OPGC to go for green cause
The Orissa Power Generation Corporation Limited (OPGC) is going the green way. It has decided to lay hands on non-conventional energy sector. OPGC Managing Director Vivekananda Biswal has started parleys with the Chief Executive of the Orissa Renewable Energy Development Agency (ORDEA) in this regard. The OREDA is the Government arm for development of non-conventional energy in the State. According to sources, the OPGC has decided to invest in setting up of solar photovoltaic and solar thermal power projects. Further, the PSU has shown interest in setting up biomass and wind energy projects. An earlier proposal for waste-to-energy project (WEP) is getting updated because the earlier technology is now outdated. It has been decided to go for a detailed project report (DPR) for the WEP, said sources. Mass Burning Technology (MBT) will be adopted by the OPGC taking into account of the solid waste being collected. Tests conducted recently showed that the Municipal Solid Waste (MSW) has a low calorific value (1,200 Kcal/kg), which may require additional fuel to provide enough heat value for the generation of electricity. A team of OPGC officials has also visited various MSW handling projects in Coimbatore, Bangalore and Rajkot to study the intricacies involved in the technology adopted by them. The OPGC is also in touch with a Chinese manufacturer of boilers used for mass burning of MSW. China is the leading user of the MBT in the world and its plants are functioning efficiently to generate waste to energy, said a consultant.
