Pollution: Thermal plants in Pb, Haryana to meet 5pc of fuel demand from paddy stubble

The Centre and the state governments have agreed to make it mandatory for thermal power plants to meet 5 per cent of their fuel requirement from paddy stubble pellets in Punjab and Haryana to check pollution caused by burning of farm waste, sources said.

The decision was taken in a high-level meeting chaired by Power Minister R K Singh and attended by chief secretaries of Punjab, Haryana and Uttar Pradesh. The top brass of Central Electricity Authority and state-run power giant NTPC were also present in the meeting.

Stubble burning in Punjab and Haryana has been a major source of pollution in north India mainly in October-November when farmers clear their fields for sowing of rabi crops, according to System of Air Quality Forecasting and Research.

 

"The respective states of Punjab and Haryana would issue an order to make it mandatory to meet 5 per cent of fuel requirement from paddy stubble pellets by thermal power plants. Some of the plants in Uttar Pradesh would also use the paddy waste as fuel. This was decided in a meeting chaired by Power Minister R K Singh here," a source said.

The source further said that NTPC would do the hand holding for floating tenders to procure paddy pellets in the states and the auction would start immediately without further wasting time.

The harvest season of paddy is almost over in Punjab and Haryana. Farmers are in the process of sowing rabi crops which would be harvested in April.

The source also said that the proportion of pellets used as fuel would also be factored in the Renewable Purchase Obligation (RPO) of these power plants.

The RPO is mandated by state/centre regulatory commissions is applicable to power distribution companies, open access. They are under obligation to buy RECs (Renewable Energy Certificates) from renewable energy producers to meet this norm.

The source said that proportion of power producers using paddy pellets can be used meet their RPO which would encourage use of waste.

The Centre has already conducted the pilot projects at NTPC's Dadri plant where up to 7 per cent of fuel requirement was met by paddy pellets. It is also established that the thermal power plants can meet upto 10 per cent of their fuel requirement using this waste. Across the globe, as many as 98 power plants use farm waste as fuel to achieve zero discharge and waste system.