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S. Gopikrishna Warrier

CHENNAI, Oct. 31

THE Tamil Nadu Pollution Control Board has stated that it is unlikely to clear the proposed waste-to-energy project as it feels that the project, which uses the incineration route, is "highly polluting", according to official sources. However, the sources say that the proposal has not yet come to pollution control board for approval.

This stand of the Tamil Nadu Pollution Control Board (TNPCB) has come even as the 14.85 MW project awaits a decision on how the gap in tariff will be bridged.

The environmental controversy surrounding the project had recently come back to public attention with media reports stating that TNPCB had decided not to give clearance to project due to doubts about the safety of the technology.

The Board has communicated to the State Government its disapproval of the project. It has communicated to the Municipal Administration Department and the elected local bodies in Tamil Nadu that the incineration route, by whatever name it is called, should not be used for dealing with municipal solid waste, a senior official said.

"We have said that the in addition to the EDL project being capital intensive it is also highly polluting," a senior official said.

According to the TNPCB, the project in its operation will release dioxins and furans. It is difficult to even measure these pollutants. The parent Australian company had teething problems with the technology, so it should not be adopted before its reliability is proved.

According to Mr Sunand Sharma, Managing Director of EDL India, which is putting up the project, the main issue that is still holding up the implementation of the project is the decision on paying of subsidy to TNEB by the State Government. This is supposed to cover the difference between the power tariff bid by the promoter and the tariff quoted by the Board.

Once an agreement is reached on this the three agreements can be finalised, according to him. These are: the waste supply agreement and land lease agreement with Chennai Corporation, and power purchase agreement with TNEB. The drafts of these agreements have been prepared and are awaiting finalisation.

Mr Sharma said the project can only then be taken for environmental clearance from the Tamil Nadu Pollution Control Board (TNPCB). "We have not yet made an application to TNPCB for environmental clearance."

Even before it comes for environmental clearance the project is stuck at the issue of subsidy. This has been a contentious one for the Rs 180 crore project that is expected to generate 14.85 MW of energy from 600 tonnes per day of unsegregated city garbage using the pyrolysis gasification technology. The project is to implemented on a build-operate-own basis by EDL India.

EDL had quoted and got the letter of award for Rs 3.69 per kWh from 2001-2002, with an annual escalation of five per cent. This would work out to Rs 3.87 per kWh in 2002-2003. TNEB had committed to pay Rs 3.01 per kWh from 2002-2003. The crux of the discussion is which arm of the State Government should make good this difference, he said.

The project had also been facing problems since it does not get the capital subsidy support from the Union Ministry for Non-Conventional Energy Sources (MNES) for its entire capacity.

The Tamil Nadu Government had repeatedly requested MNES to consider the whole project for capital subsidy under its scheme for supporting demonstration projects. The Ministry had been responding that its subsidy, up to Rs 3 crore per MW, would be limited to only five MW capacity.

At a meeting held under the chairmanship of the Tamil Nadu Chief Secretary in December 2000, it was decided that the State Government would take up the matter once again with the Central Ministry. Subject to that the subsidy will be shared by the Chennai Corporation, TNPCB and the State Government.

According to Mr Sharma, the project has also been selected for carbon trade under the Prototype Carbon Fund, administered by the World Bank. Though no financial commitment has as yet been made, the idea is that the project could make up to $ 10.5 million if it saves 3.5 million tonnes of carbon dioxide emission over the next ten years.

The Union Ministry of Environment and Forests has already given a host country endorsement for this carbon trade through the Clean Development Mechanism route.

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