Turning crop waste into rural gold

In recent years, India has taken important steps to address the interconnected challenges of rural distress, air pollution, and the need for cleaner energy.

- JAYANT SINHA

One such policy is the co-firing of biomass pellets in coal-fired thermal power plants—a measure that is already showing promise and could be scaled further with careful implementation and support.

Under the Ministry of Power's SAMARTH Mission (Sustainable Agrarian Mission on Use of Agri Residue in Thermal Power Plants), all coal-based thermal plants are currently required to replace 5 per cent of their coal with biomass pellets, a proportion that will rise to 7 per cent this year.

While these targets may appear modest, they carry significant economic and environmental potential if adopted more broadly and systematically.

According to government estimates, India generates over 500 million tonnes of agricultural residues annually.

A portion of this is used productively—for fodder, fuelwood, and compost—but approximately 140 million tonnes remain surplus.

Much of this is either burned in the fields or discarded, contributing to air pollution and greenhouse gas emissions.

Stubble burning in states like Punjab and Haryana accounts for up to 40 per cent of winter air pollution episodes, particularly in the Indo-Gangetic Plain.

Converting this biomass into pellets provides a viable alternative.

These pellets can be manufactured from a variety of residues (such as rice straw, cotton stalk, mustard husk, or sugarcane bagasse) and used as partial fuel in thermal power stations.

Early pilots suggest that biomass co-firing can reduce CO2 emissions by 15 to 20 per cent for every unit of electricity generated, depending on the blend ratio and fuel source.

The rural economic impact is also noteworthy.

Studies indicate that farmers can earn an additional ₹3,000 to ₹6,000 per acre by selling residues to pellet manufacturers.