The AllGreen Energy Pte Ltd subsidiary says the first three will be in Karnataka, Tamil Nadu and Madhya Pradesh.
“Each biomass power plant will produce 6.5 MW and the total output of all the plants in the first 2-3 years will be 65 MW. The power plants are to be set up in close proximity to the biomass resource as well as to the state grid through which the electricity generated will be sold,” Chairman and CEO Kamlesh Tejwani says.
AllGreen Energy will be investing about Rs. 500 Cr to build the 10 facilities. The levelised cost of electricity generated by these facilities will be about Rs. 3.50/kWh, but AllGreen expects to sell its electricity as a Merchant Power Plant utilising the ‘open access’ provision of Indian Electricity Act and realise revenues upwards of Rs. 4.50/kWh.
GE Energy and ITC Ltd strategic partners
During the signing up of the memorandum of understanding (MOU) between AllGreen and GE Energy, Kishore Jayaraman, CEO at GE Energy for India, Bangladesh and Sri Lanka region, said “GE sees India as an exciting growth opportunity in the renewable energy segment. With India’s increasing demand for power, exploring alternative energy resources such as biomass is critical to meeting this demand.”
For biomass procurement, AllGreen Energy has entered into an MOU with ITC’s Agri Business Division. The MoU with ITC’s Agri Business Division envisages the development of power plants by AllGreen Energy in areas where ITC has a strong foothold in supply chain activities. ITC Agri Businiess Division operates in the Indian agricultural sector through partnerships with local farmers.
BIGCC
AllGreen Energy is adopting the biomass integrated gasification combined cycle (BIGCC) technology. The BIGCC technology will include biomass gasification technology from the Indian Institute of Science, integrated with gas engines from GE Jenbacher customised for wood gas application.
BIGCC converts solid biomass by controlled pyrolysis into a combustible gas, which forms the fuel for a gas engine to generate electricity in the open cycle.
According to the Indian Power Ministry, electricity generated from renewable sources in India currently stands at about 13,200 MW out of a total electricity generation of 147,400 MW. Of this, the electricity generation using biomass resources stands at 650 MW against a potential of 16,000 MW.