Biomass gasifier based power projects under clean development mechanism in India: A preliminary assessment

Purohit, P. ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-7265-6960 (2009). Biomass gasifier based power projects under clean development mechanism in India: A preliminary assessment. In: Biomass Gasification: Chemistry, Processes and Applications. Eds. Badeau, J.-P. & Levi, A., pp.403-433: Nova Science Publishers. ISBN 978-1-60741-461-2

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Abstract

Bio-energy accounts for about 14% of the global primary energy supply. Biomass is mostly being used in an inefficient manner in the rural areas of developing countries that leads to a host of adverse implications on human health, environment, and social well being. Therefore, the utilization of biomass in a clean and efficient manner to deliver modern energy services to the world's poor remains an imperative for the development community. One possible approach to do this is through the use of biomass gasifiers. Considerable efforts have been directed towards developing and deploying biomass gasifiers in many countries however, scaling up their dissemination remains an elusive goal. So far, the cumulative capacity of biomass gasification projects in India is far below their theoretical potential despite government subsidy programmes. One of the major barriers is the high costs of investments in these systems. The Clean Development Mechanism (CDM) of the Kyoto Protocol (KP) provides Annex-I (industrialized) countries with an incentive to invest in emission reduction projects in non-Annex-I (developing) countries to achieve a reduction in CO2 emissions at lowest cost that also promotes sustainable development in the host country. Biomass gasification projects could be of interest under the CDM because they directly displace greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions while contributing to sustainable rural development. However, there are only two biomass gasifier project registered under the CDM so far. In this chapter, an attempt has been made to assess the CO2 mitigation potential of biomass gasifier based projects under CDM in India. The results indicate that in India around 74 million tonne agricultural residues as a biomass feedstock can be used for energy applications on an annual basis. In terms of the plant capacity the potential of biomass gasification projects could reach 31 GW that can generate more than 67 TWh electricity annually. The annual CER potential of biomass gasification projects in India could theoretically reach 58 million tonnes. Under more realistic assumptions about diffusion of biomass gasification projects based on past experiences with the government-run programmes, annual CER volumes by 2012 could reach 0.4 to 1.0 million and 1.0 to 3.0 million by 2020. The projections based on the past diffusion trend indicate that in India, even with highly favorable assumptions, the dissemination of biomass gasification projects is not likely to reach its maximum estimated potential in another 50 years. CDM could help to achieve the maximum utilization potential more rapidly as compared to the current diffusion trend if supportive policies are introduced.

Item Type: Book Section
Uncontrolled Keywords: Agricultural residues; Biomass gasification; Clean development mechanism; India
Research Programs: Atmospheric Pollution (APD)
Bibliographic Reference: In: J.-P. Badeau and A. Levi (Eds); Biomass Gasification: Chemistry, Processes and Applications; Nova Science Publishers, pp.403-433
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Depositing User: IIASA Import
Date Deposited: 15 Jan 2016 08:42
Last Modified: 27 Aug 2021 17:20
URI: https://pure.iiasa.ac.at/8904

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