Waste-to-Energy plants to come up in Ponda and Valpoi

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PANAJI, Goa: The Government of Goa is planning to set up two bio-methanation plants of five TPD (tonnes per day) capacity in Ponda and Valpoi Municipal Councils at ₹5.5 crore.

During the process of bio-methanation, organic material is broken down with the help of microbes in anaerobic conditions, and methane and carbon dioxide are produced along with other gases.

The state government has invited tenders to supply, install, test and commission plants with 5 TPD capacity in Ponda and Valpoi to generate power from waste. The tenders will include the operation and maintenance of plants for five years. The Government of Goa established a bio-methanation plant in the South Goa Planning and Development Authority (SGPDA) market, which falls under the Margao Municipal Council (MMC).

These plants include an automatic scum-breaking (foreign material) mechanism, which will dispose of 5,000 kg of food, fish, vegetable and other organic waste generated in two municipal councils. A senior civic body official highlighted that Goa generates around 760 TPD municipal solid waste.

Apart from these two plants, a new plant in Cacora will be inaugurated soon. A plant to treat waste from four talukas, including Canacona, Quepem, Curchorem and Dharbandora is ready and undergoing trials. The plant can treat 100 TPD of garbage, and its construction began in 2019.

Also, there is a fully operational 250 TPD capacity solid waste treatment plant in Saligao that deals with the waste generated in the coastal stretch of north Goa.

The Goa Waste Management Corporation (GWMC) has received four bids to set up a solid waste management plant in Bainguinim. GWMC invited bidders for the design, engineering, financing, performance, operation and maintenance of the plant with a solid waste processing facility of 100 TPD for a period of 10 years.

The government is also aiming to establish a waste-to-energy plant at Verna for ₹500 crore and it will generate 16 MW of electricity and 38 MW of heat from around 250 TPD of garbage.