Aug-Sep.2012 issue

VOL-II (

AUGUST-SEPTEMBER 2012

ISSN 2249-2992

ENERGY

FOCUS: Biomass, Biofuels and Waste-to-Energy

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IN BETWEEN CDM & Energy Efficiency issues and opportunities for Fuel Switch Projects using Biomass

By G. Subramanyam

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Woody Biofuels: Past, Present and Future

By Dr. L. Ashok Kumar

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A Glance at Major Waste-to-Energy Technologies

By Salman Zafar

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Nisargruna biogas plant for safe and meaningful disposal of biodegradable waste material

By S. P. Kale, I. K. Saini and Rameshkumar

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Stake Holding Capitalism To Reduce The Project Cost And One Full Project Equity To Execute Renewable Energy Projects In India

By Praveen Kumar Kulkarni

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BIOFUELS

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S o l a r p o we r s t a t i o n i n S p a i n t h a t wo r k s a t n i g h t t o o ! !

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Renewable energy deals on a fast track in developing nations

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TECHNOLOGY: New MIT chip harvests energy from three sources

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NEWS:

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ENERGY

ITZ L B

AUGUST-SEPTEMBER 2012

Advisory Board Dr. A. Jagadeesh | India Dr. Bhamy Shenoy | USA Er. Darshan Goswami | USA Elizabeth H. Thompson | Barbados Pincas Jawetz | USA Ediorial Board Salman Zafar | India Editor & Publisher M. R. Menon Business & Media P. Roshini Book Design Shamal Nath Circulation Manager Andrew Paul Printed and Published by M.R.Menon at Midas Offset Printers, Kuthuparamba, Kerala Editorial Office 'Pallavi' Kulapully Shoranur 679122, Kerala (E-Mail: editor.energyblitz@gmail.com) Disclaimer: The views expressed in the magazine are those of the authors and the Editorial team | energy blitzdoes not take responsibility for the contents and opinions.energy blitz will not be responsible for errors, omissions or comments made by writers, interviewers or Advertisers.Any part of this publication may be reproduced with acknowledgment to the author and magazine.

Registered and Editorial Office 'Pallavi, Kulapully, Shoranur 679122, Kerala, India Tel: +91-466-2220852/9995081018 E-mail: editor.energyblitz@gmail.com Web: energyblitz.webs.com

Mahatma Gandhi, in his vision for India, envisaged a system of devolved, selfsufficient communities, sustaining their needs from the local environment, and organising income generating ventures around cooperative structures. Sixty five years on, and Gandhi's vision of Swadeshi (self-sufficiency) for India, despite interpreted by some as a romantic and bucolic notion, is perhaps more urgent than ever. Diminishing forests, and a burgeoning, mainly rural biomass-dependent population necessitates a coordinated effort of rural India to supply itself with a dependable and sustained source of energy.

Biogas technology may have the potential to short-circuit the 'energy transition' as Biogas technology is a particularly useful system in the Indian rural economy, and can fulfill several end uses. The gas is useful as a fuel substitute for firewood, dung, agricultural residues, petrol, diesel, and electricity, depending on the nature of the task. Biogas systems also provide a residue organic waste, after anaerobic digestion that has superior nutrient qualities over the usual organic fertilizer, cattle dung, as it is in the form of ammonia. Anaerobic digesters also function as a waste disposal system, particularly for human waste, and can, therefore, prevent potential sources of environmental contamination and the spread of pathogens. Small-scale industries are also made possible, from the sale of surplus gas to the provision of power for a rural-based industry, therefore, biogas may also provide the user with income generating opportunities.

The gas can also be used to power engines, in a dual fuel mix with petrol and can aid in pumped irrigation systems.

Apart from the direct benefits gleaned from biogas systems, there are other, perhaps less tangible benefits associated with this renewable technology. By providing an alternative source of fuel, biogas can replace the traditional biomass based fuels, notably wood.

Introduced on a significant scale, biogas may reduce the dependence on wood from forests, and create a vacuum in the market, at least for firewood.

A clean and particulate-free source of energy also reduces the likelihood of chronic diseases that are associated with the indoor combustion of biomass-based fuels, such as respiratory infections, ailments of the lungs; bronchitis, asthma, lung cancer, and increased severity of coronary artery disease. Benefits can also be scaled up, when the potential environmental impacts are also taken into account; significant reductions in emissions associated with the combustion of biofuels, such as sulphur dioxide (SO2), nitrogen dioxide (NO2), carbon monoxide (CO), total suspended particles (TSP's), and poly-aromatic hydrocarbons (PAH's), are possible with the large-scale introduction of biogas technology.

Integral to biogas technology also, and the philosophy it represents, namely Swadeshi, is the requirement of devolved, and self-reliant communities to manage the systems. This may seem a rather obvious point to make, but necessary nonetheless. For biogas systems to be truly viable and workable in rural India, demands the technology to be preferably generated from within the community. As will be seen later, this may not always be possible logistically, amongst other reasons. If not actually produced from the community it is to serve, then the technology must be amenable and possible to manage and modify by individuals within the community, preferably the plant owner, and reliance on 'outside' assistance kept to a minimum. Without this basic requirement being fulfilled, biogas technology will not be a truly viable option for meeting India's rural energy demands.

Ramanathan Menon

CDM & Energy Efficiency issues and opportunities for Fuel Switch Projects using Biomass

By G. Subramanyam

Abstract: Climate change is a reality now and has become one of the greatest environmental threat to our planet. Global warming, rise in sea levels and floods are some of the ill effects that already started facing. To address these problems the Clean Development Mechanism (CDM) is one of Kyoto protocol flexibility mechanisms that allows industrialized countries to meet their emission reduction targets by paying for green house gas emission reduction in developed countries. Now the CDM has become popular and around 3889 CDM projects ( as on Feb'12) are already registered.

The estimated revenues under CDM would be around 26 Billion USD and by 2030 it may touch 100 Billion USD. In this paper, it is tried to analyze the potential for CDM projects in India, in particular Energy Efficiency projects associated with fuel switch.

By addressing some of the barriers, and considering use of fuel switch with biomass, Biogas etc, one can expect more CDM projects under Energy Efficiency in India.

Introduction: Climate change is a reality now, impacting both the developed and the developing countries. The countries should, therefore, take into account the adverse impacts of climate change across various sectors of their economies, and try to build in appropriate redressal measures so as to minimize the losses. Multilateral environment agreements provide opportunities to catalyse such measures. For example, the CDM (clean development mechanism) of the UNFCCC (United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change) is already in place, and several countries and industries have gained out of this mechanism by implementing clean and environmentally sound development practices.

The CDM is a global mechanism under the Kyoto Protocol that enables project developers to receive carbon credits toward their green house gas (GHG) emission reduction Initiatives. India, being one of the Non-Annex I countries, the investors in this sector can additionally benefit from the CDM. The carbon market is growing in leaps and bounds. Indian industries are quite proactive in generating awareness amongst its customers and realising carbon credits, already more than 790 projects are registered from India out of 3889 CDM projects world wide. For Indian projects are going to get about 63 million CER's. Present CDM market potential is around 30 Billion USD, and we need to tap this potential. Though many CDM projects are registered, most of these projects are related to energy generation from non

renewables.

Yet many Energy efficiency projects are figured the list of registered CDM projects, due to inherent problems and those issues needs to be addressed.

Annex I countries emissions: So far more than 140 countries have ratified the Kyoto Protocol, The Annex I countries among them represent nearly 62% of the CO2 emissions. The EU's share is 24.2%, and Russia is responsible for 17.4% of the global 1990 CO2 emissions. The United States is responsible for 36.1%, the worlds largest CO2 pollutant, withdrew from the Kyoto Protocol in early 2001. In the year 1990 the GHG emissions of Annex 1 countries alone estimated to be 10412 MMTCO2. Projected emissions in the year 2010 would be about 10737 MMTCO2, an increase of about 3.1% in 20 years. To meet the Kyoto commitment the Annex-I countries need to reduce GHG emissions to the tune of 866 MMTCO2.

Options existing for Annex-1 countries to meet this legally binding obligation include domestic mitigation measures, development of carbon sinks, trade credits from economies in transition, trade of credits from Clean Development Mechanism (CDM) and Joint Implementation (JI) projects.

The CDM was launched in November 2001, the first project was registered about three years later, and the first CERs were issued in October 2005. CERs can be issued for verified emission reductions achieved since 1st January 2000. India signed Kyoto Protocol in December 1997 and ratified in August 2002. India had an opportunity to host the Conference of Parties (COP) 8 in October 2002. Realizing the potential for CDM projects in India, National CDM authority was established in December 2003.

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Annual Investments in CDM projects

creation while reducing environmental impacts.

Based on the estimates, CDM is going to generate investments to the tune of 26 billion USD. Most of these investments are through unilateral projects; unilateral projects are those for which the project proponent in the developing country bears all costs before selling the CERs. India is the home for most of the unilateral projects and is being implemented by all private investors followed by China, Brazil and Mexico. It means investments of about 13 billion USD are expected to come from private investors. The expected investments through CDM by the year 2030 would be around 100 Billion USD/year.

Present Status of CDM Market in India:

India's share in CDM India is the sixth largest emitter of greenhouse gases (GHGs), contributing about 1228 MMTCO2 i.e. 2% of global emissions, which is equivalent to 1.3 tonnes per capita emissions. The largest share of 61% in India is contributed by the energy sector, followed by the agriculture sector at 28%, industrial processes at 8%, municipal solid waste at 2% and emissions from Land Use and Land Use Change & Forestry (LULUCF) are 1%.

The electricity sector is a prime candidate for CDM projects. Electricity generation in India is largely based on coal, which is one of the largest contributors to GHG emissions. The total investment potential for CDM projects in this sector has been estimated to be about Rs. 628 billion (US$14.6 bn).

Globally already around 3889 CDM projects are registered with the Executive Board of UNFCCC as of February 2012, and this list is increasing every day. Out of the total registered projects, India has the share of 20.34%, next to China (47.24%) and Brazil 5.17%. From the present registered projects, the issued CER's amounts to 572 Million.

The expected CER's from the registered projects until 2012 would be 2700 Million. The Indian projects contribution is about 63 Million CER's/ year amounting to 11%, whereas China is going to have CER's of 366 million/annum with a

Energy efficiency improvement programs in the Indian industry could qualify as potential CDM projects on account of the environmental benefits that accrue as a result of avoided generation from fossil fuels. The possible high potential industries include Aluminium, Cement, Caustic Soda, Copper, Fertiliser, Iron and Steel, Pulp and Paper, Sugar, Textiles and Zinc. The following table gives the CDM potential in various sectors like Power, Energy Efficiency, agriculture, Forestry etc. The assessed potential is about 243 Million CER's. The cumulative potential in India, till 2010 in these sectors amounts to 40 Billion US Dollars

Potential for CDM in Energy Efficiency: The investment potential for Energy Efficiency projects in different Energy Intensive sectors amounts to Rs. 48.8 Billion or Rs.4880 crores. The Following table gives the break up of investment potential in various sectors.

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The rate of growth in GHG emissions is more than double the world average i.e. 4.6%. Thus, India is going to be an important player in global climate change in the decades to come. Global efforts are underway to address the threat of climate change. India is taking advantage of these efforts to address climate change and through which trying to increase direct foreign investment, technology transfer and job

share of 64%. Thus the CDM has become “China Development Mechanism.� Following figures 1 & 2 give the share of registered projects by the developed countries and the CER's they are going to generate from the registered projects.

The number of projects registered under CDM are mostly related to Non-Renewable energy (64.32%), followed by waste disposal (15.92%), Agriculture (4.14%). In addition to 2600 already registered projects, another 5600 projects are in pipeline. It is expected by 2012 about 4000-4500 projects would be registered under CDM.

Energy Efficiency Issues:

The following figure gives the registered projects by scope.

Out of the present 3889 registered projects majority 2660 projects i.e almost 68% belong to scope 01, which covers

considered for different grid system in India. In India we have 5 grids, so our grid emission factor vary from gird to grid. These factors can be used for both power generation

Energy industries under renewable / non-renewable energy resources. These projects are mostly either wind, biomass, solar, hydel etc. Under Energy Efficiency , though there many projects implemented, but all these are mostly related to fuel switching, cogeneration, waste heat recovery etc.

Under energy demand and energy distribution hardly 1% projects registered so far.

through renewables or for power savings through energy efficiency measures as per Central Electricity Authority (CEA baseline data for the year 2009-10). As per this data, if we save power or generate power by non-renewable energy sources, we will be avoiding 833 Tons of CO2/ MU. i.e we get 833 Certified Emission Reductions (CER's) for every 1 Million Units. In the case of Wind & Solar power project, we get 923 CER's for every 1 MU due to Build Margin, Operating Margin and Combined Margin weight age given for these low PLF energy sources.

Grid Emission factor for Generation & Energy Efficiency CDM projects: The following table gives the latest grid emission factor to be

From the above table it can be said that by saving 1 MU/year

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the expected CER's would be 825 for biomass projects, if the project is connected to North, East, west or North eastern Grids. If it is connected to southern grid, the CER's would be 853. Similarly, for the wind and solar projects, we can get slightly 10% more CER's due to their low PLF.

remaining 119 projects are small scale. Most of these projects are either for power generation or heat generation in terms of steam. Under fuel switch projects there are already no. of approved methodologies for CDM registration.

Eligible projects under Fuel Switch:

Conclusion:

The following are some of the eligible projects for CDM registration under fuel switch:

Although India has a very low per capita consumption of energy and corresponding low GHG emissions, the expected growth rate is high at 8 %. With the Kyoto protocol legal obligations by the developed countries, the CDM is gaining importance. Seeing additional revenue through CDM, many projects are getting registered from the developing countries.

Already registered projects of 3889 numbers with expected CER's of 2700 million till the first implementation period of 2012 is the testimony for this popularity.

1.

Conversion of coal and Oil fired boilers to biomass / Natural. Gas 2. Use of Coconut shells for Activated carbon production and power generion with methane avoidance 3. Use of biogas from biomethenation for heat and power generation 4. Waste to energy projects 5. Biomass gasification and power generation 6. Installation of Combined cycle power plants 7. Installation of Gassifiers using biomass / charcoal and replacing F.oil by bio gas in Kilns / Furnaces etc 8. Use of Briquettes for steam generation 9. Use of Refused Derived fuel from Municipal solid waste 10. Installation of solar Geysers / Solar hot water system to replace Electricity/F.oil/Coal 11. Converting Diesel fired DG sets to N.Gas / Bio gas 12. Use of CNG / LPG / Biogas instead of Petrol/Diesel

There are 135 biomass based CDM projects from India are registered. Out of this 16 projects are Large scale and

By the end of crediting period of 2012, we many end up with a tally of 4000-4500 registered CDM projects, with CER's of 3-4 billion. CDM revenue to the tune of 100 billion USD is expected by 2030. India may have a share of 15-20 billion inflow of foreign funds through CDM alone.

