Captive biomass plantations: A sustainable, carbon-neutral energy solution

In my previous article we saw the current state of the biomass power sector in India which is not very encouraging due to non-availability of feedstock both in terms of quantity as well as a fixed price – absolutely essential requirements for any power plant.

The only way to tackle this feedstock problem is by having your own dedicated captive biomass plantations. Think about it. You cannot grow coal but you can grow biomass which can then be converted into coal through torrefaction or used in its present state as fuel. Its as good as owning your own captive Green Coal mine.

The advantages of captive plantations are many but the biggest one is that its almost entirely carbon neutral esp. if the power plant is located near the plantation itself. Plantations, when they are growing, absorb CO2 from the atmosphere through photosynthesis, which is released back when the biomass is burnt in a power plant and the cycle keeps continuing. The CO2 absorbed by the plantations in the growth stage is what is released when it is burnt. Thus, there are no new emissions of CO2 being added to the environment. Coal, on the other hand, is a reserve of carbon & CO2 built over millions of years, which when burnt today, keeps adding more and more CO2 to the atmosphere resulting in the Greenhouse effect that is responsible for global warming today.

The above diagram shows the carbon neutrality of biomass plantations.

Another very important characteristic of biomass plantations is the coppicing nature of the plantations i.e. once you harvest the plantation, it will again grow back from the point of harvest. Depending on the species selected, this cycle goes on for a period between 7 to 30 years. Once this cycle is over you simply replant and start over. This makes it a sustainable and environmentally responsible activity. So you now not only own a Green Coal mine but a mine which keeps replenishing itself forever!

Now when I talk about biomass plantations the first response I invariably get from people is “Oh you are doing Jatropha” or “Its Prosopis Juliflora, isn’t it?”

Jatropha is only for biodiesel and there have been plenty of studies showing that it has failed or been a success depending on who you talk to.

Prosopis Juliflora also, while growing abundantly, is not a solution due to its poor yield of around 10-15 tons per acre per annum. It is also an invasive species and can soon take over surrounding lands. It is a hardy and drought-tolerant plant which has a deep tap root system to seek water at very deep levels. In fact, in 1960 one such plant was discovered to have roots as deep as 175 feet near Tucson, Arizona, putting them among the deepest known roots. This characteristic does not lend itself very well to eradication and you actually need a JCB machine to do the job – an expensive and time-consuming affair. The thorns of Prosopis Juliflora are also extremely painful for labourers trying to harvest it.

Bamboo is another name that has been cropping up recently. However, skeptics are not entirely convinced that it can grow in most places as also that it can grow without using large quantities of water. Normally, bamboo requires about the same quantity of water as sugarcane ~ 2000 mm per annum. In a country increasingly facing acute drinking water shortages, this probably wouldn’t be an ideal choice except in very high rainfall areas.

Its important to understand that there are many other species that not only can be grown in most areas but also use limited water, have high calorific values and at the same time, produce high yields of around 50 tons per acre per annum. This kind of yield is needed in a country like India where land is relatively scarce. Of course, land in Africa or South East Asia can also be taken up by Indian corporates / government for captive plantations.

It is also important to highlight that these plantations should come up on wastelands and not on wetlands where food crops are being grown. There is no point in solving one crisis (energy) to start another (food).

Captive biomass plantations not only offer guaranteed feedstock throughout the year but also at a price that can be insulated from the market if the investor owns both the plantation as well as the power plant. In fact, biomass power investors have so far put the cart before the horse. They should have invested in plantations first and then the power plant rather than the other way around. Another major advantage of this business model is the multiple uses that biomass can be put to:

• As a substitute for coal / furnace oil / other fossil fuels
• For producing bioplastics. Already Coke and Pepsi are moving towards manufacturing PET bottles using biomass as opposed to petrochemicals.
• For producing jet fuel through the Fischer-Tropsch process
• Production of pellets and briquettes as a fuel source
• Ethanol production
• Production of chemicals

While some of the above processes are not commercially viable yet, 5 years from now could be a different ball game altogether and biomass plantation companies could stand to reap windfall gains as there are so many different uses that their product can be used for. As an energy source, biomass already has a direct correlation with prices of petroleum products and this is a great natural hedge for biomass plantation investors and companies looking to get into this sector. Power is the lowest hanging (but most secure) fruit but going forward, we anticipate biomass feedstocks will have much higher value end uses.

