The challenges of commercial and logistical feasibility of large-scale use of cow dung to generate electricity came to the fore at a conference organised by the Bharat Chamber of Commerce (BCC) on Tuesday.
It was attended by representatives of a Dutch and Polish companies who are jointly producing a compact power plant, Sterling Engine, which generates electricity from cow dung.
Admitting that getting access to large quantities of cow dung in a metropolis like Kolkata was a challenge, Marcin Wilczynski from Globe Solutions, Poland emphasised on “finding a solution” but did not elaborate on it further. The machine requires two to three kg of cow dung per hour to produce 1,000W of electricity.
Another issue that came up during the conference was how Sterling Engine could be transported to remote villages and islands of West Bengal and of the country.
“Transporting and maintaining the system over there is a challenge. It is heavy. Once you miniaturise it, you can transport it to places where you don’t have power,” Manish Gupta, former Power Minister and Trinamool Congress MP, said at the conference.
Mr. Wilczynski, however, argued that the Sterling Engine did not require “any maintenance”. He also said that in terms of continuous use, the machine had a lifespan of 50,000 hours. “We are trying to make it as compact as possible,” he said.
The companies are yet to decide the price of the machine if it’s launched in India.
“As far as West Bengal is concerned, I think our problem is that the sources of cow dung are somewhat scattered and collection may be a problem,” said Sitaram Sharma, president of BCC.