Solid Waste Management: Waste to Energy

"There’s money in those mounds of garbage — and several companies are lining up for a share" - By KANDULA SUBRAMANIAM

OBJECTIVE:

INTRODUCTION:Municipal Solid Waste (MSW) contains organic as well as inorganic matter. The latent energy present in its organic function can be converted into energy by adopting various waste processing and treatment technologies that can be use for various other purposes. Every year, about 55 million tonnes of municipal solid waste (MSW) and 38 billion liters of sewage are generated in the urban areas of India. In addition, large quantities of solid and liquid wastes are generated by industries. Waste generation in India is expected to increase rapidly in the future. As more people migrate to urban areas and as incomes increase, consumption levels are likely to rise, as are rates of waste generation. It is estimated that the amount of waste generated in India will increase at a per capita rate of approximately 1-1.33% annually. This has significant impacts on the amount of land that is and will be needed for disposal, economic costs of collecting and transporting waste, and the environmental consequences of increased MSW generation levels. Waste from different sectors as well as of different type such as urban waste, industrial waste, bio-medical waste, biomass waste can be utilized for production of energy.

The recovery of energy from wastes also offers a few additional benefits as follows:

The total quantity of waste gets reduced by nearly 60% to over 90%, depending upon the waste composition and the adopted technology;

Demand for land, which is already scarce in cities, for land filling is reduced;

The cost of transportation of waste to far-away landfill sites also gets reduced proportionately; and

Net reduction in environmental pollution.

Why Waste to Energy Conversion is important?Most wastes that are generated, find their way into land and water bodies without proper treatment, causing severe water pollution. They also emit greenhouse gases like methane and carbon dioxide, and add to air pollution. Any organic waste from urban, rural and industries is a resource due to its ability to get degraded, resulting in energy generation.

The problems caused by solid and liquid wastes can be significantly mitigated through the adoption of environment-friendly waste-to-energy technologies that will allow treatment and processing of wastes before their disposal. The environmental benefits of waste to energy, as an alternative to disposing of waste in landfills, are clear and compelling. Waste to energy generates clean, reliable energy from a renewable fuel source, thus reducing dependence on fossil fuels, the combustion of which is a major contributor to GHG emissions. These measures would reduce the quantity of wastes, generate a substantial quantity of energy from them, and greatly reduce environmental pollution. India’s growing energy deficit is making the government central and state governments become keen on alternative and renewable energy sources. Waste to energy is one of these, and it is garnering increasing attention from both the central and state governments.

In addition to energy generation, waste-to-energy can fetch significant monetary benefits. Some of the strategic and financial benefits from waste-to-energy business are:

Profitability - If the right technology is employed with optimal processes and all components of waste are used to derive value, waste to energy could be a profitable business. When government incentives are factored in, the attractiveness of the business increases further.

Government Incentives - The government of India already provides significant incentives for waste to energy projects, in the form of capital subsidies and feed in tariffs. With concerns on climate change, waste management and sanitation on the increase (a result of this increasing concern is the newly formed ministry exclusively for Drinking Water and Sanitation), the government incentives for this sector is only set to increase in future.

Related Opportunities - Success in municipal solid waste management could lead to opportunities in other waste such as sewage waste, industrial waste and hazardous waste. Depending on the technology/route used for energy recovery, eco-friendly and “green” co-products such as charcoal, compost, nutrient rich digestate (a fertilizer) or bio-oil can be obtained. These co-product opportunities will enable the enterprise to expand into these related products, demand for which are increasing all the time.

Emerging Opportunities - With distributed waste management and waste to energy becoming important priorities, opportunities exist for companies to provide support services like turnkey solutions. In addition, waste to energy opportunities exist not just in India but all over the world. Thus, there could be significant international expansion possibilities for Indian companies, especially expansion into other Asian countries.

India's waste to energy potentialAccording to the Ministry of New and Renewable Energy (MNRE), there exists a potential of about 1700 MW from urban waste (1500 from MSW and 225 MW from sewage) and about 1300 MW from industrial waste. The ministry is also actively promoting the generation of energy from waste, by providing subsidies and incentives for the projects. Indian Renewable Energy Development Agency (IREDA) estimates indicate that India has so far realized only about 2% of its waste-to-energy potential. A market analysis from Frost and Sullivan predicts that the Indian municipal solid waste to energy market could be growing at a compound annual growth rate of 9.7% by 2013.

