GJ Eco Power, which is implementing the Kochi project, has said that the cost “associated with setting up of gasification at Brahmapuram equates to only 62% of the total project cost for the Cochin waste-to-energy project”.
The projected cost was “comparable to the cost of installing an incineration plant of similar capacity. However, as a technology, gasification is much more advanced and robust when compared to incineration,” company officials said.
Most part of the waste generated from Kochi was unsegregated with high moisture content. The failure of waste-to-energy projects in India was due to an improper fuel preparation stage. The unsegregated waste has to be converted into usable fuel first before being fed into the gasifier. “The pre-processing of the waste attracts a cost proportionate to the overall project,” said company officials.
In Kochi, bio-drying — a patented technology from the U.K. — will be engaged without any external power consumption.
The waste has to be segregated using advanced material recovery facilities for preparing refuse-derived fuel and meeting the optimum calorific value required for the gasifier feed.
“The absence of a gate-fee for processing the unsegregated waste adds to the financial burden. The absence of gate fee has to be compensated from the sale of power,” they said.
Huge investment was required for the setting up the facility as the land allotted was below the flood plain and required large scale land development.