There is huge potential to switch fuel in Industry for generation of power and heat either by using biomass ( rice husk, wood, agri waste, N. Gas etc). Methodologies are already in place. Getting carbon credits either by CDM route or through Renewable Energy Certificates (REC), one can expect more Fuel switch related CDM projects in the future in India.

G. Subramanyam is Bureau of Energy Efficiency (BEE) Certified Energy Auditor and also a IGBC Green Building Accredited Professional with over 22 years of proven success in undertaking Energy Conservation projects. Awarded three times Best Energy Auditor of the Year for the year 2007-08 & 2008-09, 2009-10.. Worked with National Productivity Council for 20 years in the Energy Management Division. Currently heading Siri Exergy & Carbon Advisory Services (P) Ltd., Hyderabad. Presently overseeing Energy Efficiency, Project Development & Registration of CDM projects with UNFCCC & capacity building. Expertise in energy management, project management, financing and implementation of energy efficiency projects under ESCO model, as well as policy analysis. Distinction of winning Rs.56,000/- cash prizes for contributing to Technical writing on various issues related to Energy Efficiency & CDM through the website www.energymanagertraining .com so far. One of Finalist in the Demonstration Marketplace 2006 Global contest of The World Bank� His contact email: subramanyam@siriexergy.com

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Woody Biofuels: Past, Present and Future

By Dr. L. Ashok Kumar

Wood and all other plant biomass is ultimately the product of photosynthesis in living plants. The sun's energy is combined with carbon dioxide (CO2) and water to form simple sugars. These sugars are then converted biochemically in trees to form wood. While wood is a remarkably durable and potentially long-lasting biomaterial, the sunlight energy can be released (along with the CO2 and water) when we want to use wood as a fuel. This fact sheet briefly describes some of the major uses of wood as a fuel.

Wood has been used as a source of heat for warmth and cooking throughout history. Despite the widespread use of wood for other purposes and the dominance of fossil fuels for energy today, fuel remains the main use of wood in the world. More than 50 percent of the trees harvested globally are used for firewood. Some of the major ways that wood is used for fuel are described below.

Firewood: The original biomass fuel

Charcoal: From a cleaner biofuel to a cleaner

Wood 'fires' can be as simple and small as a campfire, as large as a pulp-mill boiler or as sophisticated as a fast pyrolysis unit. In each case, however, the sunlight energy that was captured by photosynthesis and concentrated and stored in

Charcoal is formed when wood is heated in the absence of oxygen. In its simplest form, charcoal is created when a wood fire is smothered: as the wood is heated by the fire but starved of oxygen a dry, black, lightweight charcoal is left behind.

the wood of trees can be put to use as a biofuel.

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Charcoal can be burned later in fireplaces or stoves. Charcoal produces a relatively clean and hot fire that is useful for cooking. Charcoal is a preferred cooking fuel in many regions. The main disadvantage of traditional charcoal production is that most of the wood's original energy is lost in the conversion process.

Charcoal can be generated from trees, wood chips and even sawdust. The charcoal 'briquettes' used for barbequing are made from compressed sawdust that has been converted to charcoal. Charcoal can also be refined and used in a variety of products such as filters and crayons. 'Activated charcoal' refers to charcoal with a high surface area. Activated charcoal is useful for absorbing odors, color or other impurities from air or water.

Hog fuel: Waste to power wood processing A major use of wood is for the production of heat and electricity at industrial locations. Wood fuels are dominant energy sources for energy-intensive wood processing operations such as the kiln drying of lumber. Wood slabs and bark can be ground up ('hogged') to make a fuel. Sawdust and planer shavings can be used directly. The quality of a hog or wood waste fuel is a function of its density, moisture (water) content and other factors, but simply put, almost any woodprocessing waste can be used for fuel. In the past, it was common for sawmills to burn their wastes simply to get rid of them. Now, however, it is understood that the energy content of those residues is too valuable to waste. Mills that do not have the need for wood energy for their own operations will sell their wastes to pulp mills or lumber kiln-drying operations that can use the fuel.

Cogeneration: Getting heat and electricity from wood fuel Using wood fuels in boilers is not limited to powering woodprocessing plants. Other industries or institutions that use steam or hot water for processing or heating can be fueled by burning wood processing waste. In addition to using heat from burning wood waste to generate hot water or steam, combined-heat-and-power, or 'cogen', boilers can be used to simultaneously generate electricity. This electricity may then be used on-site or sold back to the electrical grid.

Pellets: Firewood in a different form

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Fluffy (low-density) wood wastes such as sawdust can also be formed into small shapes such as pellets or briquettes, providing an easy-to-handle fuel. Wood pellets are formed using machinery that compresses sawdust so much that the wood sticks together no glue is used. These pellets are then burned in boilers or small household heating stoves. Wood pellets are clean-burning, with a low water content because they are made from dry sawdust, making the burning process more efficient. Pellets can be continuously dispensed into stoves using hoppers and automated feed screws. Pellets and other compressed-wood-waste products, such as briquettes, are simply a convenient form of firewood a new take on the traditional biofuel.

Black liquor: Wood fuel for making paper Wood pulp and paper production uses low-grade trees and sawmill residues. Papermaking also requires lots of energy, especially for drying the paper sheet. Much of the energy for this processing comes from wood components removed in the pulping process. The Kraft pulping process is the most common method of isolating pulp fibers from wood. In Kraft pulping, wood chips are mixed with chemicals under heat and pressure. Wood chemicals, such as lignin and hemicelluloses, are dissolved, leaving behind the cellulose fibers that will be used for making writing paper, tissues, etc. Only about 50 percent of the wood is recovered as usable pulp. However, the mixture of used pulping chemicals and dissolved wood components is not discarded. This 'black liquor' is burned in special furnaces at the mill to recover the pulping chemicals so they can be re-used. The processing of black liquor also releases heat when the wood that is dissolved in the liquor is burned. This heat is converted to steam, which is used for pulp and paper-making processing. Black liquor-derived steam is also used to generate electricity. The burning of black liquor in the Kraft pulping process is the largest use of wood as a biofuel.

Pyrolysis, gasification and bio-oil: Liquid and gaseous fuels from solid wood As was described above, if wood is heated in the absence of oxygen (called pyrolysis), it gets broken down and a solid charcoal fuel remains. During this process, much of the solid wood is vaporized into potentially flammable gases. In traditional charcoal making, these gases escape, wasting much of the potential wood energy. In other pyrolysis systems, these gases can be captured and used. The pyrolysis process can be adjusted to maximize the gases produced and minimize the solid char products. In wood gasification, pyrolysis gases are captured and burned. The energy from burning these wood gases can be used to power boilers or even to operate internal-combustion engines. During World War II, wood-gas-fired cars and trucks were built in response to shortages of gasoline and diesel. In bio-oil production, pyrolysis gases are condensed, forming a brown liquid 'oil' that can be burned in furnaces. Bio-oil has about the same fuel value of ethanol (a common gasoline additive), and it can be burned in boilers that use heating oil. Bio-oil cannot yet be used as a fuel for vehicles. Bio-oil is a complex mixture of chemicals, and current research is investigating how to purify and value-added products.

Ethanol: Using wood as a raw material for fuel production Wood is commonly used as a fuel with little or no modification. Firewood is simply cut, dried and burned. Hog fuels are waste materials from wood processing that are used like firewood. Even the pyrolysis products such as wood gas and bio-oil are in essence burning of wood the difference is in the control over the combustion process.

The concept of making ethanol or other liquid fuels from wood is different from traditional wood fuels in that the wood structure itself is converted to new chemicals

before it is used as a liquid fuel. Ethanol is an alcohol that can be used as a liquid fuel for vehicles. Wood does not contain ethanol, but ethanol can be made from the sugars that are in wood. Ethanol is created when yeast ferment free sugars, such as glucose.

The starch in corn kernels is one example of a source of sugars for the production of ethanol. The cellulose in wood (about 50 percent of the wood substance) is pure glucose.

However, this sugar is bonded in special ways in wood, and is protected by the lignin and other substances in the wood.

In order for the glucose to be available for attack by the yeast and conversion to ethanol, the wood must first be broken down. This breakdown can be achieved in various ways, using heat and chemicals or enzymes.

The technology for the breakdown of wood to fermentable sugars and ethanol production is being continually refined, but wood may one day provide a significant source of raw material for manufacturing fuels. Wood has a number of advantages as a biomass raw material for liquid fuel production, including: 1. Trees are all around us and can be grown with very few 'inputs' of fertilizer, irrigation, etc.

2. Trees can be harvested year-round, with many years of wood production combined in one harvest. In this way, a forest can accumulate and store its potential fuel energy for decades 3. Wood is a relatively high-density fuel that can be harvested and stored for relatively long periods of time without decomposing.

4. In addition to being a source of renewable raw materials for the production of carbon-neutral fuels, forests provide many other products and benefits, such as wildlife habitat and recreational opportunities.

Summary: Wood is good as a biofuel!

Wood is a concentrated form of stored sunlight (solar energy).

This energy can be released and used as a fuel. Wood has always been an important source of energy for people. Today, wood is the most important source of renewable energy and a primary source of fuel for much of the world. Whether it is as simple as a campfire, or as sophisticated as producing ethanol, wood has a number of inherent advantages that ensure it will continue to be an important bio-fuel in the future.

The author has completed his B.E., (EEE) from University of Madras and ME (Electrical Machines) from PSG College of Technology, Coimbatore, Tamil Nadu, and MBA (HRM) from IGNOU, New Delhi and PhD (Wearable Electronics) from Anna University, Chennai. He has both teaching and industrial experience of 14 years. At present he is working as Associate Professor in the Department of Electrical & Electronics Engg. He has got 11 research projects from various Government funding agencies. He has published 32 Technical papers in reputed National and International Journal and presented 65 research articles in International and National Conferences. He has received YOUNG ENGINEER AWARD from Institution of Engineers, India. He is a member of various National & International Technical bodies like ISTE, IETE, TSI, BMSI, ISSS, SESI, SSI & TAI. His areas of specializations are Wearable Electronics and Renewable Energy Systems. His contact email: askipsg@gmail.com

Bio fuels Biofuels are derived from renewable bio-mass resources and, therefore, provide a strategic advantage to promote sustainable development and to supplement conventional energy sources in meeting the rapidly increasing requirements for transportation fuels associated with high economic growth, as well as in meeting the energy needs of India's vast rural population. Biofuels can increasingly satisfy these energy needs in an environmentally benign and cost-effective manner while reducing dependence on import of fossil fuels and thereby providing a higher degree of National Energy Security. The growth of biofuels around the globe is spurred largely by energy security and environmental concerns and a wide range of market mechanisms, incentives and subsidies have been put in place to facilitate their growth.

Developing countries, apart from these considerations, also view biofuels as a potential means to stimulate rural development and create employment opportunities. The Indian approach to biofuels, in particular, is somewhat different to the current international approaches which could lead to conflict with food security. It is based solely on non-food feedstocks to be raised on degraded or wastelands that are not suited to agriculture, thus avoiding a possible conflict of fuel vs. food security

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A Glance at Major Waste-to-Energy Technologies

By Salman Zafar

Introduction A host of technologies are available for realizing the energy potential of different forms of wastes, ranging from very simple systems for disposing of dry waste to more complex technologies capable of dealing with large amounts of industrial waste. Conversion routes for wastes are generally thermo-chemical or bio-chemical, but may also include chemical and physical. Besides recovery of substantial energy, these technologies can lead to significant reduction in the overall waste quantities requiring final disposal, which can be better managed for safe disposal in a controlled manner while meeting the pollution control standards.

A variety of thermal technologies exists to convert the energy stored in wastes to more useful forms of power. The three principal methods of thermo-chemical conversion are combustion in excess air, gasification in reduced air, and pyrolysis in the absence of air. The most common technique for producing both heat and electrical energy from wastes is direct combustion. Combined heat and power (CHP) or cogeneration systems, ranging from small-scale technology to large grid-connected facilities, provide significantly higher efficiencies than systems that only generate electricity.

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In addition, biochemical processes, like anaerobic digestion, can also produce clean energy in the form of biogas which

can be converted to power and heat using a gas engine.

Wastes can also yield liquid fuels, such as cellulosic ethanol, which can be used to replace petroleum-based fuels.

Cellulosic ethanol can be produced from grasses, wood chips and agricultural residues by biochemical route using heat, pressure, chemicals and enzymes to unlock the sugars in biomass wastes.

Thermochemical Conversion of Wastes Thermochemical conversion systems consist of primary conversion technologies that convert the waste into heat or gaseous and liquid products, together with secondary conversion technologies which convert these products into more useful forms of energy such as heat and electricity.

These technologies can be classified according to the principal energy carrier produced in the conversion process.

Carriers are in the form of heat, gas, liquid and/or solid products, depending on the extent to which oxygen is released into the conversion process (usually as air).

1.Combustion Direct combustion is the best established and most commonly used technology for converting waste matter into heat. During combustion, waste is burnt in the presence of excess air to produce heat. The first stage of combustion involves the evolution of combustible vapours from wastes, which burns as flames. Steam is expanded through a conventional turbo-alternator to produce electricity. The

residual material, in the form of charcoal, is burnt in a forced air supply to give more heat.

The main products of efficient combustion are carbon dioxide and water vapour, however tars, smoke and alkaline ash particles are also emitted. Minimisation of these emissions and accommodation of their possible effects are important concerns in the design of environmentally acceptable waste combustion systems. Combustion systems, based on a range of furnace designs, can be very efficient, typically recovering from 65-90 percent of the energy contained in the fuel source. Fluidised bed combustors (FBCs), which use a bed of hot inert material such as sand, are a more recent development. Bubbling FBCs are generally used for waste-to-energy plants having heat producing capacity of 10-30 MW, while Circulating FBCs are more applicable at larger scales.

2.Co-Combustion or Co-Firing Co-firing or co-combustion of biomass wastes with coal and other fossil fuels can provide a short-term, low-risk, low-cost option for producing renewable energy while simultaneously reducing the use of fossil fuels. Co-firing involves utilising existing power generating plants that are fired with fossil fuel (generally coal), and displacing a small proportion of the fossil fuel with renewable biomass fuels. Co-firing offers the major advantage of avoiding the construction of a new, dedicated, waste-to-energy power plant. An existing power station is modified to accept the waste resource and utilise it to produce a minor proportion of its electricity.

Co-firing may be implemented using different types and percentages of wastes in a range of combustion and gasification technologies. Most forms of biomass wastes are suitable for co-firing. These include dedicated municipal solid wastes, wood waste and agricultural residues such as straw and husk. The fuel preparation requirements, issues associated with combustion such as corrosion and fouling of boiler tubes, and characteristics of residual ash dictate the cofiring configuration appropriate for a particular plant and waste resource. These configurations may be categorized into direct, indirect and parallel firing.