According to MNRE estimates, there exists a potential of about 1460 MW from MSW and 226 MW from sewage.

State/Union Territory From Liquid Wastes* (MW) From Solid Wastes (MW) Total (MW)

Andhra Pradesh 16.0 107.0 123.0

Assam 2.0 6.0 8.0

Bihar 6.0 67.0 73.0

Chandigarh 1.0 5.0 6.0

Chhattisgarh 2.0 22.0 24.0

Delhi 20.0 111.0 131.0

Gujarat 14.0 98.0 112.0

Haryana 6.0 18.0 24.0

Himachal Pradesh 0.5 1.0 1.5

Jharkhand 2.0 8.0 10.0

Karnataka 26.0 125.0 151.0

Kerala 4.0 32.0 36.0

Madhya Pradesh 10.0 68.0 78.0

Maharashtra 37.0 250.0 287.0

Manipur 0.5 1.5 2.0

Meghalaya 0.5 1.5 2.0

Mizoram 0.5 1.0 1.5

Orissa 3.0 19.0 22.0

Pondicherry 0.5 2.0 2.5

Punjab 6.0 39.0 45.0

Rajasthan 9.0 53.0 62.0

Tamil Nadu 14.0 137.0 151.0

Tripura 0.5 1.0 1.5

Uttar Pradesh 22.0 154.0 176.0

Uttaranchal 1.0 4.0 5.0

West Bengal 22.0 126.0 148.0

Total 226.0 1457.0 1683.0

Current Waste-to-Energy Installed Capacity

GRID-INTERACTIVE POWER    

(CAPACITIES IN MW)  Contribution (%)

Waste to Power      

  Urban 20.20 27.4

  Industrial 53.46 72.6

  Total 73.66  

OFF-GRID/ CAPTIVE POWER     

(CAPACITIES IN MWEq*) Contribution (%)

Waste to Energy                   

  Urban  3.50 4.6

  Industrial 72.30 95.4

  Total 75.8  

*MWEq: Megawatt Equivalent; Source: MNRE, 2011

Major constraint faced by Indian Waste to Energy Sector

The growth of this sector has been affected on account of the following limitations/ constraints:

Waste-to-Energy is still a new concept in the country;

Most of the proven and commercial technologies in respect of urban wastes are required to be imported;

The costs of the projects especially based on biomethanation technology are high as critical equipment for a project is required to be imported.

In view of low level of compliance of MSW Rules 2000 by the Municipal Corporations/ Urban Local Bodies, segregated municipal solid waste is generally not available at the plant site, which may lead to non-availability of waste-to-energy plants.

Lack of financial resources with Municipal Corporations/Urban Local Bodies.

Lack of conducive policy guidelines from State Governments in respect of allotment of land, supply of garbage and power purchase / evacuation facilities.

Basic Technique of Energy RecoveryEnergy can be recovered from the organic fraction of waste by any one of the four techniques- thermal, thermo-chemical, biochemical and electrochemical methods.

Thermal Conversion: The process involves thermal degradation of waste under high temperature. In this complete oxidation of the waste occurs under high temperature. The major technological option under this category is incineration. But incineration has been losing attention these days because of its emission characteristics.

Thermo-chemical conversion: This process entails high temperature driven decomposition of organic matter to produce either heat energy or fuel oil or gas. They are useful for wastes containing high percentage of organic non-biodegradable matter and low moisture content. The main technological options under this category include Pyrolysis and Gasification. The products of these processes (producer gas, exhaust gases etc) can be used purely as heat energy or further processed chemically, to produce a range of end products.

Bio-chemical conversion: This process is based on enzymatic decomposition of organic matter by microbial action to produce methane gas, and alcohol etc. This process, on the other hand, is preferred for wastes having high percentage of organic, bio-degradable (putrescible) matter and high level of moisture/ water content, which aids microbial activity. The major technological options under this category are anaerobic digestion (bio-methanation) and fermentation. Of the two, anaerobic digestion is the most frequently used method for waste to energy, and fermentation is emerging.

