What’s the news?

• The meeting to review progress of biomass co-firing in thermal power plants was held in New Delhi to prepare for the coming post-monsoon season that saw farm fires in north India and worsening air pollution.

News in detail

• The Power Ministry in October 2021 had decreed that all thermal power plants ensure 5% compliance of biomass co-firing by October 2022.

• Biomass co-firing stands for adding biomass as a partial substitute fuel in high efficiency coal boilers.

• • Biomass pellets have the same calorific value as coal and mixing them with coal saves consumption as well as reportedly cuts emissions.

• Eg: Biomass from stubble, which is often burned by farmers in open fields, can be used in coal plants to reduce pollution.

• In 2020-21, only eight power plants had co-fired biomass pellets, and this number had risen to 39 as of today.
• India has around 180 thermal power plants. In the Delhi-NCR region, a hotbed of air pollution, 10 thermal power plants had started co-firing with biomass and coal. As of today, 83,066 tonnes of biomass have been co-fired in 39 thermal power plants across the country and has generated close to 55,390 MW of power.
• India has been severely lagging in ensuring that at least 5% of coal used in thermal plants was mixed with biomass despite guidelines mandating them to do so and sufficient emphasis was given on the fact that the health and safety of the citizens was topmost priority. This recalcitrance by power manufacturers has prompted the Power Ministry to consider cutting coal supply to non-compliant plants.

Reference:

1. https://www.thehindu.com/news/national/india-lags-in-biomass-co-firing-targets/article65967719.ece