3.Gasification Gasification systems operate by heating wastes in an environment where the solid waste breaks down to form a flammable gas. The gasification of biomass takes place in a restricted supply of air or oxygen at temperatures up to 1200°C 1300°C. The basic process comprises three distinct stages: ? Devolatilization - Methane and higher hydrocarbons evolved as volatile gases from the biomass by the action of heat, to leave a reactive char ? Combustion - Volatiles and some of the char are partially burnt in air or oxygen to generate heat and carbon dioxide ? Reduction - Carbon dioxide absorbs heat and reacts with the remaining char to produce carbon monoxide fuel gas. Due to the presence of water vapour in the gasifier, hydrogen is produced as a

secondary component of the fuel gas.

The gas producedsynthesis gas, or syngascan be cleaned, filtered, and then burned in a gas turbine in a simple or combined-cycle mode, comparable to LFG or biogas produced from an anaerobic digester. The variability of waste resource with respect to moisture content and particle size affects gas composition. The final fuel gas consists principally of carbon monoxide, hydrogen and methane with small amounts of higher hydrocarbons. When air is used to drive the gasification process, the combustible gases produced are diluted with carbon dioxide and nitrogen which have no energy value. For this reason the calorific value of the final fuel gas mixture is typically 4 - 6 MJ/Nm3.

This fuel gas may be burnt to generate heat; alternatively it may be processed and then used as fuel for gas-fired engines or gas turbines to drive generators. In smaller systems, the syngas can be fired in reciprocating engines, micro-turbines, Stirling engines, or fuel cells. There are also small amounts of unwanted by-products such as char particles, tars, oils and ash, which tend to be damaging to engines, turbines or fuel cells and which must therefore first be removed or processed into additional fuel gas. This implies that gasifier operation is significantly more demanding than the operation of combustion systems.

4.Pyrolysis Pyrolysis is thermal decomposition occurring in the absence of oxygen. During the pyrolysis process, waste is heated either in the absence of air (i.e. indirectly), or by the partial combustion of some of the waste in a restricted air or oxygen supply. This results in the thermal decomposition of the waste to form a combination of a solid char, gas, and liquid bio-oil, which can be used as a liquid fuel or upgraded and further processed to value-added products.

Whereas lower process temperature and longer vapour residence time favour the production of charcoal, high temperature and longer residence time increase the waste conversion to gas. However, moderate temperature and short vapour residence time are optimum for producing liquids.

Pyrolysis technologies are generally categorised as “fast” or “slow” according to the time taken for processing the feed into pyrolysis products. Using fast pyrolysis, bio-oil yield can be as high as 80 percent of the product on a dry fuel basis.

Bio-oil can act as a liquid fuel or as a feedstock for chemical production.

Biochemical Conversion of Wastes Biochemical processes, like anaerobic digestion, can also produce clean energy in the form of biogas which can be converted to power and heat using a gas engine. Anaerobic digestion is a series of chemical reactions during which organic material is decomposed through the metabolic pathways of naturally occurring microorganisms in an oxygen depleted environment. In addition, wastes can also yield liquid fuels, such as cellulosic ethanol and biodiesel, which can be used to replace petroleum-based fuels.

1.Anaerobic Digestion Anaerobic digestion is the natural biological process which

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stabilises organic waste in the absence of air and transforms it into biofertiliser and biogas. Anaerobic digestion is a reliable technology for the treatment of wet, organic waste. Organic waste from various sources is biochemically degraded in highly controlled, oxygen-free conditions resulting in the production of biogas which can be used to produce both electricity and heat. Almost any organic material can be processed with anaerobic digestion. This includes biodegradable waste materials such as municipal solid waste, animal manure, poultry litter, food wastes, sewage and industrial wastes.

commonly used to power vehicles, heat homes, and for cooking.

The largest potential feedstock for ethanol is lignocellulosic biomass wastes, which includes materials such as agricultural residues (corn stover, crop straws and bagasse), herbaceous crops (alfalfa, switchgrass), short rotation woody crops, forestry residues, waste paper and other wastes (municipal and industrial). Bioethanol production from these feedstocks could be an attractive alternative for disposal of these residues. Importantly, lignocellulosic feedstocks do not interfere with food security.

An anaerobic digestion plant produces two outputs, biogas and digestate, both of which can be further processed or utilised to produce secondary outputs. Biogas can be used for producing electricity and heat, as a natural gas substitute and also a transportation fuel. A combined heat and power plant system (CHP) not only generates power but also produces heat for in-house requirements to maintain desired temperature level in the digester during cold season. For example, in Sweden, compressed biogas is used as a transportation fuel for cars and buses. Biogas can also be upgraded and used in gas supply networks.

Conclusion

Digestate can be further processed to produce liquor and a fibrous material. The fibre, which can be processed into compost, is a bulky material with low levels of nutrients and can be used as a soil conditioner or a low level fertiliser. A high proportion of the nutrients remain in the liquor, which can be used as a liquid fertiliser.

Waste-to-energy plants offer two important benefits Environmentally safe waste management and disposal, as well as the generation of clean electric power. The growing use of waste-to-energy as a method to dispose of solid and liquid wastes and generate power has greatly reduced environmental impacts of municipal solid waste management, including emissions of greenhouse gases.

2.Biofuels from Wastes A variety of fuels can be produced from waste resources including liquid fuels, such as ethanol, methanol, biodiesel, Fischer-Tropsch diesel, and gaseous fuels, such as hydrogen and methane. The resource base for biofuel production is composed of a wide variety of forestry and agricultural resources, industrial processing residues, and municipal solid and urban wood residues. Globally, biofuels are most

Ethanol from lignocellulosic biomass is produced mainly via biochemical routes. The three major steps involved are pretreatment, enzymatic hydrolysis, and fermentation.

Biomass is pretreated to improve the accessibility of enzymes. After pretreatment, biomass undergoes enzymatic hydrolysis for conversion of polysaccharides into monomer sugars, such as glucose and xylose. Subsequently, sugars are fermented to ethanol by the use of different microorganisms.

An environmentally sound and techno-economically viable methodology to treat waste is highly crucial for the sustainability of modern societies. A transition from conventional energy systems to one based on renewable resources is necessary to meet the ever-increasing demand for energy and to address environmental concerns.

Salman Zafar is a Renewable Energy Advisor with expertise in biomass energy, waste-to-energy, cleantech, waste management and social entrepreneurship. Apart from managing his cleantech advisory firms BioEnergy Consult (www.bioenergyconsult.com) and Cleantech Loops (www.cleantechloops.com), he is also involved in fostering sustainable energy systems and creating mass awareness on environmental issues worldwide. Being a prolific author, he has many popular publications to his credit in reputed journals, magazines, newsletters and blogs. Salman possesses Master's and Bachelor's degrees in Chemical Engineering from Aligarh Muslim University, Aligarh (India) and can be reached at salman@bioenergyconsult.com

Biofuels and Biomass 'Biofuels' are liquid or gaseous fuels produced from biomass resources and used in place of, or in addition to, diesel, petrol or other fossil fuels for transport, stationary, portable and other applications. 'Biomass' resources are the biodegradable fraction of products, wastes and residues from agriculture, forestry and related industries as well as the biodegradable fraction of industrial and municipal wastes.

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Nisargruna biogas plant for safe and meaningful disposal of biodegradable waste material: A case study at Baddi (Himachal Pradesh)

By S. P. Kale, I. K. Saini and Rameshkumar SUMMARY 2MT/day capacity Nisargruna biogas plant was installed and commissioned in July 2010 for processing biodegradable waste as an environmental initiative at Auro Textile Mill (Vardhaman Group of Industries) at Baddi (Himachal Pradesh, India). The plant is working continuously since then. 192.47 MT of kitchen waste material (containing about 23% TS) and 693.21 MT of biological sludge (containing about 6.8% TS) generated in an effluent treatment plant of textile mill were processed in this plant over a period of 642 days (since October 6, 2010 till July 20, 2012). About 33618 m3 biogas was generated in this process and used for cooking in two kitchens of the textile mill. Generated biogas is approximately equivalent to 16000 Kg methane. About 40 MT of organic manure was also generated in the process which was used in the gardens of the mill.

The most important outcome of the process is the recycling of 251 MT of kitchen waste resource (20-22% TS) and 1000 MT of biological sludge (6-7% TS) which otherwise would have landed on dumping yard. There was no scum formation in the predigester or main digester. During winter season when the temperatures dropped to minimum 3-4oC, the obvious effect was seen on biogas generation which dropped to about 60% in January 2012. The coldest month was February 2012 when the biogas generation was reduced to 14% of the maximum yield. The process again picked up and has now reached peak activity again.

Solid biodegradable waste materials have apparently created huge nuisance in management of solid waste in

both urban and rural sectors. It is a matter which needs indepth attention. The generation of solid biodegradable materials is a decentralized process. Lack of civic sense of keeping the waste materials in a segregated fashion has complicated the issue. This indifference at individual level to waste has magnified and it has reflected especially in urban sector in developing a meaningless policy for handling solid waste.

The administrators' whole attention is diverted to collect the bulk waste and dispose by throwing it on the dumping yards. The trucks carrying waste materials daily in all the cities and towns in the country do not speak highly about this policy. The result is there for all to see in urban areas where dumping has become a burning issue causing environmental and health problems. The solution to this problem does exist. It lies in acceptance of the concept of decentralization. The success of decentralization would greatly depend upon two factors: (1) Segregation at the source (glass, metal scrap, electronic items, green waste) and collection of segregated solid waste materials in segregated manner; (2) Processing of biodegradable materials and recycling of non-biodegradable materials in an eco-friendly and sustainable manner NISARGRUNA technology developed by Bhabha Atomic Research Centre, Mumbai is based on biphasic (an aerobic and anaerobic) processing of biodegradable waste materials. The main idea of these plants is decentralized management of biodegradable waste materials generated

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in the premises of any establishment like municipal councils, wards in a municipal corporation, vegetable markets, hostel mess, abattoirs, residential complexes, government establishments, hotels and restaurants, industrial units and corporate sector offices.

If the biodegradable waste materials are processed at the site, the load on dumping yards would be considerably reduced and segregated non-biodegradable recyclable materials would add to the economic and resource development of the country. Nisargruna is a composite of two words: Nisarg and Runa. It means returning back the loan taken from nature. In this concept, the word waste is to be replaced by resource. The sustainability of life on this planet is closely linked with resource recycling. In view of ever increasing human population resource recycling has taken a centre stage and we must address the issue in totality. Nisargruna technology is developed with this aim in mind.

Nisargruna technology The organically rich bio-degradable portion of solid waste is mixed with fresh water or preferably recycled water (if available) to form slurry. The slurry is then aerobically digested in predigester, where organic matter is converted to organic acids. The predigestion is accentuated by addition of hot water and intermittent slow aeration to maintain oxygen level. Predigestion reactions are exothermic and temperature rises to 36 to 40ยบC within the predigester.

Hot water obtained using solar energy is added to raise the temperature to 42-45ยบC. If sunlight is not sufficient especially during winter, provision can be made to use part of the biogas generated to heat the required quantity of hot water using methane stoves. Main role of predigester is to digest proteins and low molecular weight carbohydrates to produce volatile fatty acids, make the slurry more and more homogenous and reduce the scum formation in main digester. Acid-producing bacteria convert the intermediates of fermenting bacteria into acetic acid (CH3COOH), formic acid, several intermediary compounds and carbon dioxide (CO2) in the predigester. These bacteria of the genus Bacillus are strictly aerobic and can grow under acidic conditions.

An air compressor maintains aerobic conditions in the predigester. These bacteria use the oxygen dissolved in the solution. Hereby, the acid-producing bacteria reduce the compounds with a low molecular weight into alcohols, organic acids, amino acids, carbon dioxide, hydrogen sulphide and traces of methane. The pH of the raw slurry falls from 7.5 to about 4.5 to 5.5 in the pre-digester.

Hydraulic retention time of 4 days is maintained in the predigester. The predigested slurry is further digested under anaerobic conditions for about 15 days. The process of methanogenesis takes place in this digester.

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The main digester is seeded with cattle dung which is a rich natural source of methanogens. Methane and carbon dioxide are the terminal products of this process. Methane is produced from two primary substrates viz. acetate and

hydrogen/carbon dioxide (formate). At this stage the organic acids are converted by consortium of methane bacteria to methane and carbon dioxide.

The undigested lignocelluloses and hemi-celluloses then flow out as high quality organic manure slurry. The pH of this manure slurry ranges from 7.5-8. Since the waste resource is processed at higher temperature, weed seeds are killed completely and the manure becomes weed free.

Addition of hot water helps in eliminating the mesophilic bacteria and selection of thermophilic bacteria. But these thermophilic bacteria can operate at lower temperatures also. Hence hot water added even once a day should be sufficient for maintaining the pure consortium in the predigester. However, if it is possible to maintain the temperature of predigester in the range of 4245 Deg.Centigrade throughout the day, the performance of predigester will definitely be better and the holding time may be further reduced. Hot water also helps in hygienization of the slurry by killing the enteric bacteria that may be present in the waste.

Some Gram negative Enterobacteria and Coliform bacteria have been isolated in the raw slurry. However in the second zone these bacteria are totally eliminated. From the predigester tank, the slurry enters the main tank where it undergoes anaerobic degradation by a consortium of methane bacteria. These bacteria are naturally present in the alimentary canal of ruminant animals (cattle). They produce methane from the cellulosic materials in the slurry.

The undigested lingo-cellulosic and hemi-cellulosic materials are then passed on to the settling tank. After about a month, high quality manure can be dug out from the settling tanks. There is no odour in the manure and the organic content is high, which can improve the quality of humus in soil.

Methane formation Methane-producing bacteria, involved in the third step, decompose compounds with a low molecular weight.

Under natural conditions, methane-producing microorganisms occur in places where anaerobic conditions prevail, for instance under water (in marine sediments), in ruminant stomachs and marshy areas. Methane bacteria are strictly anaerobic and very sensitive to environmental changes. In contrast to acidogenic and acetogenic bacteria, methanogenic bacteria belong to the archaebacteria group, a group of bacteria with a very heterogeneous morphology and a number of common biochemical and molecularbiological properties that distinguish them from all other bacterial genera. In our system we re-circulate the generated biogas back into the system using a small compressor.

This helps in enhancing the reduction of carbon dioxide to methane and enrichment of methane fraction in the biogas. The separation of two stages in methane production helps in improving the purity of methane gas, thereby increasing its fuel efficiency. However, the average composition round the year would depend on how effectively pre-digester temperature and aeration

therein can be effectively maintained. The flow diagram of Nisargruna process is given in figure 1.

generating out of it, the total solids form an important parameter to know the mass balance of the process.

At Auro Textile mills, Baddi, there are about 800 workers working in three shifts. The canteens generate some food waste and some food waste is collected from nearby establishments. The biological sludge generated in effluent treatment plant of the textile mills is processed in Nisargruna plant along with kitchen waste.

