power plants: Around 80,525 MT biomass co-fired by 35 thermal power plants: Govt

Nearly 80,525 metric tonne (MT) of biomass has been co-fired in 35 thermal power plants in the country, according to an official statement. The power ministry’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 per cent biomass along with coal for power production.

“About 80,525 MT of biomass has been co-fired in 35 thermal power plants in the country with a cumulative capacity of 55,335 MW till 24th July 2022,” the ministry said on Tuesday.

While 14 out of these plants belong to

, there are 21 power plants from the state and private sectors. All of these have resulted in a reduction of CO2 footprint in thermal power generation by 1 lakh million tonne. Till the end of FY 2020-21, only 7 power plants in the country had co-fired biomass pellets.

As per a survey report, the ministry said the current availability of biomass in India is estimated at about 750 million metric tonne per year.