The trial run of East Delhi Municipal Corporation’s waste-to-energy plant at Ghazipur is set to begin by March 31, after four failed attempts. If successful, the project will be able to generate 12 MW electricity from the waste at this landfill site.
Established by Il&FS Environment on a PPP framework, this waste-to-energy plant is being installed to process 1,300 TPD and generate 12 MW of green power and has the capability to process 2,000 TPD of East Delhi’s growing waste.
Around 50 per cent electricity of the total production will be given to the Government, while the rest will be sold to private bodies. Revenue earned from the project will be used for development of the site.
Once operational, it will be India’s first waste-to-energy plant compliant with Europe’s norms for emissions along with the highest standards of pollution control measures. “It is environmental friendly and has the ability to mitigate 8.2 million tonnes of greenhouse gases (GHG), thus combating global warming with zero discharge,” said EDMC Mayor Meenakshi.
“The plant is equipped with a state-of-the-art boiler to ensure proper combustion. The RDF (Refuse-Derived Fuel) produced at the plant has been tested to have a calorific value of over 3,000 kcal/kg. The RDF section of the plant is already commissioned and is receiving waste. It is converting waste to refuse derived fuel into energy,” she added.
Moreover, as a part of mainstreaming, social and environmental concerns of the project, Infrastructure leasing & Financial Services (Il&FS) conducted a socio-economic survey of the area to redevelop the whole area to improve their standard of living. The project GUlMEHER — a social initiative by Il&FS — has skilled and created alternative livelihood for ragpicking families, in addition to providing them jobs in the plant. This initiative is also helping with functional literacy and financial inclusion for these rag picker families. A small-scale sanitary napkin unit is also run here by local women after being trained in GUlMEHER.