Chief minister Nitish Kumar on Monday laid the foundation of a plant that when operational will convert 1,000 metric tonnes of waste daily into electricity, drinking water and fuel.
The plant, which is to be functional after 12 months, will produce at least 280 megawatt of electricity per hour and 2 lakh litres of drinking water and 2 lakh litre fuel (diesel or cooking gas) per day. The electricity production would go up to 400 megawatt per hour if legacy (old) waste is used.
AG Dauters Waste Processing Private Limited will set up the plant on a 5 acre plot in Ramchak Bairaiya at its own cost and the Delhi-based company is supposed to invest $460 million (around Rs 3,358 crore at current dollar price).
The firm is using plasma gasification technology in which waste is heated to a very high temperature to break it to the molecular level. American company Legenburg Technologies LLC has entered into an agreement with AG Dauters for providing technical and financial support and assistance for setting up waste to energy plants in India.
“The electricity generated will be sold to the government distribution companies in the state while we will give pure drinking water either to Patna Municipal Corporation (PMC) or we will open water ATMs in the city to provide free mineral water to residents in case PMC does not take water from us,” said Ajay Girotra, managing director, AG Dauters.
“We have yet not decided whether the plant will convert waste into diesel or cooking gas,” he added. “If diesel is produced, it will be sold to oil companies. If the plant produces cooking gas, it will be sold to the state government. However, the diesel will be free of carbon. The other best thing about our model is that it does not leave any residue or emission.”
Girotra claimed it will be the second-largest plant in the world in terms of output after the facility in Ghazipur, Uttar Pradesh.
Trash will be money
Conversion of waste into electricity and fuel is is being done in other states, but the Patna plant is different because AG Dauters will pay Rs 770 to the PMC per every 1,000 metric tonnes of waste the civic body provides to the firm for the next 25 years.
“In other cities, the municipal body has to pay for the processing of the waste but here we have developed a model in which the municipal corporation will get paid for the waste it will provide to the firm,” said PMC commissioner Anupam Kumar Suman. “We are supposed to earn around Rs 20 crore revenue per year by this.”
Suman said the company would also take care of the transportation of the garbage from the secondary point to the plant. The PMC is going to set up six transfer stations for transportation of the waste. AG Dauters will bear the cost of the transfer stations. The plant is also supposed give 1 per cent of its net profit to the PMC for corporate social responsibility activities.
Suman said the firm was selected after competitive bidding in which foreign companies including from Italy participated.
Doorstep collection
Nitish on Monday also inaugurated the door-to-door garbage collection work, which the civic body will implement through its own resources.
The chief minister flagged off vehicles which will collect the garbage. The vehicles have separate compartments for keeping wet and dry garbage.
The PMC will give residents separate bins to keep dry and wet waste.