The Hindu Business Line : Ministry signs biomass pact with UNDP Fund, KfW

The Ministry of Non-Conventional Energy Sources has signed a $39.15 million project with UNDP Global Environment Fund (UNDPGEF) and German financial institution KfW to develop projects for harnessing biomass energy resources in the country.

The three-year project would be financed by UNDPGEF to the tune of $5.65 million and co-financed bythe Ministry, which will chip in with $5.24 million, while KfW would leverage finances of the order of $24.82 million.

The financial institutions/private entities that are expected to join the project would contribute an amount of around $3.44 million, a Ministry statement said.

The project aims at removal of barriers to the development of such projects, sustained supply of biomass, technology upgradation, equipment supply and development of standards for biomass energy projects.

It is also expected to contribute in exploiting the potential for setting up power projects based on biomass and co-generation, providing solutions to eliminate impediments such as supply of raw material, appropriate technology and the latest quality equipments.

As these projects' potential sites are comparative smaller in size and scattered over different parts of country, development of standards for them assumes significance, the statement said. According to Government estimates, biomass energy has an established potential of about 19,000 MW, while the co-generation power projects have a potential of about 5,000 MW in the country.

At present power projects of over 1,000 MW capacity based on biomass and co-generation have been set up in India.

The development of biomass and cogeneration power projects, besides being environmentally friendly, provides vast employment opportunities to rural and semi-rural areas, it said.

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