Agronomy is Critical and it requires dedication and these agronomists should be separate & Independent team.If there is Certainty on Agronomy front on Soil, water, Agro climate for yields as being promised it has potential. If it can Coexist- Succeed along with existent Cogen facility it can be given a try and based on its performance can be replicated. This should be treated Independent and Separate profit centre.
1. Bamboo based Cogen
The bamboos are a group of woody perennial evergreen (except for certain temperate species) plants
in the true grass family Poaceae, subfamily Bambusoideae, tribe Bambuseae.
Some are giant bamboos, the largest members of the grass family. Bamboos are the fastest growing
woody plants in the world. Their growth rate (up to 60 centimeters (24 in)/day) is due to a unique
rhizome-dependent system, but is highly dependent on local soil and climate conditions.
There are more than 70 genera divided into about 1,000 species. They are found in diverse climates,
from cold mountains to hot tropical regions.
They occur across East Asia, from 50°N latitude in Sakhalin through to Northern Australia, and west to
India and the Himalayas. They also occur in sub-Saharan Africa and in the Americas from the South-
eastern United States south to Argentina and Chile, reaching their southernmost point anywhere, at
47°S latitude. Major areas with no native bamboos include Europe, North Africa, Western Asia, Canada,
and Antarctica.
Chennai based Clenergen wholly-owned subsidiary of Clenergen Corporation Ltd of London, UK, has
entered into a Memorandum of Agreement with a leading Indian-based Biotechnology laboratory and
micro propagated tissue culture specialist, capable of supplying 200,000 micro propagated Beema
Bamboo saplings per week. The laboratory guarantees sapling to be uniform, disease resistant, and
asexual, therefore non-invasive and fire retardant. The Company is a technology partner to the
‘National Bamboo Mission, India’ for bamboo tissue culture plants and is certified by Department of
Biotechnology, Ministry of Science and Technology, India. It is further accredited by Australian plant
Quarantine Inspection service (AQIS).
Clenergen has entered into a Technical Agreement with the Madurai Kamaraj University, an elite
research institution for bio energy and biomass feedstock, for research into increasing the growth
potential of Beema Bamboo and Melia dubia through Polyploidisation, in view of creating a new and
higher yielding variety.
Electricity is generated from using bio crude gasification, a chemical combustion process by which
hydrocarbons or organic materials are converted into gas using a large reactor or “cracker”,
combining high levels of heat and pressure with low oxygen levels and steam. The biomass
(wood chips) disintegrate and produce synthesis gas (or “syngas”) which is then cleansed and
used to fire electricity generating gas turbine power plants . The heat generated from the gas
turbines can be recovered and used as the source of energy for operating the power plant.
Its high levels of efficiency and energy conversion creates a consistent source of electricity production
without generating any carbon emissions from the process. Carbon is stored in the waste product (ash),
which is less than 2% of the total volume of biomass processed. As a result, the fossil fuel displacement
value of the energy produced generates a carbon emission credit (CERs), which the value of such can
be applied towards offsetting the cost of production.
The project is planned to scale up in three phases: 6 mw in phase-I followed by 15 mw in phase-II and
50 mw in phase-III.
"This will be the first of many long-term agreements with major power purchasers, utilities and
industrial clients. Locally managed transactions like this one with PTC India are at the core of our
business model and can be duplicated in many countries of the world where energy supplies do not
2. satisfy demand," Mark LM Quinn, Chief Executive Officer, Clenergen Corporation Ltd, told newspersons
in Chennai.
Earlier, Clenergen secured long-term leases (25 years) on plantation land parcels in Tirunelveli district
of Tamil Nadu for cultivation of its feedstock. On the first parcel of 850 acres, work is already under
way for a detailed survey prior to designing the irrigation system and commercial planting. The lease
has been provided by Emberumanar Jeer Trust, a body regulated by the state government.
