With the coming up of about 20 biomass-based power projects generating 183 mw at places like Sirsa, Panipat, Karnal, Hisar, Fatehabad, Bhiwani, Nilokheri, Jagadhari, Khanesar and Dabwali, the people of Haryana can be assured of lesser power cuts! As the projects are being set up at the sites of the load centers, the power supply is expected to increase in these blocks with the transmission losses going down majorly. Confirming this, officials of Haryana renewable energy development agency (HAREDA) said that since the state is purchasing massive power from other states, it has to bear huge transmission losses. ?But with these projects located at the load centers only there will be minimal transmission losses,? said a senior official.

Inching towards the target of achieving a minimum of 10% (500 mw) of the total capacity addition of 5,000 mw of conventional power, to be generated through renewable energy power projects by 2012, Haryana government is promoting private participation in the fields of biomass, solar, wind energy, small hydro and co-generation biomass power projects. Where on one hand solar power projects have attracted industry majors like Reliance Industries Ltd, Albina Power, ACME Telepower, Epuron Renewable Energy Power, etc, on the other hand about 20 biomass based power projects have been assigned to private players by the HAREDA.

Sumita Misra, director of HAREDA told FE, ?The detailed project reports of these 20 sites in different blocks for 183 mw have been approved by the state government and now the companies will go in for power purchase agreement with the state utilities. These projects will catalyze investments of over Rs 780 crore, average cost for setting up 1 mw project being 4-4.5 crore. The projects are likely to be commissioned by mid of 2009. The Haryana government will act as a facilitator charging one time processing fee of Rs one lakh per mw at the time of signing the MoU. But the projects will be developed with investments from the private parties only.? The companies which have been assigned the biomass based power projects include New Delhi-based Star Wire India which has bagged 4 projects of 8 mw each and one project of 5 mw; M/S Turboatom TPS Haryana Projects who have got 5 projects of 12 mw each; Chennai based Techpro Energy with 2 projects of 7.5 mw each.