The total solids were consistently in the range of 210 to 240 Kgs. per metric tonne of biodegradable waste materials processed in Nisargruna biogas plant. A major portion accounting for more than 90% of these total solids was found to be total volatile solids. This component is a significant deciding factor in determining biodegradation potential of any biomethanation plant. Proteins (70 Kgs. per metric tonne), carbohydrates (80 Kgs. per metric tonne) and lipids (53 Kgs. per metric tonne) were major components of biodegradable waste. The pH of the waste was consistently in the range of 7 to 7.5 indicating the great potential for biodegradation.

Composition of biodegradable waste materials generated in kitchens of small households or big restaurants does not differ much qualitatively. The eating habits of individuals may vary a lot but there is again no significant qualitative difference between kitchens of South or North of the country as far as the composition of waste is concerned. For instance rice is a major staple food in Southern India and wheat in Northern India. The biodegradable waste materials may not differ much as far as their food value for the microbial world is concerned.

This is an important point that makes the biodegradable waste a good starting material for biomethanation plants.

Proteins, carbohydrates and lipids are three major components of biodegradable waste.

The analysis of kitchen waste generated in neighborhood of Auro Textiles, Baddi is given in Table 1.

The waste apparently is very heterogeneous. It generally contains cooked rice, pulses, bread, cooked vegetables and vegetable refuse and fruit skins. There could also be mutton pieces, chicken remains and fish residues originating from non-vegetarian food resources. Since water is an important constituent of any food material or

The biological sludge generated in effluent treatment plant of Auro Textiles is another component of waste material processed in Nisargruna plant. It is classified as hazardous as per the norms of State Pollution Control Board. The disposal of this sludge is not only an expensive proposition needing substantial land area; it is also a potential environmental concern. More significantly the dumping practice adopted for its disposal, as is the case at present, would lock these resources and hamper the biogeochemical cycles of essential elements.

The composition of biological sludge is given in Table 2.

The total solids in the liquid sludge received at the Nisargruna plant are in the range of 65 to 77 MT with an average of 68 Kg per metric tonne during the report period.

The total volatile solids component was in the range of 43 to 50 Kgs. per metric tonne.

Proteins (9.4 Kg per metric tonne), carbohydrates (14.3 Kg

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per metric tonne) and lipids (7.8 Kg per metric tonne) were major components of biodegradable waste. The pH of the biological sludge was consistently 7.5.

It is evident from Table 1 and 2 that the food waste would contribute significantly to the biological processes happening in Nisargruna biogas plant as compared to the biological sludge. In biological sludge total volatile solids are about 34 Kg/MT while in food waste they are about

210 Kg/MT. Since biogas generation potential is directly linked to the total volatile solids, the food waste would account for about 84-85% biogas.

Biological sludge, on the other hand would contribute to manure formation but the reduction of total volume achieved in Nisargruna process would be the most

attractive feature which would win over other disposal methods.

Initial seeding of the plant was done with cattle dung in July 2010. The predigester and digester were filled completely using cattle dung slurry (1:2 dung to water) and the system was left undisturbed for 3 weeks. In August and September 2010, daily feeding was done with about 100 Kgs. of food waste only. The methane contents of biogas slowly improved over these two months and flammable gas could be seen forming in a sustained manner.

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An attempt was made for processing of small quantities of garden waste (mainly lawn cuttings) and cotton waste. However, the lawn cuttings were found to carry a substantial quantity of soil and hence were discontinued for the fear of soil getting deposited in predigester and causing further problems. The cotton waste generated in Auro textile is in almost powder form. When this was added to the system, it was found to create scum on the top of predigester causing hindrance for the free flow of slurry. Therefore, it was discontinued. The system is processing only kitchen waste and biological sludge since then.

Table 3 gives the monthly account of processing of mainly kitchen waste and biological sludge and generation and use of biogas. Initially the quantity of waste processed was low and corresponding biogas quantities generated were also on lower side. In this phase the bacteria in predigester are getting adjusted to the conditions. Kitchen waste materials received in predigester may pose sometimes acidic conditions.

Aeration is another crucial factor which plays a major role in selection of a consortium of bacteria which would dominate the predigester in its life time. Aeration must be done at slow speed for allowing sufficient time for dissolution of oxygen in the slurry. Forceful aeration can be proved to be detrimental. During this selection process it is important that the loading of predigester should be increased gradually. As the dominant bacterial strains get selected, they start increasing in number and their efficiency also increases.

This selection process is also influenced significantly by temperature of the slurry. Addition of hot water towards evening has been seen to maintain the temperature higher by few degrees. Use of solar panels for getting warm water is encouraged. In most parts of our country, the sunlight is

quite bright for 8-10 months. Solar panels can give hot water at 60-80oC except during severe winter. It is evident from Table 4 that the adjustment phase at Baddi was of about 6 months.

This extended period was required due to winter months the plant had to pass through while maturing, When Nisargruna plant is commissioned in early March, we can expect that this phase can be as short as 3 months in warmer parts of our country.

Once the adjustment phase is over, the biological activity of the plant becomes very dynamic.

Biogas formation reaches its peak during this phase. If we can maintain the optimum operating conditions with respect to feed, aeration, hot water addition and methane recycling then the sustained process with maximum effects could be assured.

is about 300 m while the distance between second kitchen and gas plant is about 400 m. Care has been taken to provide moisture traps on the gas pipe line so that only dry gas reaches the kitchens through the gas meters. The gas consumed in each kitchen is monitored every day. A variety of food items are cooked using this biogas. The biogas has definitely reduced the use of LPG

in these kitchens substantially. A rough estimate is that about 1100 LPG cylinders (14.2 Kg capacity) might have been saved by using biogas.

The distance between gas plant and the first kitchen

Prof. Sharad Kale Prof. Kale is engaged in research on pesticide degradation and environmental pollution for last 34 years at Bhabha Atomic research Centre (BARC), Mumbai. He has worked on microbial degradation of 14C-labelled pesticides viz. Carbofuran, Nitrofen, Chlorpyrifos, DDT, HCH, Phenol, Oxyfluorfen, Endosulfan, Naphthalene, Fluoranthene, PCBs and Anthracene. He has developed rice fish ecosystem and marine ecosystem to study the bioaccumulation of pesticides in rice and fish and marine environment. He has also developed NISARGRUNA plant for solid waste management. This has generated lot of interest in last 10 years. He takes keen interest in spreading scientific awareness in the society through seminars and articles in newspapers and magazines. His contact email: sharadkale@gmail.com Ish Kumar Saini A Mechanical Engineer from Himachal Pradesh. He has 20 years of Industrial experience in Engineering function ( Utility), operation & maintenance of Water system & Wastewater treatment, Air Pollution control, Boilers , Thermic heater, compressed air system. etc. Presently working as Chief Manager (Engineering) in Vardhman Textiles Ltd., one of the leading textile Companies in India.

Looking after Engineering function of Units located at Baddi Himachal Pradesh, namely Auro Textiles & Auro Dyeing (Units of Vardhman Textiles Ltd.). Attended many National Conferences & workshops on energy savings. His contact email: iksaini@vardhman.com Dr. Ramesh Kumar Dr. Ramesh Kumar has a Masters Degree in Environmental Science & Doctorate Degree in Environmental Science from Gujarat University, Ahemedabad. He is having 23 years of Industrial experience in Water & Wastewater treatment, Air Pollution control & Solid waste Management in Large scale Industries like Pulp, Paper, Textile Mills. Presently working as Chief Manager (Environment, Health & Safety) with M/s Vardhman Textiles Ltd., one of the leading Textile Company in India. He has provided technical assistance for setting up of Common Treatment, Storage & Disposal Facility at Nimbua, Punjab State. He visited many foreign countries to study the recent technological developments in the field of wastewater treatment & Solid waste management's and attended many National & International Conferences & workshops & published 13 Research Articles in the National & International Journals. His contact email: ktramesh@vardhman.com

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VIEW POINT:

Stake Holding Capitalism To Reduce The Project Cost And One Full Project Equity To Execute Renewable Energy Projects In India

By Praveen Kumar Kulkarni

How to make good things happen in country like India where capital deployment, legal compliance, social responsibility, complex tax structure, tax (mis) administration, corrupt influence in project award, land acquisition with state or central organisation, payment receipt risks, bankruptcy of state government or its utilities, expensive energy buying with forceful RPO mechanism, billion of starving people can't afford expensive energy, despite these we can make good things happen by reducing the project costs: 1) Identify and acquire the land and create evacuation facilities- timely completion of this commitment from Center and State govt.

2) Identify world class proven technology and suppliers and EPC with maintenance team (5 to 15 of them). Let the local O & M Entrepreneurs join hands with them to ensure power generation, bill realization and the plant maintenance with good knowledge base till the plant life.

3) Let these EPC companies bring low cost debt funding agencies with them say at 4 or 5% rate of interest (max).

Let government be the guarantor for the deduction of Debt repayment from monthly bill and give it back immediately to Debt funding agency with 10 / 12 year term period.

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4) EPC Companies (with JV with local O & M Agency) shall develop the project and maintain for 25 years and realise the energy bill and ensure payment of debt and the

remaining cash shall go the bank account of RETAIL DEVELOPER.

development.

6) Each EPC co can ask RETAIL EQUITY INVESTOR to deposit 30% of the Project cost / MW i.e. 0.5 MW to 15 MW per RETAIL INVESTOR.

14). Instead of signing 100s of PPAs, sign only 5 or 15 or can be 30 with EPC companies (with a good Pre-Qualification in Place) with a check on their project costs with quality by being equity holders, thus, even a small / RETAIL INVESTOR gets an access to low cost debt fund, (without collateral security, but with a right to deduct the interest and loan EMI with EPC co till the term loan) which is now only possible to Large Corporate cos. Thus we can attract new players to invest in this field with fiscal benefits.

7) From the common low cost debt fund pool, the EPC co shall arrange the debt based on EQUITY received from the RETAIL INVESTOR.

15) The area shall be earmarked for each of the "Part Owners" who book the orders ranging from 0.5 MW to 15 MW per entity.

8) Keep developing projects till the maximum capacity / EPC co and keep allotting the project to RETAIL INVESTOR as per their equity money deposits.

16). This ensures tax compliance, assured energy generation and payments from government assured debt repayment, assured project execution in TIME with land acquisition by making government to create the initial infrastructure with responsibility apart from making the EPC companies also responsible to generate power on long term basis with good maintenance to reduce the future maintenance costs with skilled labour generation at Clusters. Thus capacity building can be uniform with uniform products, less spares, less inventory, local manufacturing of key components, local sourcing of spares and services etc can be planned in a more organised way. Thus we avoid the whims of ministers / political parties or their government administrative machinery to resist the project development in the name of environment approvals, pollution control or such bla bla local approvals, which reduces corruption at all levels due to such transparent system of project development.

5) Government shall issue a PPA with same terms to 5 or 15 EPC companies to develop the project of each 50 / 100 to 200 MW with clearly defined terms and taxation with assured payment mechanism

9) Let Government keep giving tax holiday or such minimum FISCAL incentives to RETAIL INVESTOR (Project Developer) as he is owning the project by paying the equity and monitors EPCs progress as part of Progress Monitoring team with rights to check costs and quality at any stage of project with right to reject or make good clauses, so that Corruption in Private EPC co can be controlled.

10) Due to award of projects to 5 to 15 large EPC companies who can arrange low cost debt fund with world class proven technology with them, we can avoid the time and cost on dealing with Government approvals (including environment ministry, state government officials etc so NO BRIBE), Meeting Ministers or awarding to companies (FAKE developers who sell the stakes after PPA to real developers) without having experience in technology (but only have access to power corridor) and developing project with inferior technology or product etc 11) If the projects are developed in clusters, we can reduce the costs on evacuation and ensure good expertise to execute and maintain the project till the plant life.

12) By Making EPC co responsible for generation and Maintenance, we can avoid FLY BY NIGHT or MAKE SHIFT EPC co, thus, we can generate good quality National Assets / technology in INDIA be it solar PV or Solar Thermal.

13) Every state shall identify such cluster area with clearly acquired DRY land (without suppressing the poor farmers), thus, real estate mafia need not increase the land price near evacuation point as is happening apart from resistance to put up towers in few farmer's land, thus, the projects are getting delayed.... Local land mafia or such deterrents can be eliminated by this cluster

To get the award of Project, the EPC companies need not pay any BRIBE as they have to remain responsible for the debt repayment, energy generation with proper maintenance.

Thus, it allows only serious EPC players to be in the race.

Reverse bidding and crazy tariff discovery, accelerated depreciation to avoid TAX PAYMENT, etc. will go away and real project development with real costs will evolve, which will be a good sign. Thus, the distribution of wealth to many investors / many entrepreneurs with a good project development and employment generation strategy, which in turn reduce the importance of a large industry owner or his house to influence the policy making for their benefits, thus, the COUNTRY FIRST concept, can be assured.

Irrespective of which Political party rules, the mechanism in INDIA as proposed in this article will be a game changer, if implemented in its spirit due to a simple fact that: 1) Project developer is a group of - Government (facilitator, land acquirer, evacuator, Law and order maintaining agency, ensurer to have payment security,

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part guarantor for pledging the assets of EPC with regulation so that low cost debt funding can have in built security) - EPC company (Knows the good technology, responsibly maintains the plant till plant life with less costs by employing the trained mind set, assures power generation, recovers debt, recovers energy bills, replaces panels or Inverter if faulty with a firm commercial contract with suppliers, less down time in case of repairs, easy legal compliances on behalf of investors or part project owners, respect law of land and environment) - Small Investors (Feel proud for National growth due inclusive participation, Project developers to pump equity money in small ticket size, access to low DEBT cost fund(@5% interest rate), no need to hire qualified Finance or Technilcal professionals for small size projects say 0.5MW, no worries of employee retention, no worry to run to 15 departments for project approval for a small project, no need to grease hands of bill paying authority or approval authority, no need to worry about suppliers turning back and more plant down time) - Other advantages (Government need not waste money in evacuation of infirm energy if the plant size is too small, 100s of small PPAs need not be signed or followed, No need to involve middle men to arrange finance from FIs and hence reduction of 2 or 3% commission or project cost, No worry of unnecessarily booking the project and then selling to others at premium thus delaying the project development) - Large infrastructure (Power generation, allied supply chain and service industries) creation at low cost PROJECTS (~20% cost reduction due to abovementioned facts) with quick finance close, Employment generation and its retention with good training, less evacuation costs.

Let us try new / innovative way of achieving ends with good purpose by a different means without destabilizing the Indian Democracy / Constitution while making the corporate companies responsible for Socio Economic development with high degree of transparency too: 1) Having Retail equity holders under "Stake Holding Capitalism" principle, gives an opportunity to keep a check on the large listed corporate team work's efficiency, loyalty of large Public Listed company, which otherwise is very difficult to check the corrupt thoughts / procedure / people already hired. A cleansing mechanism cum inviting new ideas and pressure to perform.

Selection of equity holders (educated with little knowledge on Solar Industry).

