SAMARTH:
Union Power Secretary chaired the second meeting of Steering Committee for SAMARTH (SUSTAINABLE AGRARIAN MISSION ON USE OF AGRO RESIDUE IN THERMAL POWER PLANTS)i.e. National Mission on Use of Biomass in coal based thermal Power Plants
- He reviewed the status of bio-mass co-firing and progress of the actions being taken to promote the co-firing in the thermal power plants in the meeting.
- In order to reduce stubble burning and to reduce carbon footprint of Thermal Power Plants while increasing the income of farmers, Government of India has taken various proactive step with the establishment of National Mission on Use of Biomass in Thermal Power Plants.
- The agro-residue/ biomass earlier considered as a waste product has now begun to produce zero-carbon electricity for the citizens of the country.
- In turn farmers are getting additional income by selling the stubble/ biomass for conversion into torrefied/ non-torrefied biomass pellets.
- For overall monitoring of the Mission and to facilitate the Mission on inter-ministerial issues/constraints, a Steering Committee under the chairmanship of Secretary, Ministry of Power (MoP) has been constituted.
- Ministry of Power’s policy on “Biomass Utilization for Power Generation through Co-firing in Coal based Power Plants” issued in October 2021 mandates all thermal power plants in the country to use 5 to 10% biomass along with coal for power production.
