About 40,000 million tonnes of solid wastes and 5000 million cubic metres of liquid waste is generated every year in the urban areas of the country which can be suitably recycled for power generation, according to the study brought out by leading industry body Assocham.
According to estimates, about 1500 megawatt of power could be generated from urban and municipal wastes and an additional 1000 megawatt could be secured from industrial wastes in the country by 2010.
The study 'Mitigating Climate Change: The Indian Perspective', suggests that expediting setting up of waste energy projects can partly solve the problem of power shortage.
The cost factor involved could be within the range of around Rs 200 crore (Rs 2 billion), resources for which could be generated through municipalities and local governments with the subsidy element coming from the state governments, it said.
Several studies on Indian power sector reveal the potential for saving of around 20,000 MW through various energy efficiency measures, including renovation and modernisation of old power plants and adoption of cleaner coal technologies.
