CEE Oct-Dec 2012

7 j • A one MW grid-connected solar power plant at village Chandrasan, District Mehsana on the Narmada Canal is an engineering innovation as it serves the triple purpose of generation of clean energy, annually reducing 90,000 litres water evaporation from the canal as well as avoiding use of precious land for the solar power plant 2884.85 MW Wind Power Projects commissioned on the coast of Saurashtra and Kachchh. First State in the country to announce Solar Power Policy with targets and implementation mechanism. The State today leads in the implementation solar power projects. 5 MW Solar PV Roof Top Scheme announced in the cities of Rajkot, Surat, Bhavnagar, Mehsana and Vadodara. 31.2 MW capacity biomass projects commissioned in Amerli, Junagadh, Bhavnagar and Vadodara 13.229 MW waste-to-energy power generation projects Institutional biogas plants of 8380 cubic metre per day capacity in various institutions across the State LED Village, Amarpura, Gandhinagar • First state to implement energy efficiency in agricultural pumping sector 60 MW load reduction through 11,000 energy efficient pumping sets • Bal Urja Rakshak Dal: Since 2004, the GEDA has been annually mobilizing a force of 50,000 secondary school students as Urja Rakshaks and 3600 school teachers as Urja Agevan, to make wise energy choices through energy conservation. *The author (Daksha Vaja) is a Manager, Mass Communication, Gujarat Energy Development Agency (GEDA). Courtesy: Renewable Akshay Urja, June 2012, Pp32-35. FORTUM FORAYS INTO INDIAN CHP SECTOR Finland-based energy company Fortum has announced its foray into the Indian combined heat and power (CHP) sector. The company is currently in talks with various stakeholders to set up projects for producing electricity and steam for industrial clusters. Fortum plans to use biomass, agricultural waste and other fuels for the CHP projects. It may initially invest Euro 200 million– Euro250 million in the Indian CHP sector. It is also exploring the viability of entering the solar power sector in the country. Courtesy: Renewable Watch, Oct. 2012, P6. - .. - . 0 _Biofuel <. ~ (J . :r:~ BIOGAS FROM KITCHEN AND FOOD WASTE An experimental biodegradable waste fed biogas plant at a hostel in Tamil Nadu becomes an effective tool to serve the power supply needs of the institution. P Venkatachalam & S Kulanthaisami, P Subramanian Seeing the burgeoning fuel requirement for running an institution of its size, the Tamil Nadu Agricultural University (TNAU), decided to look within to find resou rces to generate fuel for its own energy needs. It was noticed that the institution's hostel's kitchen and dining halls were generating a great deal of food , vegetable and other biodegradable wastes. The usual practice of disposal was to throw it or use it as animal feed. However, this was not economical and was certainly not helping to solve the problem of waste disposal. Thus as an answer to this, a 10 cubic metre kitchen and dining hall waste based biogas plant was installed at the students' hostel (Figure 1 ). The plant was conveniently located near the waste discharge point of the students' mess and the daily vegetable and dining waste generated, an average of 20 - 30 kg and 60 - 70 kg , respectively, was directed into the plant for processing. The plant was constructed in brick with a 3.5 m long reinforced cement concrete (RCC) slab in the centre, placed to hold the drum. The whole plant 31