing Company (New Delhi); Srinivasa Gayatri Resource Recovery (Bangalore); RDF Power Projects (Hyderabad); Delhi MSW Solutions (Delhi); Rochem Separation Systems (Pune); and Solapur Bio-Energy Systems (Solapur).
The projects being set up presently are based on biomethanation, combustion and gasification technologies followed by engines or turbines for power generation. The projects at Bangalore, Delhi and Hyderabad are employing combustion technology based on reciprocating grate boilers, whereas the project at Pune and Solapur are based on gasification and biomethanation technologies, respectively.
The programme provides for central financial assistance @ Rs 2.00 crore per megawatt limited to Rs. 10.00 crore per project for five pilot projects based on garbage set up by State Nodal Agencies, Urban Local Bodies/ Municipal Corporations or entrepreneurs. In addition, customs and excise duty concessions are also provided for initial setting up of these projects.
The waste management projects are being set up on Build, Own, Operate and Transfer basis. These are considered viable and will supply power to the State Transmission Companies at a tariff of Rs. 2.59 to 4.25 per kWh, which is comparable with the cost of conventional power, the Ministry said.
Recent reports suggest that Developing countries like India and Africa are lagging behind several other developing countries in waste management efforts mainly due to lack of capital and infrastructure.
India, world’s second largest country in terms of population, produces 68.8 million tons per year of Municipal Solid Waste or 188,500 tons per day. With this trend set to continue urban India will generate 160.5 million by 2041 and over the next decade some 920 million tons of solid waste will need to be properly managed.