2) In order to find sustainable solutions, it always better to remain and perform to ensure our RESULTS to speak rather than creating some base (till IPO or listing) and then exiting the business or RAISING HANDS without finding sustainable solutions, which will be detrimental for India's capacity to find sustainable solutions with a good organisation with good people. Thus our proposal / suggestion for a large listed corporate company to be EPC and maintenance organisation is mainly to ensure sustainability from the day of first planning.

3) India is un-necessarily spending 20% or more on development of Solar or Hydro Power Project with the same technology of Europe / USA with following break up, which we must stop otherwise, there won't be the existence of Country (Forget public sector or private sector or Ministry or capitalists, etc. when we do not have independence / country, then, what is the use / meaning of being rich (like Gadaffis or Saddams, etc.) or Poor...)...let us not be hypocrites in accepting these realities and the system is correcting and will correct for sure for self sustainability: ?

Expenses on Commissions / Liaison to lobby (2%),

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Project award soft costs (or a rude comment in practice called bribe) (5% to 10%), banks or finance Agent's commission (read FIs /CAs) (1.5 to 3%),

?

High debt interest rate (14%, whereas in the west it is only 1.5 to 3%),

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Various Approval expenses (2%),

?

Land cost increase and such sundries (1%),

- Low tariff due lower project costs, less burden on citizen - No worry about change of government, transfer of officials who pays money at DISCOM (with soft understanding or meter manipulation), so stable policy and stable revenue and stable debt repayment Hope we (Small Investors, EPC Co, Government agencies, FIs) can monitor to achieve these objectives by reducing the INFLUENCE of Politicians / RED TAPISM in the growth of INDIAN INFRASTRUCTURE without policy paralysis and less corruption with great degree of transparency!

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Private EPC companies Siphon to their Parent company abroad in the name of royalty fee, etc. or the possible corruption in Private listed company's purchase dept (3 to 5%),

design which consumes half of the land / MW vis-a-vis existing solutions with RIGHT TO CULTIVATE below the panels for future generation's food security. So, we, Indians, can implement INDIA SPECIFIC solutions too with necessary PILOT testing.

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Energy bill realization cuts / expenses or collection from Government depts. Or Utilities (1 to 2%)....thus, without any technological innovation, the system itself becomes cheaper by 20% to 25%, which is nearly the equity contribution (20% equity: 80% debt for any power project as per EXIM Bank Criteria) !!!!

6).Though few manufacturing units and projects are supported by the investment (supported by retail investors / depositors) from Mutual Fund houses or such PE or FIs or Fund raisers etc, but, such money is accessible to large corporate companies, which have gone bust ! Thus, raising a big question mark on the capability, accountability, corporate governance, nepotism and integrity of investment decision of these fund houses / FIs of using gullible small investors (some Mutual Funds are in deep red and no hopes of even getting to invested amount) without any stake holding or an assured return on their investment. Thus, our article is trying to address the “Stake Holding Capitalism� to ensure the returns with prior agreed terms and conditions.

4) Thus, we create a business plan to involve small / retail investors (as monitors or corruption check agents and also to distribute the wealth to many people with hard work to create good quality national assets with inclusive growth by involving these retail investors) + Government + Reasonable Good standing Private listed EPC company + Reasonably Good Financial Institutions.

However, by being large listed private company, ONE can easily launch this innovative business principle (Stake Holder Capitalism) to make all stake holders responsible including the Government, which shall make India and the technology sustainable.

5). There are few companies who have developed a

Thus, the new / First Generation entrepreneurs can be supported by large companies to ensure a sustainability factor to assure the return on investment to small investors and to maintain a good eco system at village level to ensure low cost of power generation for the people of INDIA.

The author is a Gold Medalist from SLN College of Engineering, Gulbarga University, Karnataka, INDIA. Industrial work experience over 23 years with PSU, MNCs. He had worked for: Tungabharda Steel Products Ltd, Hospet from 1988 to 1995. Executed engineering of 21 Hydro Mechanical Equipment projects. Deputed to Japan for 5 months as part of UNIDO program to become JICA participant-1994. He introduced CAD in TSPL with software programs for design of Gates, Hoists and Cranes. He was deputed to TSPL Hyderabad branch to assist business development of Steel Plant Equipments.

With SMS Demag India Ltd, German MNC), he engineered Steel Melt Shop equipments of Jindal Vijay Nagar Steel Plant. Apart from being the Head of Secondary refining equipments viz. VD, VOD, RH, RHOB, SMS equipments, he supported the pre-bid and business development activities thru ICB of SMS Demag Secondary refining equipments.

Visited SMS Demag, Duisburg on company assignments.

ALSTOM Portugal / India (French MNC) hired him as a Consultant and Part of Management team to launch Hydro Mechanical Equipment in India in their Baroda factory. Prepared Business plans, Export support (1ME, Owenfalls, Uganda), tendering support to realize and launch Omkareshwar Project. Visited ALSTOM Lisbon, France, Grenoble on assignments and important missions. He was a Project Manager of Omkareshwar HME (24 ME) and as Implementation Manager to rebuild (15ME) Alstom Baroda factory to manufacture Hydro turbines, Generators and HME to cater to their Indian and Export Markets. He visited USA, Russia for special equipment evaluations, purchase and installations.

He was the Project Director of Nam Ngum, Laos HME project (10ME).

Established KK NESAR PROJECT PRIVATE LIMITED to execute renewable energy projects on EPC basis with a collaborative business approach with Indian specific needs. His contact email: praveenkulkarni@kknesar.com

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BIOFUELS First, Second and Third Generation Biofuels The term biofuels generally refers to either biodiesel or ethanol and denotes any fuel made from biological sources, for most practical uses. The last few years has seen tremendous growth in biofuels. During this period, the industry has evolved from first generation feedstocks and processes to their second and third generation counterparts.

The terms first, second and third generation can be used in the contexts of both feedstocks and processes. For instance,

Second generation biodiesel are obtained from non-food bio-feedstocks. Typically, energy crops such as Jatropha represent the second generation biodiesel feedstock. With the use of technologies such as the Biomass to Liquid (BTL), many other non-food crops could be converted to biodiesel. These feedstocks have the advantage of not affecting the human food chain and can be grown in marginal and wastelands.

While feedstocks belonging to the second generation do not typically affect the human food chain, they may not have the ability to replace more than 20-25% of our total transportation fuels.

corn and maize represent first generation ethanol feedstocks, and fermentation represents first generation ethanol production process. Similarly, Switchgrass is one of the popular second generation ethanol feedstocks, while the production of cellulosic ethanol represents the second generation process for ethanol.

Algae are considered to belong to the third generation of biodiesel feedstock. These feedstock offer superior yields when compared to second generation feedstock and do not have an effect on the human food chain. In addition, crops such as algae can be grown in places that are not suitable for agriculture, thus providing superior ecological performances as well.

First, Second and Third Generation Biodiesel

First and Second Generation Ethanol

Biodiesel refers to any diesel-equivalent biofuel made from renewable biological materials such as vegetable oils, animal fats or from other biomass such as algae. Biodiesel is usually produced by a chemical reaction called Transesterification, in which, vegetable or waste oil is reacted with a low molecular weight alcohol, such as ethanol and methanol.

Ethanol is a clean-burning, high-octane fuel that is produced from renewable sources. Since ethanol can be produced domestically in most countries, it helps reduce the dependence on foreign sources of energy.

Several countries have started using ethanol as a transportation fuel owing to its distinct advantages.

Similar to the case of biodiesel, adding ethanol to gasoline “oxygenates� the fuel. It adds oxygen to the fuel mixture so that it burns more completely and reduces polluting emissions such as carbon monoxide.

Any amount of ethanol can be combined with gasoline, but the most common blends are:

Feedstock such as soybeans, palm, canola and rapeseed are considered first generation feedstock for biodiesel production, as they were the first crops to be experimented for biodiesel extraction. Most first generation biodiesel feedstock could be used alternatively to make food for humans as well.

While first generation feedstocks helped kickstart the biodiesel industry, they posed some serious challenges.

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first generation feedstocks required cultivation in vast areas of land. Such a necessity resulted in countries around the world cutting down forests, creating serious ecological imbalances.

Threat to human food chain Most of the first generation feedstocks have been used as food sources by humans. For instance, palm and soy oils have been used as edible oils since time immemorial. This gave rise to a food vs fuel crisis emerged as these edible crops were used in the production of biodiesel.

Threat to the environment Owing to the high yield of oil,

E10 10% ethanol and 90% unleaded gasoline. E10 is approved for use in any make or model of vehicle.

E85 85% ethanol and 15% unleaded gasoline. E85 is an alternative fuel for use in flexible fuel vehicles (FFVs).

The first generation ethanol feedstock comprises corn, sugarcane, maize etc. To a large extent, these feedstocks are still in use in many countries. These feedstocks however present the problems of adversely affecting food prices (as these are also used as food) and an

inability to scale owing to constraints on land areas available for cultivation. Ethanol derived from these feedstocks typically use the starch component present in them.

The second generation ethanol feedstocks primarily comprise feedstocks called cellulosic feedstocks. In the case of these feedstocks, ethanol is derived from the lignocellulosic component of the feedstock instead of the starch component. A large number of non-food wild

generation biofuels is close to achieving maturity, while in other cases it is not; 3: Many cellulosic ethanol feedstocks (for eg., miscanthus) have both high productivities per unit land area and lower fertiliser requirements when compared to first generation biofuel feedstocks. These factors enable cellulosic ethanol to require a much less fossil fuel requirement than first generation biofuel feedstocks; 4: Greenhouse gas emissions for cellulosic ethanol are lower than those for starch ethanol (first generation) owing to lower fossil fuel use, as well as higher soil carbon sequestration during the growth process.

Third Generation Biofuels

plants that grow in non-cultivated and non-arable lands, and plant waste, contain lignocellulose; as a result, the second generation ethanol feedstocks overcome the two main bottlenecks of the first generation feedstock: adverse effects on food prices, and inability to scale.

1: As of 2012, the total cost of production for cellulosic biofuels is higher than producing biofuels from noncellulosic feedstock; the prices are however likely to fall significantly, owing to the decreasing prices of the key enzymes that contribute most to the high cost;

Algae are considered to belong to the third generation of biodiesel feedstock.

Third generation biofuel feedstock are considered ideal in that they even overcome the challenges faced by the second generation biofuels. These feedstock offer superior yields when compared to second generation feedstock and at the same time do not have adverse effects on the human food chain, which first generation feedstock typically have.In addition, third generation crops such as algae can be grown in places that are not suitable for agriculture, thus providing superior ecological performances as well.In addition to feedstock such as algae, third generation biofuels could also refer to processes such as biomass to liquid, as well as other unique processes such as bacterial biodiesel.

(Source: Energy Alternatives India, Chennai)

2: In some cases, the technology for producing second

One tonne of waste can generate 60 metric cubes of gas and 50 kg of manure. Further, the gaseous fuel can be converted into electricity with the help of generator and can be used to light 250 streetlights for 10 hours!

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Solar power station in Spain that works at night too!!

A unique thermosolar power station in southern Spain can shrug off cloudy days: energy stored when the sun shines lets it produce electricity even during the night.

The Gemasolar station, up and running since last May, stands out in the plains of Andalusia. From the road

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between Seville and Cordoba, one can see its central tower lit up like a beacon by 2,600 solar mirrors, each 120 square metres (1,290 square feet), that surround it in an immense 195-hectare (480-acre) circle.

"It is the first station in the world that works 24 hours a day, a solar power station that works day and night!" said Santago Arias, technical director of Torresol Energy, which runs the station. The mechanism is "very easy to explain," he said: the panels reflect the suns rays on to the tower, transmitting energy at an intensity 1,000 times higher than that of the sun's rays reaching the earth.

For the Gemasolar solar product, foreign investors helped too: Torresol Energy is a joint venture between the Spanish engineering group Sener, which holds 60 percent, and Abu Dhabi-financed renewable energy firm Masdar. "This type of station is expensive, not because of the raw material we use, which is free solar energy, but because of the enormous investment these plants require," Arias said.

Energy is stored in a vat filled with molten salts at a temperature of more than 500 degrees C (930 F). Those salts are used to produce steam to turn the turbines and produce electricity.

It is the station's capacity to store energy that makes Gemasolar so different because it allows the plant to transmit power during the night, relying on energy it has accumulated during the day. "I use that energy as I see fit, and not as the sun dictates," Arias explained. As a result, the plant produces 60 percent more energy than a station without storage capacity because it can work 6,400 hours a year compared to 1,200-2,000 hours for other solar power stations, he said.

The investment cost exceeds 200 million euros ($260 million). But "the day when the business has repaid that money to the banks (in 18 years, he estimates), this station will become a 1,000-euro note printing machine!," he said, recalling that oil prices have soared from $28 a barrel in 2003 to nearly $130.

"The amount of energy we produce a year is equal to the consumption of 30,000 Spanish households," Arias said, an annual saving of 30,000 tonnes of CO2. Helped by generous state aid, renewable energies have enjoyed a boom in Spain, the world number two in solar energy and the biggest wind power producer in Europe, ahead of Germany.

For now, the economic crisis has nevertheless cast a shadow over this kind of project: Spain is battling to slash its deficit as it slides into recession and has suspended aid to new renewable energy projects.

Andalusia, hard hit by the economic crisis with the country's highest unemployment rate at 31.23 percent, holds regional elections on March 25.

"We have three projects ready but stalled" because of the aid suspension, Arias said, admitting that in a difficult global economy the group has not managed to sell the Gemasolar techology abroad despite huge interest outside Spain.

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Renewable energy deals on a fast track in developing nations “Global renewable energy deals climbed 40% to a record high of $53.5 billion last year from $38.2 billion in 2010, as solar, wind and energy efficiency overtook hydropower as the main deal drivers for the first time.

Historically, hydro power has dominated renewables deal flow, but deals worth $1 billion or more in wind, solar, biomass and energy efficiency have outnumbered hydro by seven to one.�

The scenario in 2010 Global investment in renewable power and fuels set a new record in 2010, according to a new analysis commissioned by UNEP's Division of Technology, Industry and Economics (DTIE) from Bloomberg New Energy Finance. Investment hit $211 billion last year, up 32% from a revised $160 billion in 2009, and nearly five and a half times the figure achieved as recently as 2004.

The document, Global Trends in Renewable Investment 2010, an Analysis of Trends and Issues in the Financing of Renewable Energy, reported that the record itself was not the only eye-catching aspect of 2010. Another was the strongest evidence yet of the shift in activity in renewable energy towards developing economies. Financial new investment, a measure that covers transactions by third-party investors, was $143 billion in 2010, but while just over $70 billion of that took place in developed countries, more than $72 billion occurred in developing countries.

This is the first time the developing world has overtaken the richer countries in terms of financial new investment - the comparison was nearly four-to-one in favor of the developed countries back in 2004. It is, however, important to note that in two other areas not included in the financial new investment measure, namely smallscale projects and research and development, developed economies remain well ahead.