Electrochemical conversion: Electrochemical conversion in the context of waste to energy refers typically to microbial fuel cells (MFC). These systems are developed to trap the energy from wastes, where the reduction-oxidation machinery of immobilized microbial cells is catalytically exploited, for the accelerated transfer of electrons from organic wastes, to generate electricity and bio-hydrogen gas. However this methodology needs extensive evaluation studies on bulk scale liquid waste treatments and stands at a nascent level in India as well as worldwide.

Business opportunities in Waste to Energy Sector

MSW to Energy Value Chain Business Opportunities

Primary collection and segregation of inerts, dry organics and others.

Collection of reusable plastics and metals etc for sale in

local market.

Waste Processing and sell RDF pellets to biomass power

plants.

Mobilizing construction debris to make tiles and bricks

Separation of wet organic wastes Production and sale compost to bio fertilizer firms.

Biogas based power generation from sludge for selling it

to the grid.

Secondary collection and storage Maintenance of transfer stations

High throughput screening of materials for recycling,

energy recovery and land fill disposals.

Recycling of wastes Recyclable commodity transactions from transfer stations

Sale of recycled plastic or metal granules

Conversion of processed wastes to industrial commodities

Transportation and logistics Transporting solid waste from the source to the landfill or to the processing centers for energy

recovery.

Revenues from automobile manufacturing and sales to corporate bodies and contract holders etc

MSW to energy recovery Production of machineries and equipments for energy recovery technologies

Decentralized technology installations.

Power generation and sale of power

Production and sale of processed organic feed stocks from MSW

Income from Certified Emission Reductions(CER’s)

Management of wastes at dumpsite Design and construction of secured landfills

Urban landscape development at abandoned landfills

Organization/financing

for service and value

chain enterprises

Debt and equity financing

Companies that Could Benefit from Waste to Energy SectorCompanies in domains such as renewable energy (solar, wind, biomass etc.), Engineering, Procurement and Construction (EPC), transportation and logistics, sanitation and environment, small and large scale power plants, facilities management etc will be ideally suited for the waste to energy business. The table below outlines the type of companies that will be benefitted in each part of the waste to energy value chain.

Segregation of dry waste, reusable, inerts etc.

Recycling companies

Rag picker

Other informal sector participants

Segregation of wet waste and processing

Farmers

Fertilizers companies, Agro-market enterprises

Other informal sector participants

Transport and Logistics EPCs

Part time workers under contract

Locomotive manufacturing companies

Private vehicle service station

Storage & secondary collection EPCs

Construction companies

Logistic services

Recycling of waste EPCs

Material Recovery Facility operators

Small and medium scale owners

Environmental engineering companies

MSW waste to energy recovery Technology providers and fabricators

IIPs and CPPs

Service Technicians

Management of wastes at landfills EPCs

Civil infrastructure developers

The Key Drivers for Sector Growth Progressively stricter norms for the sector (especially for industrial and hazardous wastes).

Public interest litigations and the rulings of the courts (Supreme Court) for domestic wastes.

Scarcer (and further) landfill space is forcing the authorities to use appropriate technologies and better management.

Grant components for SWM in Jawaharlal Nehru National Urban Renewal Mission (JNNURM) and Urban Infrastructure Development Scheme for Small and Medium Towns

PESTEL AnalysisThe macro environment is essentially comprised of the aspects of a broad societal perspective that significantly influence an industry and the firms within it. Although these areas are generally outside the control of the firm, it is important to understand these areas in order to have a better assessment of today and a more accurate prediction of tomorrow. The PESTEL analysis consists of six segments: political, economic, socio-cultural, technological, environmental and legal.

1. Political: Government Initiatives:

For initiating SWM programs government’s JNNURM program to fund cities for developing urban infrastructure and services.

During the year 2011-12 Ministry of New and Renewable Energy is implementing a programme on Energy Recovery from Municipal Solid Waste (MSW). The scheme provides financial assistance for setting up of five Pilot projects for power generation from MSW. Financial assistance at a flat rate of Rs. 2 crore per MW, subject to ceiling of 20% of project cost and Rs. 10 crore per project, whichever is less.

