Rice Husk Based Power Project

Project Type: Biomass

Location: India

Project background

The purpose of the project is to utilize rice mill generated rice husk as a sustainably grown and un-utilized waste biomass resource for the effective generation of steam and therefrom electricity for the local grid. The biomass is abundantly available from several rice mills located within a radius of 100 km from the project site. In absence of the project activity it would be left to decay.
The project has an electricity generation capacity of 7.7 MW. It was the first grid-connected rice husk based power plant in Chhattisgarh and one of the first projects using alternative renewable energy sources in the state. Due to large coal reserves in the region, even to date nearly 90 per cent of the energy generation in Chhattisgarh state is derived from coal power plants.
The reduction of greenhouse gas emissions and the prospect of receiving certificates were a decisive factor for the investment decision. The installation of a common practice small scale diesel power plant would have been a more financially attractive and less technologically risky alternative. The power plant is effectively replacing 45 GWh of electricity generation per year, mostly in thermal power plants.

Sustainable development

The government of India has stipulated the following indicators for sustainable development in the approval guidelines for CDM projects:
Social well-being, economic wellbeing, environmental well-being, and technological well-being. How the project activiy contributes positively to the ‘Sustainable Development of India’ is described below:

Socio-economical well-being: The location in a rural backward area has associated socioeconomic benefits generating both direct and indirect employment in the area of skilled jobs for operation and maintenance of the equipment. The project also helps to reduce the gap of electricity demand and supply at the local and national level. The increase in the demand of rice husk exerted by the project has a local effect on its price and generates additional revenue for the rice millers.

Environmental well-being: The project activity is a renewable energy power project which substitutes the power generated using conventional fuels by power generated with renewable resources. Thus it will reduce the CO2 emissions and save the equivalent amount of conventional fuel which is a non-renewable resource.

Technological well-being: The plant uses a new, modern and environment friendly technology and helps to adopt this advanced and sustainable technology for long term benefits.

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