Delhi to get country's first waste-to-power plant

Delhi is set to get the country's first commercial waste-to-power plant of 16 MW capacity that will convert one third of Capital's garbage into much-needed electricity for six lakh homes.

Delhi Chief Minister Sheila Dikshit today laid the foundation of the Timarpur-Okhla Municipal Solid Waste Management Project, which will initially generate 16 MW of power by using nearly 2000 tonnes of municipal solid waste produced in the city.

The clean energy plant established by Jindal Ecopolis with an investment of Rs 200 crore is expected to be operational in 12 to 16 months and, according to the company, it is the first of its kind in the country. In terms of scale, this plant will be in the top 10 in the world. The largest such waste-to-power plant is in Paris which processes 5,000 tonnes of waste per day.

Delhi currently generates an average waste 8,000 tonnes of solid waste daily and the plant in Okhla aims to process one-third of the waste, which will be provided by the MCD and NDMC free of cost. "Though initially we will process nearly 2000 tonnes of waste, but we will later be in a position to process as much as 4,000 tonnes," said Indresh Batra, Managing Director, Jindal SAW Ltd.

Asked about a failed attempt in the 1990's to set up a waste management plant in Timarpur, Dikshit said that involved importing of technology that subsequently did not suit the needs of the waste here. "That project was initiated over a decade back, with technology imported from a European country. But the calorific value of waste produced here was different from that in Europe and the plant turned out to be a mistake," she said.

The Chief Minister added that this time adequate home work has been done. The project, a public-private partnership with the government of Delhi, is also registered with the United Nations Framework Convention for Climate Change (IUNFCCC) for earning carbon credits. Dikshit said her government also aims to close the existing coal-based electricity plant once supplies from Bhiwani and Jhajjar started coming in. "Ten years down the line, this project will be a showcase for all cities of the country," said Batra. The plant will process the waste from the area, feed it into its boilers and generate valuable power, even as the remains of the waste will be rendered neutral before being fed out to the environment.