Nonetheless, renewable energy's balance of power has been shifting towards developing countries for several years. The biggest reason has been China's drive to invest: last year, China was responsible for $48.9 billion of financial new investment, up 28% from 2009 figures, with dominance in the asset finance of large wind farms.

But the developing world's advance in renewables is no longer a story of China and little else. In 2010, financial new investment in renewable energy grew by 104% to $5 billion in the Middle East and Africa region, and by 39% to $13.1 billion in South and Central America.

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The developing world - at least outside its most powerful economies - may not be able to afford the same level of subsidy support for clean energy technologies as Europe

or North America. It does, however, have a pressing need for new power capacity and, in many places, superior natural resources, in the shape of high capacity factors for wind power and strong solar insolation. Furthermore, the developing world is also starting to host a range of new renewable energy technologies for specific, local applications. These range from rice-husk power generation to solar telecommunications towers and are becoming the technology of choice, not a poor substitute for diesel or other fossil-fuel power options.

A second remarkable detail about 2010 is that it was the first year that overall investment in solar came close to catching up with that in wind. For the whole of the last decade, as renewable energy investment gathered pace, wind was the most mature technology and enjoyed an apparently unassailable lead over its rival renewable energy power sources. In 2010, wind continued to dominate in terms of financial new investment, with $94.7 billion compared to $26.1 billion for solar and $11 billion for the third-placed biomass & waste-to-energy. However, these numbers do not include small-scale projects and in that realm, solar, particularly via rooftop photovoltaic installations in Europe, was completely dominant. Indeed, small-scale distributed capacity investment ballooned to $60 billion in 2010, up from $31 billion, fuelled by feed-in tariff subsidies in Germany and other European countries, the report finds. This figure, combined with solar's lead in government and corporate research and development, was almost enough to offset wind's big lead in financial new investment last year, the document concludes.

Furthermore, no energy technology has gained more from falling costs than solar over the last three years. The price of PV modules per MW has fallen by 60% since the summer of 2008, putting solar power for the first time on a competitive footing with the retail price of electricity in a number of sunny countries. Wind turbine prices have also fallen - by 18% per MW in the last two years - reflecting, as with solar, fierce competition in the supply chain. Further improvements in the levelised cost of energy for solar, wind and other technologies lie ahead, posing a growing threat to the dominance of fossil fuel generation sources in the next few years.

Record investment in RE industry Total investment in renewable energy in 2010 was $211 billion, up from $160 billion in 2009 and $159 billion in 2008. Within the overall figure, financial new investment which consists of money invested in renewable energy companies and utility-scale generation and biofuel projects rose to $143 billion, from $122 billion in 2009 and the previous record of $132 billion in 2008. A sharper increase, however, has been evident in the other components of the total investment figure - namely small-scale distributed capacity, and government and corporate R&D. These investments jumped to $68 billion in 2010, from $37 billion

in 2009 and $26 billion in 2008, reflecting mainly the boom in rooftop PV, but also a rise in governmentfunded R&D, as spending increased from 'green stimulus' measures announced after the financial crisis.

The momentum of clean energy investment over recent years has been strong, but there have been many jolts and bumps along the way. These have included the biofuel boom of 2006-2007 and the subsequent bust, resulting in a fall in financial new investment in that sector from a peak of $20.4 billion in 2006 to just $5.5 billion last year; and the impact of the financial crisis

and recession on Europe and North America. Financial new investment in renewable energy was significantly lower in 2010 in both Europe and North America, although this setback was more than outweighed by growing investment in China and other emerging economies, and in small-scale PV projects in the developed world.

The shift in investment between developed and developing countries over recent years shows that developed countries in 2010 retained a huge advantage in small-scale projects, but not what the authors define as financial new investment. In 2010, developing countries

edged narrowly ahead of developed countries in terms of financial new investment for the first time. In 2007, developed economies still had an advantage of more than two-to-one in dollar terms, but the recession in the G-7 countries and the dynamism of China, India, Brazil and other important emerging economies has transformed the balance of power in renewable energy worldwide, leading to big changes in the location of IPOs and manufacturing plant investments by renewable energy companies.

Wind was the dominant sector in terms of financial new

investment (though not of small-scale projects, as noted above) in 2010, with a rise of 30% to $95 billion. On this measure of investment, other sectors lagged far behind.

Although the number of GW of wind capacity put into operation last year was lower than in 2009, the amount of money committed was higher. This reflected decisions to invest in large projects from China to the US and South America, a rise in offshore wind infrastructure investment in the North Sea, and the initial public offering (IPO) in November of Italy's Enel Green Power, the largest specialist renewable energy company to debut on the stock market since 2007.

In terms of venture capital and private equity investment, wind came a creditable second, with a figure of $1.5 billion last year, up 17% on 2009. However, solar stayed ahead as the most attractive destination for early-stage investors, its $2.2 billion figure coming after a 30% gain year-on-year. The positions of the two technologies were reversed again in terms of public markets investment, with wind boosted by the Enel Green Power Flotation, and also some healthier figures for investment in 2010 in quoted companies specialising in biofuels, biomass and small hydropower.

Asset finance of utility-scale projects is the dominant figure within financial new investment. Wind mega-bases in China continued to receive billions of dollars of funding, while large-scale projects in Europe attracted important support from multilateral development banks, notably European Investment Bank (EIB) debt for the Thornton Bank project off the coast of Belgium. U.S. wind farm investment owed much to the treasury grant program, introduced in 2009 but due to expire at the end of 2011.

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Investment in 2011 Given the rush to complete a number of big investment transactions in the closing weeks of 2010, in some cases to "catch" attractive subsidy deals before they expired, it was little surprise that activity in the first quarter of 2011 was relatively subdued, the study finds. Financial new investment totalled $29 billion, down from $44 billion in the fourth quarter of last year and lower than the $32 billion figure for the first quarter of 2010. In asset finance, the biggest reductions in terms of absolute dollar figures came in US wind and European solar. The brightest spots of January-March 2011 were Chinese wind, up 25% on the same quarter of 2010, and Brazilian wind, which saw its investment level double from a year earlier.

Key projects going ahead included the 211-MW IMPSA Ceara wind auction portfolio and the 195-MW Renova Bahia portfolio, both in Brazil, and the 200-MW Hebei Weichang Yudaokou wind farm in China. In Europe, there were several large offshore wind infrastructure

commitments, including the Dan Tysk project off Germany, the Skagerrak 4 project off Denmark, and the Randstad project off the Netherlands.

In public market investment, transactions included a $1.4 billion share sale by Sinovel Wind in China, and a $220 million offering by solar manufacturer Shandong Jinjing Science & Technology, also in China.

In venture capital and private equity investment, the largest transaction of the quarter was a $143 million expansion capital round for U.S. biomass and waste-to-energy specialist Plasma Energy.

March 2011 brought a tragic event with potentially farreaching consequences for energy, including renewables. The Japanese earthquake, and the ensuing crisis at the reactors at Fukushima Daiichi, cast into doubt the future of nuclear power in Japan and also in other countries such as Germany. Initially, this led to a sharp rise in the share prices of renewable energy companies. But it could be that gas-fired generation will be the prime, short-term beneficiary of nuclear's problems, rather than the renewable energy sector.

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Problems amidst progress Despite the record investment figures, 2010 was not a year

of uninterrupted joy for renewable energy. New challenges emerged, and some existing challenges became tougher.

Firstly, moves by Spain and the Czech Republic to make retroactive cuts in feed-in tariff levels for already-operating PV projects damaged investor confidence. Other governments, such as those of Germany and Italy, announced reductions in tariffs for new projects - logical steps to reflect sharp falls in technology costs. What caused concern was the idea that governments, facing economic hardship, might go back on previously promised deals for existing projects, damaging returns for equity investors and banks.

A second challenge came from the natural gas price. The Henry Hub US benchmark stayed in a range of $3-$5 per MMBTu for almost all of 2010, far below the $13 peak of 2008 and also below the levels prevailing in most of the middle years of the decade. This gave generators in the US, but also in Europe and elsewhere, an incentive to build more gas-fired power stations and depressed the terms of power purchasing agreements available to renewable energy projects.

A third challenge for renewables came from outside scepticism. This manifested itself both in the stock market - where clean energy shares under-performed wider indices by more than 20% on pessimism about future profit growth and in international politics, where the mood post-Copenhagen and postClimategate was cooler than in some previous years. In fact, more progress towards emissions reduction targets was achieved than expected at the December 2010 meeting in Cancun; and the consensus among climate scientists about man-made global warming actually strengthened during the last year. However, neither has - as yet - catapulted clean energy back to the top of government agendas.

Even so, there was a sense, in both the second half of 2010 and early 2011, that progress in renewable energy was taking place at a pace that public opinion and policymakers in many countries were simply failing to spot. This progress was both in investment levels and, even more, in cost-competitiveness with conventional power sources.

The report concluded that renewable energy is still regarded as a modest-sized niche by some investors, media commentators and politicians. That view has it that the "serious" investment activity still goes on in conventional energy sectors such as oil and gas, coal and - prior to the Fukushima crisis in March 2011 - nuclear, and that renewables are an entertaining, albeit expensive, sideshow.

This perception has been outdated for many years, and never more so than in 2010. Overall new investment in renewable energy of $211 billion was up 32 percent on 2009, and nearly seven times the figure for 2004. There is also burgeoning investment in the parallel area of smart technologies - including smart grid, electric vehicles and energy efficiency devices and systems.

According to UN under-secretary general and UNEP executive director Achim Steiner, the continuing growth in this core segment of the green economy is not happening by chance. The combination of government target-setting, policy support and stimulus funds is underpinning the renewable industry's rise and bringing the much needed transformation of our global energy system within reach."

He added: "Renewable energies are expanding both in terms of investment, projects and geographical spread. In doing so, they are making an increasing contribution to combating climate change, countering energy poverty and energy insecurity.

Solar energy bright in India In October last year, Moser Baer Clean Energy commissioned a 30 MW photovoltaic solar power farm at Banaskantha district in north Gujarat. This solar power plant will supply an estimated 52 million units of energy in a year - roughly the amount that Kerala consumes in a day.

In January 2012, the Adani Group had commissioned a 40MW solar power project , touted as the country's largest, in Gujarat's Kutch district. For Adani, India's largest private thermal power producer, it is the first major project in the renewable energy space.

But it is Solairedirect that has really set the new benchmark. The French company's bid of Rs 7.49 per kilowatt-hour (kWh), equivalent to 15 US cents, for its proposed 5 MW plant in Pokhran, Rajasthan, is by far the lowest tariff quoted under India's ambitious Solar Mission.

In comparison, the price per kWh is about 23 US cents in Germany, the world's biggest solar power user.

Each project underlines the importance that is now being given to solar energy in India. The country, sundrenched for more than 300 days a year, is ideally suited to use it.

But while the potential is well known, India has remained far behind Europe and the US, both in manufacturing and project capacities.

At present, the Union and State Governments are slowly working to harness the power of the Sun. In January 2010, the Centre launched the Jawaharlal Nehru National Solar

Mission, which targets setting up a generation capacity of 20,000 MW by 2022.

In addition, 21 states are pursuing their own programmes, which optimists reckon will add another 10,000 MW over the next 10 years. Thus far, Gujarat and Rajasthan, blessed with the largest incidence of solar radiation, have attracted the largest inflows of investment.

Just three years ago, grid-connected solar power in the country was less than 12 MW. By the end of 2011, India had acquired 190 MW in solar power generation capacity.

By March 2013, that figure will grow five-fold to 1,000 MW under the Solar Mission targets alone.

It is heartening to note that investor interest is rapidly growing. "There is an increased awareness about the opportunities in India among investors globally because of the decline in Europe, and China being a closed market," said Thomas Maslin, a Washington DC-based analyst with global consulting firm IHS Emerging Energy Research.

According to a report by Mercom Capital, a clean energy consulting firm, India received $95 million (Rs. 500 crore) in venture capital funding and over $1.1 billion in largescale funding for solar projects in 2011. The biggest funding deal was the $694 million loan raised by Maharashtra State Power Generation Co. for its 150 MW Dhule and 125 MW Sakri projects. Export-Import Bank of the United States was the biggest investor, funding seven different large-scale projects.

The reach for the Sun is being driven by a host of private sector players. Green Infra, founded by Raja Parthasarathy, Managing Director of IDFC Private Equity, entered the solar space about a year ago. In November, its 10 MW solar farm in Gujarat's Rajkot district began pumping electricity into the state's grid. By the year-end, Green Infra had also bagged orders to set up two plants in Rajasthan's Jodhpur district. "In 2013, we will be looking at concentrated solar power projects with capacities in excess of 50 MW," says Shivanand Nimbargi, Managing Director and CEO of Green Infra.

A word of caution - year 2012 may be globally a tough period for RE sector However, the renewables sector could face a tough 2012 because U.S. and European manufacturers will be under increasing cost pressures and some Chinese manufacturers will also face heavy debt and feel competitive strain.

Significant overcapacity in China could result in a succession of tie-ups within and between the main manufacturing territories of the United States, Germany and China, leading to a smaller number of big global players. Continued uncertainty about the Eurozone economy will make the deal environment much more difficult for 2012. The potential for further destabilization domestically, or at an inter-governmental level cannot be ruled out, but if a deal is highly strategic, and mission critical, then parties will still feel it is worth doing on the right terms.

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TECHNOLOGY:

New MIT chip harvests energy from three sources

The problem with depending on one source of power in the drive toward the battery-free operation of small biomedical devices, remote sensors and out-of-the-way gauges is that if the source is intermittent, not strong enough or runs out altogether, the device can stop working. A small MIT research team has developed a low-power chip design capable of simultaneously drawing power from photovoltaic, thermoelectric, and piezoelectric energy sources. The design also features novel dual-path architecture that allows it to run from either onboard energy storage or direct from its multiple power sources.

Previous research projects at the lab of MIT's Head of the Department of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science, Prof. Anantha Chandrakasan, have led to developments of super-lowpower wireless communication and computer chips that have their power needs satisfied by either natural light, heat or vibrations. According to its designer, doctoral student Saurav Bandyopadhyay, the new energy combining

circuit is capable of using all three ambient power sources at the same time.

Bandyopadhyay says that each source typically requires its own control circuit to meet its specific needs - thermal sources might only produce between 0.02 and 0.15 volts, low power PV cells can offer up to 0.7 volts and circuits can expect anything up to five volts from vibration

35

harvesters. He points out that most efforts to draw power from multiple source have so far concentrated on simply switching between them, depending on which one is providing the most juice at any given moment.

For example, a sensor might initially get its power from a light source, which could then be abruptly cut off in favor of a piezoelectric harvester, then when the rumble dies down a thermal system might kick in. Rather than waste the energy available from blocked-off sources, the new design allows all three power sources to contribute by rapidly and continuously switching between them to harvest energy from multiple sources (almost) simultaneously.