Fiscal Incentives:

Tax Holiday: A 10 year, 100% deduction of profits and gains is available for companies operating in waste projects.

Tax / Duties Relief:

o Direct taxes: 100% depreciation within 1st year of project installation.

o Exemption / reduction in excise duty.

o Exemption from Central Sales Tax, and customs duty concessions on the import

of material, components and equipment used in “Renewable Energy” RE projects.

o Duty-free import of renewable energy equipment.

o Exemptions from electricity taxes.

2. Economical: Currently, the SWM opportunity in India is estimated at Rs 3,000 crore, with the

potential to grow up to Rs 60,000 crore, according to AK Sahu, president of the National Solid Waste Association of India (NSWAI).

Employment

Hundreds of thousands of people in India find livelihood opportunities in the area of waste, the “rag-pickers” (the kabadiwalas in Hindi). A SWM project must hence be understood in this informal yet organized setting. In order not to bypass these individuals, they will be prioritized in the employment process and offered continuous employment in the projects. Their aim is here to particularly engage and employ women and especially women from socially and economically marginalized groups, as well as, widows, deserted women, women living with disabilities, and other disadvantaged women.

Besides women, they will target men from SCs, OBCs, STs, as well as men living with disabilities. We will, as far as possible, hire people from the concerned community. As to the composition of women and men, half of the newly formed Self Help Groups will consist of male members solely, and the other half will consist of female members solely. The core team will also be balanced as regards gender

3. Socio-cultural:Community participation in SWM is the key to a sustainable and integrated project. The aim is to get as many local actors as possible to participate and actively contribute to the project. Most importantly, we want to create a feeling of ownership for the project among the citizens, whose waste is managed and whose local environment is improved by the project.

The Public:

It is vital that the public – i.e. ordinary citizens as well as private and public institutions – whose waste is managed and whose environment is improved, is actively involved in the project. An important step to motivate and engage the public is via continuous public awareness campaigns based on an Information, Education, and Communication (IEC) strategy.

Volunteers:

Motivated individuals such as headmasters, doctors, religious leaders, and etcetera, from the concerned communities will be engaged as volunteers and help convey the message to the public as well as function as role-model citizens.

NGOs, CBOs, and Local Associations

Local nongovernmental organizations (NGOs), community based organizations (CBOs), and associations such as Resident Welfare Associations (RWAs) and Women’s Associations will be offered training in SWM.

Youth Groups and Eco-Clubs

Youth groups and eco-clubs at schools will be engaged in the project via continuous school intervention programmes.

Panchayat

After the project period is over (24 months), the project – including labour and infrastructure – will be handed over to the panchayat. In order to prepare the panchayat, a handover phase of six months will end the project. All project costs will thereon be met partly by the community fund and partly by the panchayat.

Private Corporations

Government will seek the partnership of local and foreign companies for financial contributions as well as donations of machineries for scientific recycling of inorganic wastes. Private corporations will also be able to sponsor the project and receive marketing in return.

Cultural Taboos and Social Stigma

Another problem related to waste in India, as in many societies, is that it is considered dirty and filthy, and those dealing with it are perceived as inferior, second-class citizens. Traditionally, people working with waste in India – popularly known as rag pickers – usually belong to the “untouchables” (the Dalits); e.g., the raddi-wallhas collect or buy waste and the kamatees/kamatans sweep the streets. Hence, the prevailing, informal, waste system also affects how people view waste. The waste workers live and work under extensive health risks, and suffer severe exploitation and deprivation. Possible health hazards include raised levels of infant mortality, hand and leg injuries, intestinal and respiratory infections, eye infections, lower back pain, malnutrition, skin disorders, and exposure to hazardous waste.

4. Technological:Government spending on research:-

Financial assistance is provided by way of interest subsidy for commercial projects.

Financial assistance is provided on the capital cost for demonstration projects that are innovative in terms of generation of power from municipal/ industrial wastes.

Financial assistance is provided for power generation in STPs.

Financial incentives are given to municipal corporations for supplying garbage free of cost at the project site and for providing land.

Incentives are given to the state nodal agencies for promotion, co-ordination and monitoring of such projects.

Financial assistance is given for carrying out studies on waste to energy projects, covering full costs of such studies.

