Delhi Air Pollution: Stubble can be a source of income, electricity! Here is how

Every year stubble burning becomes a talking point due to its adverse impact on Delhi Air Quality Index and Air Pollution. While government agencies are adopting a number of measures, an innovative idea of converting stubble into a substantial source of income and energy has been worked out. A company in Ambala is turning biomass-based energy from the crop residue into Electricity and Compressed Bio-Gas. With Delhi already working on trials of the bio-decomposer technique of converting crop stubble into compost, innovative methods and techniques are being considered as a cost-effective way to check air pollution.

Ambala-headquartered Verve Renewables focusses on establishing one platform mechanism for Procurement, Processing, and Provision of Biomass or Agro waste for the end-user. The company has worked on over 50000 acres of land to collect farm stubble and collected 75,000 MT straw in 2019-20 in Punjab and Haryana. The company is aiming to collect 1,50,000 MT of straw from three different crops — Paddy, Cane, Corn — during 2020-2021.

Farmers burn tonnes of stubble and a huge amount of energy gets wasted every year. The company collects crop residue and turn it into a sustainable source of energy. It takes bales of paddy straw from over 50,000 acres of land. After that these paddy straws are stocked at depots. Subsequently, these paddy straws are supplied to the power plant at Naraingarh Sugar Mills. At the power plant, these paddy straws are used to generate electricity between April and December, Suvrat Khanna, Co-Founder, and CEO, Verve Renewables said.

Khanna said that for the rapid deployment and generation from farm to the boiler, the company provides boiler-ready biomass resources. This could be used for the generation of power by captive power plants as well, he said.

The mechanism will not only save the environment from the pollution caused by stubble burning but will also add to the farmers’ income. Almost hundreds of farmers across Punjab and Haryana are taking part in the process.