The researcher has also optimized the control circuits to maximize the amount of power available to devices. Like other designs, the new chip routes energy to an onboard storage medium such as a battery or super capacitor.

Bandyopadhyay claims his development also allows the

device to be powered directly from multiple sources, giving it the potential to bypass the storage system altogether.

The new design is claimed to result in 11 - 13 percent efficiency gains over the traditional two-stage approach, and be capable of handling input voltages from 20mV to 5V. A paper entitled "Platform Architecture for Solar, Thermal, and Vibration Energy Combining with MPPT and Single Inductor" will shortly be published in the IEEE Journal of Solid-State Circuits. The project was funded by a collaboration of defense/semiconductor companies and DARPA. (Source: MIT via Inhabitat)

A 100% solar-powered boat that cost less than $3,000 to build!

While it might not be the world's largest solar boat or the fastest, this modest home-built solar-powered boat does the job and comfortably accommodates six passengers.

Dubbed “Firefly,” it was built by Canadian eco-enthusiast Dan Baker for an impressive CA$2,900 (US$2,845) or Indian Rupee 1,62,796/-.

capable of generating 140W of clean energy. The boat is able to manage a top speed of 4 mph (6.5 km/h), which is about “as fast as a leisurely canoe ride,” says Baker.

He's not worried, however, boasting that the cells are independently fueling his 2012 boating season.

The cabin of the boat has been modestly fitted with a Bluetooth stereo, two rear storage seats, two lounge chairs, center console, navigation light, spreader lights with strobe function, LED lighting on the canopy and handrails, marine safety kit, fire extinguisher, air horn, life jackets, removable swim ladder, beverage holders and anchor. The base of the boat was fitted with eight flotation barrels purchased via a local classified ad for CA$20 (US$19.50) each.

The Firefly was custom built to cruise lakes, providing a leisurely experience without air or noise pollution.

Baker fitted the roof of the boat with a home-built solar panel featuring 6 x 6 photovoltaic cells which he purchased on eBay. Energy is stored in a lead-acid battery, which powers two brushless DC electric motors. Each motor is mounted on opposite rear corners of the boat to provide thrust and steering.

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According to Baker, the roof-mounted solar panel is

We definitely think that Baker deserves the thumbs-up for his eco-initiative. Should readers like the idea of owning a boat like Dan's but don't want to build it themselves, they can always check out the Loon, an electric pontoon boat built by Canada's Tamarack Lake Electric Boat Company.

(Source: David Baker via EcoChunk)

Harvard scientists create hydrogen fuel cell that lasts longer Materials scientists at Harvard have created a fuel cell that not only produces energy but also stores it, opening up new possibilities in hydrogen fuel cell technologies. The solidoxide fuel cell (SOFC) converts hydrogen into electricity, and could have an impact on small-scale portable energy applications.

The thin-film SOFC benefited from recent advances in low-temperature operations, which enabled the

integration of versatile materials, said lead researcher Shriram Ramantham. The star of the new cell is vanadium oxide, a multifuncional material that allows the fuel cell to multitask as both an energy generator and storage medium.

The new fuel cell uses a bilayer of platinum and vanadium oxide for the anode, which allows the cell to continue operating without fuel for up to 14 times as long as the thin-film SOFCs that use platinum only for the electrodes. In the case of the latter, when the platinum-anode SOFC runs out of fuel, it will continue to generate power for only about 15 seconds before it fizzles out. With the new fuel cell, the scientists have managed to increase that to three minutes, 30 seconds

at a current density of 0.2 mA/cm2.

That length of time could be increased with further improvements to the composition of the vanadium oxide-platinum anode. It should happen fairly soon, and this type of fuel cell could be available for applications testing within two years. The researchers say that one field that could benefit from the new fuel cell is micro

aerial vehicles, although fuel cells for powering vehicles are already a reality.

The researchers observed and confirmed a few chemical phenomena that possibly explains the extended power of the cell. The first of these is the oxidation of the vanadium ions. Another one is the storage of hydrogen within the vanadium oxide crystal lattice, which is then gradually released and oxidized at the anode. Finally, they noticed that the concentration of oxygen ions differs from the anode to the cathode, which could mean oxygen anions (negatively-charged ions) also get oxidized as in a concentration cell.

(Source: Harvard University)

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NEWS:

Solar energy attracts INR 24,000 crore investments in Apr-Jun 2012 The solar sector attracted total funding of $ 4.3 billion (over INR 24,000 crore) through 66 deals, including two Indian transactionsReliance Power and Azure Power in April-June 2012, says a report.

good news,” Prabhu added. Meanwhile, the M&A activity in the solar sector totaled $325 million in 14 transactions.

Only six of these transactions disclosed details. The top M&A transaction was the acquisition of Zhejiang

According to the Mercom Capital Group's second quarter funding and M&A activity report for solar sector, global venture capital funding saw a slight uptick with 32 deals amounting to $376 million, even in tough solar market.

The report analysed funding on the basis of four categories: project funding, VC funding, debt funding and others.

Two Indian dealsReliance Power securing a $103 million loan from Asian Development Bank (ADB) and Azure Power securing $70.4 million in long-term financing from the Export Import Bank of the US were listed in the project funding category. Reliance Power secured ADB loan for its 100 MW CSP project while Azure Power get financing for expanding its 5 MW solar PV project to 40 MW. Of the VC deals downstream firms, received the most with $133 million in nine deals, followed by thin film companies with $ 121 million in four deals this quarter, Mercom Capital said.

“In this quarter we are finally seeing VC investments catch up, with downstream receiving the most funding.

Balance-of-system (BOS) companies also represent a significant opportunity for investment, innovation and cost reduction, and they are now the largest slice of the solar system pie, but VC investments in BOS have been surprisingly low,” Mercom Capital Group Managing Partner Raj Prabhu said. “With news of solar companies downsizing or going out of business seemingly every day, continued steady VC investment activity in the sector is

Topoint Photovoltaic, a Chinese mono and polycrystalline maker, for $276 million by Guangxi Beisheng Pharmaceutical in an asset restructuring plan.

“Most of the M&A activity were small strategic transactions with a few of them being acquisitions of business divisions for synergistic reasons,” said Prabhu adding that in some cases, acquisitions were of 'sick' companies getting rid of non-strategic businesses and assets. The second quarter of 2012 also saw 13 new cleantech and solar-focused investment funds announced committing $3.2 billion, the report added.

(Source:http://www.firstpost.com)

Solar Powered Trains In India Soon Coaches of Kalka-Shimla toy train the Himalayan Queen have been converted to solar-based power system. It is the first train in the country to have all its coaches solar powered. The experiment will earn carbon credit for the track that is on the heritage list of UNESCO. Each coach has been built at a cost of Rs 1.25 lakh and is provided with a 100-watt solar panel. The florescent tube has been replaced with the much brighter LED lights.

The coach can function two days without the sun and can make two trips. The coaches have also been provided with solar power charging sockets.

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Trial runs were earlier done on trains running on the Pathankot-Jogindernagar track. For the past one year, one

coach each on two trains were being run on solar energy.

Divisional electrical engineer R K Gupta said that the new system will require little maintenance and reduce energy saving by Rs 4.35 lakh per annum.

“This is one of the green initiatives taken by the Indian Railway authorities for the ecologically fragile hill state,” said P K Sanghi, divisional railway manager, Ambala. “All seven coaches of the train are lit by solar energy. A major advantage on this track is that the coaches do not require air conditioners or fans. If the system works successfully we will extend solar lighting to regular tracks on this UNSECO heritage route having more than 806 bridges and 103 tunnels,” Sanghi added.

Indian MNRE offers details of off-grid PV subsidies 100 kW per site, except minigrids for rural electrification, which are limited to 250 kW. Finally, industrial and commercial entities have similar caps, however commercial entities can receive either the subsidy or low-interest loans, but not both.

Off-grid systems eligible to receive MNRE subsidies include water pumps up to 5 kW in size (direc2010.gov.in)

India's Ministry of New and Renewable Energy (MNRE) has released details of subsidies for off-grid solar photovoltaic (PV) generation. The agency is providing a 30% subsidy for the benchmark costs of PV systems, as well as loans limited to 5% interest annually.

The subsidies will be capped according to type of installation, with systems purchased by individuals limited to 1 kW, except for pumps for irrigation and community drinking water, which are limited to 5 kW. Subsidies for non-commercial entities are limited to

MNRE will also provide funding to primary lending institutions to make loans for such systems at an interest rate of 2% annually or less, provided that such loans are passed on to the purchasers of solar systems at 5% annual interest or less.

Higher subsidies for microgrid systems The subsidies are also capped by watt, with a cap of INR 90 (USD 1.66 per watt) for systems with battery storage, and INR 70 per watt (USD 1.29 per watt) for systems without battery storage. Standalone rural PV plants with battery storage as part of a microgrid will be provided with INR 150 per watt (USD 2.76 per watt) subsidies, and a 5% loan.

(Source: EAI)

Waste to Energy The increasing industrialization, urbanization and changes in the pattern of life, which accompany the process of economic growth, give rise to generation of increasing quantities of wastes leading to increased threats to the environment. In recent years, technologies have been developed that not only help in generating substantial quantity of decentralized energy but also in reducing the quantity of waste for its safe disposal. In developed countries like India, environmental concerns rather than energy recovery is the prime motivator for waste-to-energy facilities, which help in treating and disposing of wastes. Energy in the form of biogas, heat or power is seen as a bonus, which improves the viability of such projects. While incineration and biomethanation are the most common technologies, pyrolysis and gasification are also emerging as preferred options. A common feature in most developed countries is that the entire waste management system is being handled as a profitable venture by private industry or non-government organizations with tipping fee for treatment of waste being one of the major revenue streams. The major Advantages for adopting technologies for recovery of energy from urban wastes is to reduce the quantity of waste and net reduction in environmental pollution, besides generation of substantial quantity of energy

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A dual purpose project: Saving water and harnessing energy The solar power plant will generate 1.6 million units of electricity per year. The project has been developed by the Gujarat State Electricity Corporation Limited

panels, said a top official of the Gujarat State Electricity Corporation (GSECL).

The plant was set up at the cost of around Rs. 17.50 crore by the US-based Sun Edison and is projected to generate 1.6 million units annually and simultaneously prevent evaporation of 9 million litres of water. "This is the first-ofits-kind canal-top solar power plant to be set up by Sun Edison in the world using panels made by our parent firm MEMC Electronics Materials Ltd," said Head of Communications at Sun Edison Jaideep Singh Chowdhary.

The plant which is connected to the state grid through Uttar Gujarat Vidyut Corporation Limited, had already gone on stream.

Pic: India's first 1MW canal-top solar power plant at Chandrasan village near Mehsana in Gujarat

(GSECL) and was inaugurated by Gujarat state Chief Minister, Narendra Modi last April. The project, which virtually eliminates the need to acquire huge tracts of land as is typically needed in setting up such plants. The project covers 750 metres of Sardar Sarovar Narmada Nigam Limited (SSNL) branch canal passing through remote village of Chandrasan, with a network of solar

"The trial run of the plant indicates that solar panels here could produce 15% more power as compared to conventional installations as the water flowing under the panels keeps them relatively cool," said GSECL MD Gurdeep Singh. The cost of the plant is expected to come down to Rs. 12 crore or so as it was higher since it being the first such pilot project, he said.

The entire length of SSNL canal network in Gujarat is around 19,000 kilometres and if even 10% of it is used for this type of projects it could generate 2,400 MW of clean energy annually, Singh said.

"It would eliminate need of 11,000 acres of land required for a solar project of this magnitude and save 2 billion litres of water annually," he claimed.

A 800 KW of peak energy production has been recorded from this plant during a day so far, which is connected to the state grid, a GSECL official said. Sun Edison has a total installed capacity of 45 MW of solar power in Gujarat and has also bagged a contract for a 2.5 MW rooftop solar project in Gandhinagar.

Gujarat CM Narendra Modi inaugurating the project

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Waste management projects to get Rs. 2,086 crore from Centre Under the Jawaharlal Nehru National Urban Reconstruction Mission (JNNURM), 45 solid waste management (SWM) projects at a cost of Rs. 2,086 crore and 70 projects of Rs. 409 crore have been approved so far in different states by the Urban Development Ministry, Government of India. JUNNURM has listed 65 mission cities for financial assistance for urban development in the country.

“These projects are in the different stages of

implementation,” Union Minister of State for Urban Development Saugata Roy said, highlighting the efforts of the government to tackle the SWM problem in urban India.

Mysore was among those beneficiary cities and a Rs. 29.85 crore project had been approved by the Ministry.

Bangalore, the other city in Karnataka under JNNURM, has however not sent any proposal so far to the Ministry, he said. A survey of 423 cities did not find a single green city in the country, which, the minister said, highlights the need for a proactive approach to make cities cleaner.

Chandigarh, however, was the first city followed by Mysore in good sanitation. “These two are reasonably cleaner cities. They must improve further to achieve green city status,” he said.

Stating that his Ministry was proactive in funding SWM projects, Roy listed various measures taken up to make

urban centres cleaner, like publication of manual on municipal SWM, notification of municipal solid waste (management and handling) rules, constitution of technical advisory group on SWM, and a task force to formulate an action plan. However, he lamented, no urban local body had complied with the rules relating to municipal solid waste (management and handling), though it had given specific directions to local bodies, district administration and urban development

departments of the States for proper and scientific SWM. Highlighting the challenge urban bodies had before them, the Union Minister told the International Conference on SWM 2012 that, according to the 2011 census, the total urban population stood at 373.10 million and was projected to touch 600 million by 2030.

The number of cities and towns had increased from 5,161 in 2001 to 7,935 in 2011 while the share of population had gone up from 28 to 31.15% of the total population in the last decade. Population in 35 metro cities constituted 37% of India's total urban population.

By 2050, it was expected that 50% of the country's population would be urban. Urban India generated 42 million tonne solid waste annually, i.e. 115,000 tonnes a day, out of which 83,300 tonnes per day was generated in 423 Class I cities, equivalent to 72.42% of the total urban waste generated each day in India. The per capita

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generation in cities varied from 200 to 600 gramme a day.

Urban population growing between 3% and 3.5% per annum, the annual increase in urban solid waste was assessed at 5%, he said calling for tackling of this stupendous challenge on priority with practical approach.

While there was a potential to generate 18,000 MW of clean power per year from biomass, biomass-based power plants capable of producing only 2,000 MW have been installed in 12 states including Tamil Nadu. Efforts were on to increase it to 7,000 MW in the 12th Five-Year Plan.

The Central government official said that the efforts to harness the biomass potential should be supported by wasteland-based integrated energy plantation to meet the energy needs of 60,000 million households in the country.

Every MW of power generated from plant residues would be able to cover about 6,000 rural households.

Power plants with capacity ranging from a few KW to 30 KW would help change the power scenario in the entire country. The Department of New and Renewable Energy of the Government of India was focussing on

strengthening power generation from agro-forestry residues, bagasse and non-bagasse-based co-generation in industries and renewable power plants at the tail end of the grid. Sixty small scale biomass-based units have been established in Bihar with a generating capacity of 32 KW of power at a cost of Rs.15 lakh per plant.

