Waste-based power plant to come up at Tirupati

- State govt allots 16.22 acre at Tatikona village near the temple town
- The 6 mw power plant, being set up by Jindal Urban Waste Management (Tirupati) Limited, is expected to be completed in 18 months
- Solid waste from six urban local bodies, 5 in Chittoor and one in Nellore district, will feed the plant

Tirupati: The proposed waste-fuelled power plant by Jindal Company gathered momentum with the allotment of land for the project at Thatikona, 30 km from here.

Land measuring 16.22 acres has been allotted by the government to Jindal Urban Waste Management (Tirupati) Limited (JUWM) in the village where the site office is expected to be opened by the December-end for preparing the ground for the innovative project taken up by the Municipal Corporation of Tirupati (MCT) through ZUWM for effective solid waste management.

The Tirupati Municipal Corporation recently entered into an agreement with JUWM for setting up the waste-based power generation plant with an installed capacity of 6 megawatt with the waste collected from six urban local bodies (ULBs) of Tirupati, Chittoor, Nagari, Puttur, Srikalahasthi in the district and Venkatagiri in Nellore district with MCT as executioner.

Speaking to The Hans India, JUWM Andhra Pradesh president M V Chary said three solid waste-based power plants were being set up in the State, including Guntur, Vizag, each 15 mw installed capacity and Tirupati 6 mw capacity.

With regard to the plant work in progress, Chari said Airport Authority of India clearance had already been obtained for setting up the high chimney required for the plant and the environment clearance (EC) from the State-Level Environment Assessment Authority (SLEAA) after which the plant construction would start soon. The Tirupati plant is expected to be ready in 18 months.

“The machinery, turbines, boilers and other heavy equipment, required for power generation has to be imported from China and the firm requires a minimum six-eight months for shipping the machinery after placing the order as it has to be specially manufacture for generating power with waste as fuel, he explained.

JUWM will sell selling the power generated from Guntur and Tirupati plant to APSPDCL (Southern Power Distribution Company Limited) and the power produced in Vizag to EPDCL, he M V Chary said.

A senior MCT official said that the government opted the waste-based power generation plant as it is the only available way to end open dumps (of waste) and ensure scientific way of disposing of the ever increasing solid waste in the urban areas.

ULBs were facing many difficulties to have suitable dumps with stiff opposition from the people in the surrounding areas, for disposing of the solid waste and the waste-based power generation would help them manage it, though the cost involved for the power generation is more compared to other ways of power generation like thermal or hydro power.

G Sridhar