A second land parcel lease of 1,200 acres from a similar government-managed trust will be closed by
October 30, 2009, after completion of the formalities relating to contour mapping.
Clenergen plans to cultivate Beema Bamboo over these land parcels following a detailed assessment of
the soil conditions and water availability. The expected yield per annum is 80,000 tons, enough to
meet the requirements of the first 8-mw unit of the 16-mw power station Clenergen is establishing in
Tuticorin. This apart, it has acquired a 1.5-mw facility at Salem, Tamil Nadu, which is to be expanded
to 10 mw within a year.
Besides the plant in Tuticorin, the company is also setting up a 64-mw plant in Mangalore in
neighboring Karnataka. The company has leased a 10-acre site for the Tuticorin power plant that
includes structural buildings suitable for storage. The power plant is located within 2 km of a major
highway and 10 km of the nearest substation for power evacuation.
The entire feedstock requirement of the 16-mw plant will be met from its own plantation lands. Until
the harvests commence, Clenergen has secured mid-term supply contracts for biomass wood chips
sourced from Prosperous Juliaflora bushes. Commenting on the land leases, Quinn said, "Execution of
our feedstock programme is a critical component in meeting the supply requirements of our biomass
power plants. By securing lease agreements at this stage allows the company to immediately start
planting Beema Bamboo which will yield its first harvest in 2011”
Clenergen has earmarked Rs 1,135 crore to set up the plants in Tamil Nadu and Karnataka. Of the total
cost, Clenergen intends to raise Rs 750 crore as debt, while the remaining Rs 385 crore as equity. The
DPR for the proposed projects is ready.
In all, the company intends to lease 16,000 acres to set up biomass plantations. On an average
Clenergen will need about 200 acres, yielding 40 tons of biomass an acre for every megawatt of
generation capacity. Besides, it will need Rs 9 crore per megawatt including the cost of leasing land to
raise the plantations. As stated earlier, the company already has taken on a 49-year lease 850 acres in
Tirunelveli and plans to soon add 1,200 acres.
2 MW/h Gasifier 750 Kw/h Gas Engine
3. Clenergen Corporation has signed a Technical Agreement with Envergent Technologies, a Honeywell
Subsidiary in Canada, to produce ASTM Standard Bio crude. The agreement also includes technology
partnership for possible upgrade of Bio crude to Hydrocarbon Fuels (used as an additive to Jet Fuel,
Gasoline and Diesel) using biomass wood chips produced from the cultivation of Marjestica , Beema
Bamboo and Vaneshree.
Envergent Technologies, a joint venture between Honeywell's UOP and Ensyn Corporation, is a provider
of RTP(TM) Rapid Thermal Processing, for the conversion of biomass such as wood chips to Bio crude.
Bio crude, a liquid biofuel, can be utilized as heating oil and a source of power for heavy equipment.
The technical agreement envisages testing of Marjestica, Beema Bamboo and Vanshree, fast growing
plant species identified by Clenergen Corporation, as sources of feedstock for converting wood chips to
Bio crude. The high yield per acre biomass will reduce the cost of production significantly and is
expected to produce the ‘Fuel Oil Substitute’ at costs that are at least 25% less than petroleum-derived
fuel oils. The project will process 400 tons of wood chips per day and produce an estimated daily
output of 250 tons of Bio crude. The project is scheduled for launch in the state of Tamil Nadu in India.
4. Bio crude ASTM Standard
100 tons bio crude processing plant producing 70 tons per day bio crude heating and heavy
mechanical equipment
5. Note: For these kind of Operations Scale is an Issue.
Agronomy is Critical and it requires similar dedication as Sugarcane and these agronomists should be
separate & Independent team to those of Cane.
If there is Certainty on Agronomy front on Soil, water, Agro climate for yields as being promised it has
potential. If it can Coexist- Succeed along with existent Cogen facility it can be given a try and based
on its performance can be replicated. This should be treated Independent and Separate profit centre.