India’s tonnes of garbage and agriculture waste coupled with cow dung and solar energy could be utilised to generate clean power and provide additional source of income to the small and marginal farmers.
Retired chief engineer from the Punjab Mandi Board, Bulwant Singh Brar has developed unique patented concept of Micro Hybrid Power Plant — power producing unit that amalgamation of biomass, biogas and solar power.
As per the idea, Brar has conceived for a Micro Hybrid Power Plant of 250 kilowatts in North India, bio-mass, bio-gas and solar power will be amalgamated. An area of 2 to 2.5 acres, an investment of Rs 3.5 crore and man power of 20- 25 people is required. The staff would include four engineers and four skilled workers, one each electrician, fitter and laboratory attendant and 10-12 semi-skilled workers. Per unit cost of production is around Rs 4.29, he said.
The construction time for Micro Hybrid Power Plant is just six months as compared to the years spent on constructing the conventional thermal plants. “For 27 tonnes of cow dung (biogas), 2,700 to 3,000 cattle heads are needed, which is available in one village. This would enable each village to own and run its own power plant thereby making them independent power producers. The additional units could even be traded or sold off. Moreover, the stakeholders will get power on cost to cost basis,” Brar claimed.
The system is capable of generating local employment and will give great relief to rural women as a special machine will collect cow dung from the sheds or their homes so the women don't have to stack it. “There are 12,600 villages in Punjab and depending on the availability of raw material, 250 kilowatts of micro hybrid power plant can be started in at least 5,000 villages of Punjab leading to great economic boom,” he added.