Biomass for Energy; Resource Assessment in India

Indian Institute of Science, Bangalore

Biomass resource assessment in India;

OBJECTIVES
1.
-

Assess the biomass fuel consumption

firewood, crop residue and animal dung

2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7.

Assess the sources of biomass fuels Assess area under forests, afforestation rates and biomass & Carbon stocks Estimate land available for biomass feedstock production for energy Estimate sustainable biomass production for energy Present barriers to spread of biomass production for energy and spread of biomass power List co-benefits of biomass production for energy

Fuelwood, crop residue and cattle dung consumption (Mt)

Year Fuel wood Crop Residue 1978-79 94 37 1995 298 156 1996 214 67 1996 162 2010 381 132 Dung 83 114 64 98 Reference NCAER, 1981 Ravindranath & Hall, 1995 Sarma et al, 1998 Planning commission, 1999 Sarma et al, 1998

End uses of biomass fuels (Mt)

Year Household Bricks Cottage Industrial industries establishments, Rituals, hotels 1995 252 (rural) 6 10 + 30 (urban) 1996 162 NA 25 14 2000 180 NA NA 40 Reference

Ravindranath and Hall, 1995 FSI, 1996 CSE, 2000

Sources of fuelwood (Mt)

Year Source Forest Farm forestry, Plantations common land and other resources 98 60

1995

1996 1999

Ravindran 71 ath& Hall, 1995 FSI, 1996 103 NFAP, 70 1999

21 23

77 79

Crop residue production and use as energy

1997 Total Quantity residue production used as (Mt) fuel (Mt) 27 5 112 18 14 17 21 13 9 4 Energy used as fuel PJ 65 234 176 112 56 2010 Total Quantity residue production used as (Mt) fuel (Mt) 36 6 173 21 11 17 28 9 8 4 Energy used as fuel PJ 78 273 126 117 56 Type of Crops Rice Rice Red gram Other pulses Ground nut Rape seed & mustard Other oil seeds Cotton Sugar cane Coconut, arecanut Total husk straw Waste Shell+Waste Waste residue

Waste Waste Seeds+ Waste Bagasse+Leaves Fronds

14 18 50 111 20 407

14 18 50 44 16 191

182 247 750 704 256 2782

24 27 56 186 28 585

24 27 56 76 23 255

312 364 840 1216 322 3704

Dung production and use as energy (fresh weight in Mt/year)

1997 Total dung production 659 Dung directly utilized as fuel 185 Dung utilized in biogas plants 22 Total use 207 2003 669 250 30 280 2010 730 340 99 439

Trends in area under forest and tree cover (Mha)

90 80 Forest and tree cover (M ha) 70 60 50 40 30 20 10 0 1987 1989 1991 1993 1995 1997 1999 2001 2003

Forest cover

Tree cover

C u mu lativ e area affo rested (M h a) 10 15 20 25 30 35 40 1951 1961 1966 1969 1974 1979 1980 1985 1990 1991 1992 1997 1998 1999 2001 2003 2004 2005 0 5

Cumulative area afforested during 1951 to 2005 (Mha)

Trends in carbon stock estimates for Indian forests (MtC)

12000 10000 Carbon stock (MtC) 8000 6000 4000 2000 0 1880 1980 1986 1986 1994 2005

Biomass carbon

Soil carbon

Land available for biomass production for energy (Mha)

Study Degraded land quoted in Planning Commission (1992) Chambers et al. (1989) Land available for tree planting Kapoor (1992) Land available for tree planting Ministry of Agriculture (1992) Land categories and land availability (Mha) Degraded forest36, Degraded non-forest94 Cultivated land13, Strips and boundaries2, Uncultivated, degraded land33, Degraded forest land36 Agricultural land45, Forest land28, Pasture land7, Fallow land (long and short)25, Urban land-1 Forest land with < 10% tree crown cover11, Grazing land12, Tree groves3, Culturable land15, Old fallow11, Current fallow14 Cultivable land under agro-ecological zones 26.1, Land not suitable for cultivation---13.6, Pasture land- 2.9 Short Rotation (SR) - 38.2, Long Rotation (LR) 14.0, Forest regeneration 11.0, Forest degraded land16.27, Wasteland 38.11, Other category11.07 Total area (Mha) 130 84