Assistance is given in terms of training courses, workshops and seminars and awareness generation.

The Government of India at the central level, has funded various initiatives to address SWM by providing assistance to the tune of €372.3 million under 12th Finance Commission (€329.4 million under the 11th Finance Commission).

As per MSW Rule 2000, biodegradable material should not be deposited in the sanitary landfill. Therefore there is almost no scope of generation of biogas in the form of landfill gas from new sanitary landfills. However, there is a huge potential of trapping the landfill gas generated in the old dump-sites across the country, particularly the large ones with more than 5 meter thickness (height plus depth).

The following technologies appear to be more relevant at present in India for harnessing energy from municipal solid waste:

RDF

Anaerobic digestion

Trapping landfill gas from existing landfills(dump-sites)

5. Environmental:The Ministry of Environment and Forests (MoEF) and the pollution control boards: Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB) and State Pollution Control Boards (SPCBs) together form the regulatory and administrative core of the sector.

As SWM is part of public health and sanitation - according to the Indian Constitution - it falls under the state list. As this activity is of local nature, it is entrusted to the Urban Local Bodies (ULBs). The management of municipal solid waste is one of the most important obligatory functions of the urban local bodies.

Under the Environmental Protection Act (EPA) 1986, MoEF has issued several notifications to tackle the problem of hazardous waste management. These include:

o Municipal Wastes (Management and Handling) Rules, 2000, whose aim was to enable

municipalities to dispose municipal solid waste in a scientific manner.

o Hazardous Wastes (Management and Handling) Rules, 1989,which brought out a guide

for manufacture, storage and import of hazardous chemicals and for management of hazardous wastes.

o Biomedical Waste (Management and Handling) Rules, 1998, were formulated along

parallel lines, for proper disposal, segregation, transport etc. of infectious wastes.

o Hazardous Wastes (Management and Handling) Amendment Rules, 2000, a recent

notification issued with the view to providing guidelines for the import and export of hazardous waste in the country.

6. Legal: The Indian Penal Code of 1860 has dealt with solid waste management under Chapter

XIV of offences affecting the public health, safety, convenience, decency and morals..

When addressing Civic Amenities in Urban Areas, one of the priority action areas is to

assess the demand for SWM services and the “willingness to pay” by communities, since

many municipal bodies suffer from inadequate resources. The idea is that such

assessment will give an indication on the adequate pricing for the services as well as

clarify the scope for adopting full cost recovery policies.

The importance of fiscal concessions and subsidies is also given notice; transport vehicles

for carrying solid waste may be exempted from sales tax and other duties, and the organic

manure produced in compost plants should be granted some subsidy. Another priority

area is the identification and development of less capital-intensive intermediate SWM

technologies, and the implementation of cost effective technologies that are not

dependent on an assured power supply. Finally, as transportation adds to the cost of

handling waste, the plan encourages decentralized SWM.

The municipal solid waste shall be managed and handled in accordance with the

compliance criteria and procedure laid down in Schedule II of the Rules( MSW, 2000).

Schedule II has provided the compliance criteria for the management and handling as

follows—

Collection on municipal solid waste

The littering of MSW shall be prohibited in cities, towns etc. and organise house-to-

house collection on regular and pre-informed timing by using bell, singing, devise

collection of waste from slums, squatter areas, slaughter house, fish markets, fruits and

vegetable, industrial waste, horticultural and construction or demolition waste etc.

Bio-medical waste and industrial waste will be collected separately and will not be mixed

with municipal waste. Further, bio-degradable waste shall be made use of. Such wastes

have to be disposed of as per the procedure by the Bio-Medical (Management and

Handling) Rules, 1998.

It is the responsibility of the generator of waste to avoid littering and delivery of waste in

accordance with collection and segregation system.

Segregation of municipal solid wastes

In order to ensure community participation in segregation of waste, the municipal

authority shall organize awareness programmes through regular meetings of

representatives of local residents, welfare associations and non-governmental

organization.

Storage of municipal solid wastes

Municipal authorities are bound to establish and maintain storage facilities as they do not

create unhygienic and insanitary conditions. For this storage facilities shall be created

keeping in view the quantity of waste generation and accessibility to users. It should not

be open, aesthetically acceptable and user friendly.

