UJVNL to generate power from sugarcane waste in U'khand

Dehradun: Uttarakhand Jal Vidyut Nigam Limited (UJVNL) is planning to set up two first of its kind power general plants in Bazpur and Nadahi of combined capacity of 32 MW at two state-owned sugar mills where electricity will be generated from the cane waste for the consumption by the mills located in the Udham Singh Nagar district.

UJVNL's managing director Sandeep Singhal told the Millennium Post that the two power generation plants would be unique in Uttarakhand.

"The sugar mills generate a huge quantity of the waste called cane residual, called Khoi in Hindi, which is used for generation of power at the site of the sugar mills. The feasibility study of the project has been done already and we have found out that the project has potential of generating over 32 MW power."

The UJVNL has floated a tender for the two projects worth over Rs 100 crore. Secretary, Sugar Industries and Cane Development, Uttarakhand, Chandresh Kumar Yadav, said, "Our main motive was to adopt the waste to energy model which is already in practice in private and government sugar mills in Maharashtra."

According to the tentative plans, a private company with expertise in similar power plants would build the system at the two mills and the Uttarakhand Power Corporation Limited (UPCL) would purchase the surplus power generated from the two plants. The surplus power generated at the plants would be sold to the UPCL at a mutually agreed price for which a separate power purchase agreement would be signed by the firm and the UPCL.

The project at the launching stage is under the UJVNL which would work on the operational and financial details of the project. It must be recalled that the UJVNL has expertise over hydro power. It is for the first time that the UJVNL has forayed into the sugarcane waste to power generation in Uttarakhand.