Project full name

Biomass based cogeneration project at Bhagwati Vintrade, Ramgarh, Jharkhand, India

CDM Project number

7444

Description

In the rice mill, electrical and thermal energy is generated using rice husk, a biomass residue which is a renewable source of energy. The project activity will therefore contribute to a reduction of GHG emissions, as the electricity produced by combustion of rice husk is reducing the demand of electricity from the grid, which to a large extent is fed by fossil fuels. The plant is expected to generate about 95.040 tonnes of steam and 9.504 GWh electricity per annum.

Report summary

Key promises made by project proponents:

• better handling of biomass, thus improvement of the locality by way of proper disposal of surplus biomass

Situation on the ground:
The project activity is implemented in an area with limited water resources. The project activity itself is very water intensive, requiring on an average 500 litre of water per ton of paddy. The project site meets its water needs using ground water. This causes a decrease of the ground water level and influences the availability of water resources for the local population. Waste water is drained at the back side of the plant without proper treatment of the effluent water. Rice husk ash produced as a by-product of the project activity has the potential to negatively impact the health of the local population if handled improperly. Unattended heaps can be blown away by wind, impacting health of the community through increase of fly ash in the region.

Biomass

Project participants

• India:
• Bhagwati Vintrade Private Ltd.

Registration date

28 December 2012

Carbon credits issued to date

none

Exact location

Bongabar,  Sandi, P.O. Bharechnagar 
Ramgarh district
Jharkhand
India

Relevant links at UNFCCC website

PDD
host country letter of approval
validation report

Sustainable development benefits

social well-being

sustainable development benefits according to claims made by project developers: 

• project activity would help to alleviate poverty in the area
• creates employment opportunities for local people during construction, operation and maintenance phases and also through transportation of biomass material to the project plant

sustainable development benefits according to reports:

Jobs

• the company claims that 25% of labours required for construction phase come from the village Bongabar, but only 5-6% are actually on payroll
• that adds up to a number of only 5 people employed, who get money on daily wages
• mostly labours called form outside the region and different states like Bihar and West Bengal
• villagers offer inconsistent services to the company, which is one of the main concerns of the company

• income generation:
• company buys paddy from local villagers, company claims that they buy paddy at higher than minimum support price of Rs. 1250/quintal of paddy
• farmers report that the company only pays Rs. 900-1000/quintal of paddy
• company is not economically benefitting the farmers

Health and safety

• reducing health damaging pollution:
• potential danger thorugh rice husk ash (RHA) if handled improper
• unattended heaps can be blown away by wind impacting health of the community through increase of fly ash in the region

economic well-being

sustainable development benefits according to claims made by project developers:

• project activity will help to bridge the gap of electricity demand and supply at local as well as national level
• employment generation for the local population which results in economic well-being
• project activity will help in conservation of fast depleting natural resources like fossil fuels and will thereby contribute to economic well-being of country as  a whole

environmental well-being

sustainable development benefits according to claims made by project developers:

• as renewable biomass to be GHG neutral fuel, combustion of biomass is considered to be GHG neutral fuel, combustion of biomass in this project activity does not result in net increase of GHG emissions
•  project activity also reduces emission of SOx and NOx, etc. associated with the combustion of fossil fuels
• better handling of biomass, thus improvement of the locality by way of proper disposal of surplus biomass

sustainable development benefits according to reports:

Air

• SOx, NOx:
• flue gas control through sensor to analyze characteristics before releasing into atmosphere
• company workers admitted that sensor is not working for some time now and flue gas gets released into the atmosphere without analyzing it first
• according to company, no monitoring activity of exhausted gas and wastewater undertaken
• only monitoring by Pollution Control Board team visiting the plant
• however, sensor is installed that is not working for some time and records submitted were not made available by company

Water

• accessibility of water:
• 500 liter of water/ton of paddy needed on an average
•  water requirements met from ground water resources
• villagers report shortage of groundwater in the last 2 years and drying up of the well every year

• water management:
• waste water drained at backside of the plant, which impacts the agricultural activity  and turns the groundwater salty
• 2 households at backside of the company and impacted the most, need daily supply of drinking water
• improper handling of wastewater also leads to increased mosquito breeding in region
• wastewater has peculiar smell against company claim of using effluent treatment plan and reuse water for other purposes

Natural resources

• protecting natural ressources:
• project activity indirectly reduced the pressure on natural resources like coal, which would have been used to meet the energy needs of the plant
• rice husk burnt for energy generation can be used as organic fertilizer

Land

• tillage:
• burnt crops through misppropriate use by farmers, company compensated farmers for their loss
• company provides this fertilizer for free to the farmers, during off season when there is no paddy cultivation they use appropriate channels
• excess burnt rice husk not disposed through proper channels, but randomly dumped on farmland, the nearby forest area and along the roadside, which impacts the agricultural activity of the farmers
• no proper disposal of excess rice husk

technological well-being

sustainable development benefits according to claims made by project developers:

•  technology facilitating use of biomass material for cogeneration is environmentally safe
•  success of project will help diffusion of knowledge about renewable energy technology to other power producers and will promote generation of green power in the region
• dissemination project will improve technological scenario and thus contribute to technological growth related to the use of biomass for cogeneration in state of Jharkhand

Sources and Materials

Sources

• Laya field visit report

Organisations working on project

• Laya

Last update

26.11.2014