Rice and Bamboo Power for Assam, India
by Warren McLaren, Sydney on 06.10.06
In some circles it’s known as ‘industrial ecology’, where the ‘waste’ process of one industrial action is successfully employed by another. In Assam, India they are planning to build a 16 megawatt power plant that will be fuelled by rice husks from food production (pics), and bamboo dust waste from paper fibre mills. India is said to the world’s second largest producer of bamboo, after China, and these power plants are expected to be amongst of the first to utilise bamboo for fuel. The bamboo power stations are expected to be operational by year end. The gasification of rice hulls to produce power is noted as being in use in several countries, such as the US, China, Italy, Thailand, and elsewhere within India. Aside from generating electricity, the rice husks can also power irrigation water pumping. But using such technologies the state of Assam hopes to be self sufficient for energy within 10 years. Currently much of their electricity is imported from surrounding states with hydro schemes but such reservoirs are now prone drying up. Via ::M&C, ::The Statesman and ::Web India
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I have covered this topic in
my blog on June 6. What is interesting is that in places like Assam is that
traditional electric companies are not that much enthusiastic to invest here
because they do not consider it to be lucrative enough. So, Alternative energy
may the best and only solution in places like Assam.