There are tremendous benefits of such plantations for governments as well as the society. By growing biomass plantations on wastelands, the quality and fertility of such lands can be increased over the medium term and they can be made arable again. Such plantations can only be put up where land cost is reasonable (rural areas) and this creates local employment for villagers. Such green cover has been proven to reduce temperatures and increase rainfall. In a world where deforestation is rampant, this would be a step in the right direction.

There are challenges as well but none which are too difficult to handle. Land acquisition is one. The way around this is to acquire land wherever feasible in India and then start looking at places such as Africa and SE Asia where it is possible to aggregate land parcels in excess of 20,000 acres. Professional expertise and plantation management is needed to ensure best practices are followed in a sustainable manner.

A big question in everyone’s mind would be – is there enough land available? The answer is yes. Assuming we generate only 50 tons per acre per annum of biomass from captive plantations we would need approx. 150 acres to power 1 MW (Megawatt) throughout the year. India currently has approx. 2,00,000 MW of installed capacity with a population of 1.2 Bn. Africa also has a population of 1 Bn. India’s total land area is roughly 3 Mn. Sq. Kms. while Africa’s is a whopping 30 Mn. Sq. Kms. – 10 times more! (1 Sq. Km. = 247.1 acres) Lets assume Africa would also need 2,00,000 MW of power today considering that the population is similar to India’s. Now, to power both India and Africa completely on captively grown biomass, we would need land area under biomass plantations of approx. 0.243 Mn. Sq. Kms. i.e. a measly 0.73% of the total land area of India & Africa! As biomass yields go up through improved seeds and biotechnology along with efficiency improvements in power plant technology, land requirements per MW will only keep coming down.

Already, Indian companies are taking up hundreds of thousands of acres of land on long government lease in Africa for growing food and horticulture crops. There is no reason why the same cannot be done in the case of biomass. It would also be in the interests of India’s long term energy security.

This will help millions of Africans to come out of poverty by generating agricultural employment and more importantly, providing electricity which will generate further avenues for entrepreneurship and self-employment. African government finances will, no doubt, benefit tremendously from such ventures. It will leverage Africa’s natural advantage of land availability and enable India to achieve its goals of reducing GHG emissions. Imagine the quality of air after just 5 years were this to become a reality – a far cry from today’s situation where Indian power plants run primarily on low quality Indian coal which has a staggering 35% ash content generating 340 Billion Kg. of fly ash while emitting 1.1 Trillion Kg. of CO2 every year! This has created huge air as well as ground water pollution in states such as Chhattisgarh and Punjab, among several others.

On the other hand, biomass plantation based business models not only address most of the problems of the power sector but also benefit all stakeholders handsomely. Investors make high returns without the need for government subsidies, employment is generated in rural areas, the society gets 24 x 7 baseload, renewable power again at the local level (distributed generation), soil quality increases and so does the green cover and to top it off, the entire activity is carbon neutral. It is possible to have your cake and eat it too. What is needed is active involvement and initiative of all entities.

Nature has always provided more than man has asked for and this would be another classic example of that. What is needed is a change in mindset from one of exploitation of natural resources to that of creation. Lets mend our ways while we still can as the point of no return is fast approaching. The earth will surely survive the effects of global warming. It’s the survival of mankind that is under question.

Editor's note: Jai Rathod is a founding member of Natural Energy Solutions Pvt Ltd based in Mumbai (India) which focuses on creating innovative and profitable business models within the Indian energy space.

You can reach him at jai@natgrp.net and the organization's forums at Renewable Energy and Cleantech Forum - India as well as Solar Energy Professionals - India