Electricity from Biomass for Rural India — techno-economic analysis

Publisher Summary This chapter develops performance and economic models for biomass based power for India. The analysis suggests that biomass has the potential to significantly augment rural electricity supply in a cost-effective manner. Conservative estimates for the availability of agricultural residues are considered. The cost of electricity is cheaper than that from other sources of renewable energy. It is definitely a viable option in the remote, un-electrified villages. Even in the partially electrified villages, biomass can supply power much more regularly as against the highly erratic supply by the board. Small-scale, decentralized power generation at the village level using locally available biomass is a possible solution for the energy crisis in rural India. Integrated techno-economic model for biomass based power generation is developed. The biomass of interest in the chapter is rice straw and husk, sugarcane residues, and coconut shells. The gasification-combustion cycle is simulated using Advanced System for Process Engineering (ASPEN) to obtain performance of above biomass fuels.