According to B.V. Reddy, Professor, University of Ontario Institute of Technologies, Canada, while the total power generation in India today was 1.4 lakh MW, it is predicted that the country's power requirements would be tripled in the next 20 years.

India's per capita power consumption was 630 KW per person per annum as against 8,000 MW in U.S., and 4,000 MW in Japan and U.K. Despite this low power consumption, the country was unable to meet the power needs of the people owing to poor planning.

As we have enough potential in the country in all areas, hydro, thermal, wind, solar and biomass, India must harness the potential and work towards attaining selfsufficiency in power in order to compete with other countries, energy experts say.

Solar photovoltaic installations in India cross 1 GW milestone Solar photovoltaic installations in India have crossed the 1,000 MW or 1 gigawatt (GW) mark, according to data

25,000 MW. During the quarter, 495 MW were added 291.70 MW of which came from the wind sector. This addition took the total installed capacity of renewable power plants in the country to 25,409 MW.

Target for 2012-13 The Ministry has set a target of 4,125 MW of additional green power capacity for the current financial year. This includes 2,500 MW of wind power and 800 MW of solar PV. It is worthy of note that the targeted wind power capacity is lesser than the achievement of last year, which was 3,164

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made available by the Ministry of New and Renewable Energy (MNRE).

MW.

As at the end of June, 2012, India had grid interactive solar PV installed capacity of 1,030.66 MW. Most of the capacities have come in from Gujarat. In addition, India has 85.21 MW of off-grid solar PV systems, counting only those that are higher than 1 kW.

However, the wind industry expects that even 2,500 MW would be a tough target to achieve, due to two reasons removal of two key benefits of 'accelerated depreciation' and 'generation-based incentive', and the tough operating environment in key States, especially in the windiest State in the country, viz., Tamil Nadu.

Renewable Energy in India crossed another milestone in the first quarter of the current year total grid interactive renewable energy installations crossed

(Source: Energy Alternatives India, Chennai)

Government Provides 30% Subsidy For Solar Lanterns And Home Lights The Minister of New and Renewable Energy (MNRE), Dr.

Farooq Abdullah has recently informed the Lok Sabha that under the Off-grid Solar Applications Scheme of JNNSM, the Ministry is providing subsidy of 30% of the benchmark cost (Rs. 270/- per watt peak) of the solar photovoltaic (SPV) systems subject to a maximum of Rs.81/- per watt peak for distribution/ installation of solar lanterns and home lights and Rs.57/- per watt peak for SPV water pumping systems to individuals in the country.

The Ministry is also providing subsidy of 40% of the capital cost limited to Rs.108/- per watt peak for installing solar lanterns, home lights and small capacity PV plants up to 210 Watt peak by individuals through NABARD, Regional Rural Banks and other Commercial Banks. For balance 60% of the cost, the banks extend credit facility to the beneficiary at usual commercial rates.

Kerala plans to have more than 10,000 off-grid solar homes by the end of 2013 A programme to have 10,000 off-grid solar homes in Kerala State by the end of 2012-13 is expected to take off in a month. The project, pending clearance with the Union Ministry of New and Renewable Energy (MNRE), is awaiting approval for release of money from the Central pool, said sources in the Agency for Non-Conventional Energy and Rural Technology (ANERT), which would oversee the implementation of the programme.

Sources said that the draft proposal for the programme has distributed the heavily subsidised solar homes equally among the districts, though the quota may be rearranged depending on the performance of the districts after the project is launched.

Once it is under way, those wishing to set up solar homes will get more than 50% subsidy. Union and State governments will provide Rs.1.20 lakh of the total Rs.2 lakh to Rs.2.20 lakh needed to set up a single unit to generate 1 kW of power. The beneficiary contribution will be Rs.80,000 per unit. The programme, when completed, will generate 10 MW of power from roofmounted and off-grid solar electric power systems. This represents five units of power per day for about 20 years. Sources said that once the solar homes project takes off successfully, it will be imitated in Kerala and

the target could be set higher in the following years.

One of the special beauties of net-metered roof top solar is that it is community centric. The homeowner or business that invests in solar gets the most direct benefits. Yet each roof is a "brick" equivalent of a massive urban solar power plant that feeds the community, not just the homes that invest. All the neighbors are connected to this solar power plant and benefit from the same zero fuel cost, clean energy every sunny day.

Grid-connected panels can make solar power cheaper

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A grid-connected system linking rooftop solar panels across the State could drive down the cost of generating solar power and provide the basis of a sustainable energy system for Kerala, noted social and environmental activist

“Today, a 1 Kilo Watt (KW) domestic rooftop solar power system with battery backup can be installed for about Rs.2 lakh. If the system is directly connected to the grid, the power generated during daytime can be fed

and the former director of the Agency for Nonconventional Energy and Rural Technology (ANERT) Prof.

R.V.G. Menon has suggested.

into the grid and the consumer can draw power when required, obviating the need for storage batteries and bringing down the investment by Rs.50,000,� he said.

In a paper presented at the ongoing Kerala Environment Congress (KEC 2012) organised by the Centre for Environment and Development (CED) and the Rajiv Gandhi Centre for Biotechnology (RGCB) here, Prof.

Menon said the time had come for Kerala to adopt a proactive policy, making it mandatory for new buildings to have rooftop solar photovoltaic panels.

Prof. Menon said the falling price of solar panels would make it possible to have a 1 KW grid-connected system at a cost of Rs.1 lakh or less in the near future. The paper said Kerala had the potential to generate 5,400 MW from rooftop solar panels mounted on concrete houses and public buildings. Prof. Menon said the State could think of installing float-mounted solar panels over backwaters and reservoirs to tap the energy from the sun.

The paper said a system to connect rooftop solar panels directly to the utility grid could push down costs.

Tata Motors brings environment-friendly and efficient fuel-cell powered public transport system To address energy security and environment concerns, the government and the auto industry are trying to find alternate modes for transportation.

Tata Motors has always been at the forefront to innovate more environment-friendly and efficient products for public transportation.

Tata Motors started its innovation with CNG products, and moved on to series and parallel CNG-electric hybrid buses. At the Auto Expo 2012, the company showcased the Tata Starbus - Fuel Cell (Hydrogen) bus.

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The Tata Starbus - Fuel Cell is a zero emission transport solution for commuting within the city. This environment-friendly bus is ideal for stop and go applications, and is built on rear module low entry platform, equipped with a ramp facility, pneumatic

door operations, and climate control features.

The fuel cell technology makes this bus completely clean and silent bus on-road. Hydrogen is stored in compressed form, which combines with oxygen from the air to generate electricity, and gives water vapour as the only emission.

This electricity is used to charge the battery to power the motor of the bus. A number of fuel cells are combined to form a fuel cell stack, which is placed in the rear module of the bus. This mechanism involves a fuel cell with gross peak power of 114 HP, coupled with a motor with the peak power output of 250 HP from 600 rpm to 2100 rpm and torque of 1050 Nm at 800 rpm. The maximum speed of the bus is 70 kmph and gradability is 17%, which is very suitable for city application.

The bus comes with hydraulic power steering, pneumatic suspension and full air dual circuit SCAM brakes with ABS, and radial tubeless tyres. The instrument cluster and cabin controls are of world class design. Quick and effortless acceleration make the driving experience less tiresome for the driver.

Tata Starbus - Fuel Cell has the potential to revolutionise public transportation in India. The efficiency in a fuel cell bus is about 40-60% which is almost 3 times than that of conventional buses. This leads to more than 50% reduction in fuel costs per Km. Since hydrogen is a domestically produced fuel, there will be no dependency on foreign policies and expensive fuels. Fast refueling will also reduce the downtime of the bus.

Thus, the Tata Starbus - Fuel Cell provides a convenient, quiet, completely relaxed and smooth ride.

Ballard to provide Tata with bus fuel cells The Vancouver-based Ballard Power Systems, last January, signed a non-binding Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with Tata Motors (India) for 12 FCvelocityTM1100 fuel cell stacks. These stacks are expected to power zero-emission buses planned for demonstration in various Indian cities. Delivery to Tata Motors is planned for 2012 and 2013, in-line with that Company's plans.

Tata Motors, one of the world's largest bus OEM's, displayed the first fuel cell bus built in India at "Auto Expo 2012" held in New Delhi January 6-11, 2012. The bus is powered with a Ballard FCvelocityTM-1100 fuel cell stack, previously delivered to Tata Motors in 2011.

Mr. P.M. Telang, Managing Director (India Operations) at Tata Motors said, "We strive to be leaders in the use of technology, while maintaining very high standards of product quality. Working with technology companies such as Ballard only strengthens our ability to design and market the wheels of a greener world here in India."

Tata Motors is part of the Tata Group, a pioneer in India's automotive industry, and has previous bus system integration experience working with Ballard fuel cell products. Tata Motors' plan to supply fuel cell buses for testing and demonstration in revenue service is supported

by the Government of India's Department of Scientific and Industrial Research under the Technology Development & Demonstration Programme.

John Sheridan, Ballard's President and CEO said, "We are very pleased to have signed this MOU with India's premier bus manufacturer for Tata's upcoming zero-emission bus testing program. This is additional validation of the mature state of our products and of the growing global market for clean energy transit buses."

Ballard FCvelocityTM-1100 fuel cell stacks are based on a design that is ideal for use in heavy duty vehicles.

FCvelocityTM-1100 fuel cell stack technology is at the heart of the Company's FCvelocityTM-HD6 fuel cell module, a "plug and play" power solution used by bus OEM's around the world.

Ballard Power Systems provides clean energy fuel cell products enabling optimized power systems for a range of applications. Products are based on proprietary esencia™ technology, ensuring incomparable performance, durability and versatility.

Tata Motors makes natural gas commitment Indian car maker Tata Motors will highlight its commitment to natural gas technology after selecting Omnitek Engineering Corporation to supply filters for its 2012 natural gas passenger vehicles. The companies first established a supplier relationship back in 2009 and now this agreement will be furthered as Tata looks to rapidly expand its use of natural gas cars in its home market. It wants to shift from fuel injection systems with a coalescing filter to a compressed natural gas system that can provide 99.9 per cent protection from oil aerosols and solid particulate matter.

Werner Funk, the president and CEO of Omnitek, commented that the company's high pressure natural gas filter has grown in popularity in the USA and abroad since receiving international certification in 2010. He also believes there has been a general expansion in demand for natural gas engine conversions and industry sources now estimate that there are approximately 11.0 million light and heavy duty vehicles operating on compressed natural gas throughout the world.

Tata reveals hybrid and fuel cell cars The thoughts of many in the automotive world may be fixed on the upcoming North American International Auto Show but Tata Motors decided to shine the spotlight on the New Delhi Auto Expo 2012 by displaying four concepts at the event. Making their debut were: the Tata Nano CNG (compressed natural gas); the Tata Indigo Manza dieselelectric hybrid; the Tata Magic CNG; and the Tata Starbus Fuel Cell, which runs on hydrogen power. ?

Tata Nano CNG Concept: The famous Tata Nano now boasts compressed natural gas vehicle kit components.

It features a sequential gas injection system that has been calibrated with an EMS system for smart switching

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between the petrol and compressed natural gas systems; and the vehicle offers a range of more than 93miles and CO2 emissions of 92.7g/km. ?

Tata Indigo Manza Hybrid Concept: Designed to deliver performance with emissions of less than 90g/km in city traffic conditions, the Tata Indigo Manza Hybrid Concept is powered by a hybrid 1.05litre DiCOR engine and a 45kW electric traction engine. It also includes a host of environmental features such as: auto start/stop; limited range pure electric operation; regenerative braking; and speed cranking. ?

Tata Starbus Fuel Cell Concept: This is a 30-seat

vehicle that has been developed with support from the Government of India's Department of Scientific and Industrial Research. It boasts peak power output of 186kW with torque of 774lb-ft at 800rpm. ?

Tata Magic IRIS CNG: Equipped with a 611cc, water-cooled 12.8hp CNG engine with 37Nm of torque, the vehicle has a tamper proof ECU which electronically limits the maximum speed based on local city requirements.

(Contact for more information: Ashmita Pillay | Manager | Corporate Communications | TATA MOTORS Direct: +91-22-66158625 | Fax: +91-22-66158646 | Mobile: +91-9029037016 | E-Mail: ashmita.pillay@tatamotors.com)

India Speeds Solar Auctions, Approves $4.1 Billion for Sustainable Transportation India's massive power outage in July 2012, the world's largest, is energizing the nation's interest in solar energy and clean transportation. Not only is India's government speeding auctions for 3 gigawatts (GW) of solar plant development through 2017, it's planning investments of $4.1 billion to spur electric and hybrid vehicle production.

Speeding Up Solar Auctions for up to 1,000 MW of new solar could be held before the end of the current fiscal year. India's National Solar Mission calls for 10% of its energy - 2,000 GW - to be supplied by solar by 2022. Right now, at least half of India's power comes from coal-fired power plants. India's solar auctions give the lowest bidder the right to supply energy. Most of its existing capacity - about 1,040 MW has been built in the last 12 months; another 3,000 MW could be constructed between 2013-2017.

India has used auctions, along with tariffs and powerbundling arrangements as development incentives to encourage solar development. And that's reduced the cost of solar energy by an impressive 38% from 2010-2011. It is now also considering implementing subsidies, according to Tarun Kapoor, joint secretary at the Ministry of New and Renewable Energy (MNRE).

India's last auction in December 2011 awarded 350 MW of solar capacity to utilities including Welspun Group, Mahindra Group and partner Kiran Energy Solar Power Pvt., and Azure Power India Pvt. With the exception of a 10 MW project that was cancelled later, all of those projects should be finished by early next year. First Solar has made India a priority for solar project development. It is angling to win 20% of the country's solar PV sales, by working directly with businesses seeking a more predictable energy supply.

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The solar transition in India's 30 GW backup power

market, is powered mainly by diesel generators, is particularly attractive because high diesel fuel costs and lower solar panel module pricing have make solar power a cost-effective alternative. $4.1 Billion for Electric, Hybrid Vehicles While developers angle for a piece of India's solar market, the country is also taking steps to accelerate the sluggish market for electric and hybrid vehicles. India's target is 6 million green vehicles by 2020, the vast majority of which (4 million to 5 million) will be two-wheelers, such as bicycles, scooters and motorcycles. The government approved a $4.1 billion investment to spur production over the next eight years, with about 60% coming from the public sector and 40% from private companies.

Government officials say the funds will be used for subsidies, research and development support, consumer demand creation, and development of infrastructure. Most

manufacturers are focused on low-emission conventional cars right now because of the infrastructure for EVs doesn't exist and the vehicles are too expensive. India's Tata Motors is among the domestic companies experimenting with green transportation alternatives, although its AIRpod urban car runs on compressed air not electricity.