Storage facilities or ‘bins’ shall be ‘easy to handle’ design for handling, transfer and

transportation. Bins for storage of bio-degradable waste shall of green color, for

recyclable waste with white, for other waste shall be painted with black.

Manual Handling of waste shall be prohibited, but if is unavoidable, it shall be carried out

under proper precaution and with due care for the safety of workers.

Transportation of municipal solid wastes

Vehicles for the use of waste shall be covered—not visible to public. It shall be prevented

their scattering. Storage facilities—bins shall be cleaned on daily basis and should not be

overflowed.

Processing of municipal solid waste (Biodegradable)

‘Suitable Technology or combination’ shall be used by municipal authority to minimize

burden or landfill. Bio-degradable wastes shall be processed by composting, vermi

composting, anaerobic digestion or any other appropriate biological processing for

stabilization of wastes. Separate procedure has also been provided by Schedule IV of the

Rules.

Porters Five Forces

Potential Entrants (Threat of Entry)

The government has already cleared two other projects to take care of the individual waste-landfill-sites i.e. Ghazipur and Narel-Bawana landfill.

1) Narela-Bawana landfill waste to energy project: Undertaken by Ramky Group-24 MW on a site of 100 acres. In first phase 1,300 metric tonnes of solid waste will be segregated. Total capacity of the project 4,000 METRIC TONNES(2700 metric tonnes in the second stage)

2) Ghazipur landfill Waste to Energy Project: IL&FS Plant with capacity of 10 MW at a site of 30 Acres.

Though Delhi is witnessing these two additional Wastes to Energy plants they would not eat away Okhla Power plants input waste as the city generates enough to keep all the plants busy. Beyond this if government plans to introduce another plant in the Delhi-NCR region it would become difficult to sustain the plant at full potential.

Buyers (Bargaining Power)

At the time of bidding process (before the industry is set up) bargaining power plays an important role. The company has to be the most cost effective in producing the output operating under the acceptable technological framework.

The Power that is produced by the plant would be provided to the neighboring power-deficient areas at the government set prices.

Suppliers (Bargaining Power)

The raw material feed is waste generated from Delhi-NCR Region. No bargaining power is associated with this. However, if any middlemen starts providing segregated waste that would have to be bought at a price depending upon the percentage of liquid in the solid waste.

Substitutes (Threat of Substitutes)

Other organic waste conversion techniques in solid waste management that are more environment friendly than Waste to Energy are threats (though they do not reduce the waste as much as in waste to energy technique).

Competitive Rivalry

As this is a Rs 3000 Crore industry with a potential growth of 40000 Crore in the future many new entrants would plan to enter this sector, but this would not affect the existing firms.

About Jindal ITF

Jindal ITF is a subsidiary of Jindal SAW Ltd., a part of the US$ 15 billion O.P. Jindal Group (4th largest business house in India) with established leadership positions in steel, mining, power, energy, infrastructure, water, wastewater, solid waste management and waste to energy. Venturing into new areas of business in various sectors, Jindal ITF is making rapid progress in sectors as diverse as Water, wastewater and Solid Waste Management, Domestic Transport & Logistic and Transportation Equipment Fabrication.

Jindal ITF is the driving impetus behind development of sustainable infrastructure that matches global standards. The business interests of Jindal ITF span across a gamut of infrastructure, transport and fabrication solutions addressing the varied needs of the industry. Having been involved in laying a strong foundation for a secure and sustainable future, Jindal ITF continues to add economic and social value to the Indian as well as the global economy.

JITF Ecopolis

JITF Ecopolis was set up with the key objective of addressing the urban waste management problem. It is India's first commercial Waste-to-Energy plant in New Delhi and is the largest-of-its-kind operational in Asia.

In a short span of two years of operations, JITF Ecopolis has been recognized for its efforts and won accolades. It is the proud recipient of the 'Frost & Sullivan Indian Environment Industry Excellence Award 2010'.

About Timarpur-Okhla Project

Timarpur Okhla Municipal Solid Waste Management project is the first commercial waste-to-energy facility in India that aims to convert one-third of the Delhi garbage into the much-needed electricity, enough to serving 6 lakh homes.

The project is CDM is registered with United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) for earning carbon credits.

