Urban waste to generate power for Jaipur roads

The Rajasthan government is working out a plan to use solid waste for generating electricity. Sources said the government had drawn up a proposal to develop integrated solid waste-processing sites in four cities "" Kota, Bikaner, Ajmer and Udaipur.

"The project will be developed in public-private partnership format in the private sector and under it municipal solid waste will be converted into a useful commercial product to be used as energy pellets in power plants," a source added.

The viability of a power plant, based on such fuel, will also be ascertained. The project envisaged developing and implementing solid waste-processing plants to utilise municipal solid waste to produce refused derived fuel (RDF) in Rajasthan, sources added.

The process of converting garbage into fuel will involve size reduction, solar drying and mechanical drying, separating combustible, final drying and grinding, and finally pelletisation. The pellets could be burned in any closed environment, such as a boiler, to produce power.

The municipalities in these four cities will be asked provide approval for land, water and power connections at the sites. It may be mentioned here that sewage and solid waste will be used for street lighting in Jaipur.

The Jaipur Municipal Corporation has decided to generate 8,000 units of electricity using solid waste and sewage water for street lights in the city. The initiative will be funded under the Jawaharlal Nehru National Urban Renewal Mission. Sources say a special sewage treatment plant will be set up in Pratap Nagar of the city under the name Jaipur Sewage Treatment Project, Phase II.

The JMC will generate power through sewage water by moving the shaft of the plant. Besides generating electricity, the plant will also purify the sewage water for non-kitchen purposes.

"The sewage and solid waste, which has been a headache for the civil bodies, will now be used to generate electricity. Part of the power generated from the plant will be used for street lights," a senior JMC official said.

The project will generate 8,000 units per day and the plant will have 60-80 per cent efficiency level.