The Ministry of Environment and Forests recently granted environment clearance to Lokmangal Mauli Industries Ltd of Solapur, Maharashtra, for setting up a 30-MW bagasse and biomass cogeneration power plant at Lohara in Osmanabad district of the state. The project is linked to a 6,000-tcd greenfield sugar plant in Osmanabad for which the company has to obtain clearance from the state environment impact assessment authority.
The estimated cost of the project is Rs.282 crore. A minimum amount of 0.4 per cent of the project cost will be earmarked for activities under CSR during the construction phase of the project, as a one-time capital cost. The project will be constructed in five to six months.
The project envisages the installation of a 6,000-tcd fully-automated sugar plant, a high-pressure 135-tph boiler, and a 30-MW extraction-cum-condensing type steam turbine among other equipment like electrical and mechanical auxiliaries such as fuel handling and cooling water systems.
Bagasse and other biomass will be used as fuel. The requirement of bagasse will be 54,000 tonnes per month. The company plans to run the plant with bagasse from its own sugar mills for 180 days and use bagasse from its reserves or from neighbouring sugar mills for the rest of the 120 off-season days.
ESP meeting 100 mg/Nm3 will be installed. Fly ash generated will be collected in ash silo and given to farmers for use as manure. No woody biomass will be used. Wastewater generated from the plant will be treated before discharge in compliance with state pollution control norms. The company will also put in place a well-designed rainwater harvesting system on the premises of the plant.
The company has acquired the total land requirement of 50 hectares for the project. The water requirement of 900 m3/day will be sourced from Makani Dam on Terana river. There are no national parks, wildlife sanctuaries, heritage sites or tiger and biosphere reserves within 10 km of the project site.
The company plans to sell 17 MW out of 30 MW to the state grid and wheel back the surplus power for captive consumption. The power plant would run for 300 days. The molasses from the sugar plant will be used in the standalone 160-klpd ethanol unit of Lokmangal Agro Industries.
Avant Garde Consultancy Services Ltd, Pune, conducted a cane survey and biomass study for the 6,000-tcd sugar plant and 30-MW cogeneration power plant project. Both these reports have been considered during the preparation of the detailed project report.
Lokmangal Mauli Industries Ltd is a part of Lokmangal Group which is engaged in various sectors like agro-based industries, commodity markets, infrastructure development, education, and banking and finance. It is also engaged in the production of sugar at its existing sugar factories in Osmanabad, and ethanol at its distillery unit in Solapur. The company has planned the greenfield sugar plant in light of the robust performance of the sugar industry with consumption and production expected to grow at a compound annual growth rate of 6 per cent.