The project is the first and largest integrated waste management project ever being set up in the country, aiming for a sustainable solution (Zero Waste Concept) taking MSW through an environmentally friendly process to generate clean and renewable energy from MSW.

JITF Urban Infrastructure Ltd has won the Frost & Sullivan Excellence Awards for the “Waste to Energy Deal of the Year" for 2010 in the Municipal Waste to Energy Segment.

Landmark Dates and Events that led to the Establishment of JITF Ecopolis

2005 Govt of Delhi and ILFS conceived the idea of developing waste to energy (WtE) project in Delhi on PPP model (in accordance with Municipal Solid waste (MSW) Rules 2000)

Project developed by ILFS for Govt. of Delhi to prevent dumping of Municipal Solid waste ( MSW) at Bhati Mines and aiming for least waste concept.

Existing project Site at Okhla was an “Open Dump”

Special Purpose Vehicle  “Timarpur Okhla Waste Management Co Pvt Ltd” formed to develop an Integrated MSW Processing Complex

Public Hearing by SPCB: 20th January 2007

Agreement with MCD 29th January 2007

Environmental Clearance (EC) granted by Ministry of Environment and Forest to Special Purpose Vehicle  (SPV) created for Timarpur Okhla Waste Management project: 21 March 2007 (as per EIA Notification –2006) 

Agreement with Delhi Jal Board 22nd June 2007

Consent to Establish granted by SPCB: 3 July 2007

Tender advertisement 20th August 2007

Issuance of Request for Proposals 18th Sep’2007

Agreement With NDMC 24th Jan’2008

Bid Submission Date 24th Jan’2008

Bid Opening / Letter of Intent 29th Jan’2008

JITF Urban Infrastructure Ltd  (Formally Jindal Urban Infrastructure) won the bid to develop the project on a Built Own Operate and Transfer (BOOT) basis, in a Public private partnership with the Delhi Government as legal Entity: Timarpur Okhla Waste Management Co Pvt Ltd

Share Holder Agreement Signing 22nd Feb’2008

HT Line Removal Deposit to local discom BSES Oct’2008

Site Clearance – removal of existing MSW & Superstructure Feb’2009

PPA signing with BSES 20th Jan’2010

Start of Construction and Foundation Stone Laying Ceremony 27th Jun’2010

Consent to operate received on 21st December 2011

Authorization under MSW Rules 2000 21st Dec’20

First assignment of  Municipal Solid waste received on 23rd Dec 2011

Commissioning process started 23rd Dec 2011

Mission Statement

JITF Urban Infrastructure Ltd mission is to be the countries’ leading Waste to Energy Company, with a complementary network of renewable energy generation and waste collection, transfer and disposal assets. The company expects to build value for its stakeholders and client communities by satisfying waste disposal and energy generation needs with safe, reliable and environmentally superior solutions’.

In order to accomplish this mission and create value, JITF Urban Infrastructure Ltd is committed to:

To employ people with the highest ethical standards To be environmentally and socially responsible

To be an employer of choice

To be a provider of choice

To maintain highest standards of operational and technical expertise

PROJECT HIGHLIGHTS

a. The largest integrated waste to power project in India.b. The 1st of its kind with a 16 MW power project.c. State-of- the-art technology and environment friendly.d. Real, measurable and long term benefits in terms of climate change and mitigation.e. Generate renewable power and reduce the need for landfills.f. Lowers the risk of groundwater contamination.g. Reduces dependence on fossil fuels, a major contributor to greenhouse gas emissions.h. Maximizes the recycling and re-use of resources (water, metals, ashes)

PROCESS

Licensed collection vehicles deliver incinerable solid waste to the plants. To prevent odors from escaping into the environment, the air in the refuse bunker is kept below atmospheric pressure.

High-capacity rotary crushers reduce the size of bulky solid waste to improve its burning efficiency. The solid waste is then fed into the incinerator by a grab crane. As the incinerator is heated to temperatures of between 800 and 1,000 degrees Celsius, a lining of silicon carbide tiles protects the incinerator walls from the extreme heat and corrosion. Each load of solid waste is reduced to about 10% of its original volume in about five hours.