106

66

Sudha and Ravindranath (1999)

42.6

Ravindranath et al (2001) NRSA (1995) NRSA (2004) NRSA (2005)

63.2 65.45 55.2 41.0

Biomass Energy Options and Potential

TRADITIONAL BIO-FUELS Traditional use of biomass for energy is largely for heating & process heat purposes, in activities such as cooking, heating water, and brick making Traditional biomass use for energy is characterized by low efficiency of use, drudgery and environmental degradation MODERN BIOENERGY OPTIONS - Energy efficient, sustainable, substitute fossil fuel OR nonsustainable biomass extraction, reduce GHG emissions, BIOENERGY OPTIONS Biomass power through combustion and gasification Liquid fuels (Biodiesel and Ethanol) Gaseous fuel (biogas)

Biomass production and biomass power generation potential

Land category Area in Mha 34.6 Short rotation energy plantationa Biomass productivity t/ha/year 6.6 (without genetic improvement and fertilisers) 12 (with genetic improvement and fertilizer) 6.6 (without genetic improvement and fertilisers) 12 (with genetic improvement and fertilizer) Total biomass production for energy (Mt/year) 228 Power generation in TWh / year

228

415

415

Short rotation energy plantationb

24.0

158

158

288

288

Bio-diesel production potential

Land category Area (Mha) Options Oil seeds Oil Bio-diesel3 production extracted (Mt/year) (Mt/year) Mt/year 70a (low 21 20 yield) 50.4 48 168b (high yield) 70 21 20

Fallow land

14

Jatropha curcas 1 Tree based 2 (Karanja or Pongamia pinnata)

Barriers to Sustained Biomass Supply

Tenurial uncertainty for wastelands, particularly public or government lands, for power utilities and the utilities cannot get access to government and community lands for producing biomass. Absence of policy or regulatory provisions for long-term contract between farmers and biomass power utilities for sustained biomass supply from farm lands to biomass power utilities Lack of access to easy credit, financial incentives and guaranteed price for biomass feedstock to farmers and such incentives are available for biomass power utilities and not for biomass producers Absence of package of practices for high biomass yields in different agro-climatic zones. Long-gestation period in producing biomass (a minimum of 3 to 5 years for harvesting) High transportation cost for large scale biomass power utilities

Co-benefits of Biomass Production for Energy

Reclamation of degraded lands, which are subjected to soil erosion and degradation due to absence of vegetation cover Carbon sequestration in degraded lands & standing vegetation & soil Greenhouse gas emission reduction, if bioenergy is used to substitute fossil fuel energy Promotion of biodiversity, if adequate sustainable production practices, such as a mix-of species and leaving a fraction of land fallow for natural forest succession, are adopted Local employment and income generation from biomass production practices, harvesting, transportation and processing Improved socio-economic conditions and quality of life, if access to modern bioenergy is provided to rural communities, such as biogas for cooking and biomass power for lighting and mechanical applications.

CONCLUSIONS
1. 2. Large dependence on traditional biomass fuels Forest area in India has stabilized and land is available for biomass production for energy 3. Conservative estimate of Wasteland & fallow land of 24 to 36 Mha can produce 228 to 415 Mt of woody biomass for energy Produce 228 to 415 TWh 4. Despite financial incentives to biomass power utilities, financial viability and favorable IRR, biomass production for energy is limited by; - Tenurial uncertainties, lack of incentives for biomass producers, long-gestation period, lack of package of practices for high yields 5. Co-benefits: Large co-benefits such as - biodiversity conservation, degraded land reclamation and watershed protection, local employment generation, GHG emission reduction