Punjab produces about 20 million tons of paddy straw every year. Out of this, 12.00 million tons is utilized in domestic industry. The remaining 8.00 million tons of biomass is equivalent to about 800 MW of power. In order to avoid burning of Crop Residue and its resultant adverse environmental and health impact, a strategy is being evolved for utilization of this large residue source for conversion into useful products/ energy sources for meeting the requirement of the state. In addition to in-situ management of Agri-Residue the state is also promoting ex-situ technology application for utilizing this paddy straw. The technology to manage this huge quantity of paddy straw to some extent is Biomass Power Projects. For Biomass Power Project, Rankine cycle technology consisting of Boiler and Turbine is an established and commercially viable technology and in India there are so many manufactures of Boiler and Turbines.

Advantages of Biomass Power Projects: -

• It is eco-friendly, neat, green and clean because of relatively lower CO2, lower CH6 emissions and particulate emissions
• It is alternative to coal in future.
• It is a decentralized, load based means of generation, as it is produced and consumed locally.
• It offers employment opportunities to locals.
• It has a low gestation period and low capital investment
• It helps in local revenue generation and upliftment of the rural population.

Achievements: -

A total of 11 Biomass power projects of cumulative capacity 101.5 MW are commissioned and in operation in the state which utilize 11.70 Lac Metric ton of paddy straw per annum (Table - I).

TABLE-I
Detail of Biomass Power Projects Completed / Commissioned Using Paddy Straw (101.5 MW)