SWOT Analysis

Strengths First Mover Advantage: No other such plant in India as of now. Environment Friendly and Sustainable Model : Prevents formation of leachate that contaminates

groundwater, reduce emissions of toxic pollutants from the burning of garbage, and prevent the production of two potent greenhouse gases, carbon dioxide and methane.

Reduces the need for Landfill Maximizes the recycling and re-use of resources (water, metals, ashes) Comprehensive Air Pollution Control equipment (“filters”)

The project is registered with United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) for earning “carbon credits”.

Weaknesses

Non Segregated Waste: Indian Waste is not segregated into wet and dry waste, due to which the plant has to generate greater heat to produce energy

"Regularisation of illegality is a peculiar Indian characteristic. First you make the law and then break the law," Jairam Ramesh

Emission levels: A special committee of the Central Pollution Control Board is at present evaluating the technology deployed in the plant.

Smoke: Smoke from the plant is entering houses, educational institutions and hospitals in the area. It is also affecting the bird sanctuary nearby.

Technology being used : plant's dependence on incineration technology would lead to emission of dioxins which was detrimental to both public health and the environment

Heavy initial Investment : Waste-to-energy projects require an investment of Rs 10.5 Crore to produce one MW of power, as against Rs 4 Crore for thermal units and between Rs 4.5 Crore and Rs 5 Crore for biomass-based projects.

Opportunities

Processing 1/3 of Delhi’s daily waste.

Waste is never going to stop being generated.

Providing Electricity to the Delhi-NCR Region.

Threats

Residents of the area and environmental activists are against the operation of this plant and have intensified their protests which were on ever since the time the project was being developed. Right from the project inception stage, opponents of the facility had been claiming that the plant's dependence on incineration technology would lead to emission of dioxins which was detrimental to both public health and the environment

Petitions against the Plant: Residents of one of the affected areas have filed a PIL against the plant in the Delhi High Court.

Scenarios & Recommendations

ScenariosAs per MSW Rule 2000, biodegradable material should not be deposited in the sanitary landfill

Therefore there is almost no scope of generation of biogas in the form of landfill gas from new sanitary landfills.

However, there is a huge potential of trapping the landfill gas generated in the old dump-sites across the country, particularly the large ones with more than 5 meter thickness (height plus depth).

Issues of WTE technologies

Competing technologies, particularly composting.

The bids from the ULBs (Urban Local Bodies) for processing of municipal solid waste through BOT route are often open regarding choice of technology but the bids are highly competitive from the financial angle.

Therefore the bidder looks for a technology which not only satisfies the applicable laws of the land but also gives them the competitive edge in the financial bid.

The emphasis is on ‘royalty’ rather than ‘tipping fee’.

The technology with lower capital outlay and higher overall revenue accrual is preferred under the circumstances.

The waste scenario in a given situation is an important determinant For example, waste characteristics, quantity generated, site characteristics (particularly, proximity of habitation), availability of land etc.

Local preferences – whether energy or power has felt need or demand.

Financial and fiscal support available, e.g., subsidy (capital / interest), tax and duty exemptions, CDM etc.

While selecting a technology, a bidder would keep these under consideration.

Need of the sector:

Deep deliberation is required keeping in view the need of the ULB and the BOT operator.

The need of different site situations have to be thoroughly analyzed and solutions have to be accordingly designed. WTE and in-vessel composting would then be the competing technologies.

Integrated facilities are gradually coming into consideration. For example a combination of aerobic windrow composting and RDF may provide a better solution depending upon the

quantum of waste available so that the load on the landfill also reduces. Such attempts have been done at Rajkot and is on the anvil in Delhi

Recommendation

We would like to suggest AVG to further research into the political stability of the state they plan to enter in future. Also, since the financials of none of the functional plants is present in India it would be logical to wait for the year-end financial performance of the Okhla Plant.

They would have to look for strategic partners if the project runs costing runs more than government specified limit of $4.6 billion as investment in the power Sector.

References:

1. http://business.outlookindia.com/article.aspx?281601

2. Position paper on the solid waste management sector in India, Department of Economic Affairs, Ministry of Finance, Government of India, November 2009.

3. http://www.nlsenlaw.org/waste-management/articles/solid-waste-management2014an-indian- legal-profile/