Business and Engineering academics
from Aston University and the Indian Institute of Technology in Delhi are overseeing the construction of a combined heat and
power plant (CHP) in a remote village in northern India.
Fuelled
by crop waste such as rice husks and prosopis wood the 300kw biomass-solar
plant will provide heat, steam and electricity to downstream plants, which are
also being built as part of the three year project. This includes a rice mill,
fruit and vegetable processing plants and a water distillation unit. The
combination of solar and biomass power will reduce fuel consumption while
allowing round the clock operation.
The plant will allow regional farmers and their families to access a
cheap, renewable and reliable energy source that in-turn can help remote
villages to generate an income and escape from a cycle of ‘fuel poverty’.
This includes the conversion of
materials such as algae, sewage sludge, seeds, wood and agricultural waste into useful fuels
for electricity generation, heating, transport and fertilisers.
The
research team wants to use this pioneering project to create a blueprint forrenewably powered combined heat and power boilers, capable of being replicated
throughout India.
This blueprint of
work will include:
- Mapping specific regions to assess access to
existing biomass and renewable energy resources to ensure there is no
conflict with existing land for food production.
- Engaging with communities to assess specific
business needs and assessing attitudes to the
need and potential of proposed energy technologies both current and future
- Creating a reliable and small scale CHP system which can be used in
the long term by communities and replicated easily in other areas.
The three-year, £3m Science Bridge Project, is being supported by Research Councils UK (RCUK) and the Indian Department
of Science and Technology (DST). The project will also investigate renewable
biomass technologies in the United Kingdom, which are being developed by Aston
University and the European Bioenergy Research Institute.
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