Aafrin Kidwai 
Goa’s Waste Management minister, Mr Michael Lobo, has said that the Goa Waste Management Corporation (GWMC) and IVL Swedish Environmental Research Institute will soon sign an agreement for undertaking feasibility studies to set up a waste-to-energy plant at Verna.
In October 2019, a team from Goa led by Lobo visited Sweden and Norway and visited waste incineration facilities. During the visit, a consultation was held with the institute, which then submitted a proposal for pre-feasibility studies to set up the plant. As per the scope of work, the institute will look into the quality and quantity of waste, plant location, system evaluation, technical evaluation, stakeholder analysis, institutional factors, financial evaluation, project implementation strategy, and the step forward. Subsequently, the proposal to conduct feasibility studies for an amount of 35,000 Euros, reports The Times of India.
Currently, Goa collects about 55 tonnes of RDF per day, of which 30 tonnes comes from the Saligao waste management plant and another 25 tonnes from village panchayats. The RDF is baled at Verna and sent to cement plants for co-incineration. The waste-to-energy plant spread over an area of 1.5 lakh sqm of land will generate electricity and also help in the disposal of RDF retrieved from remediation of legacy dumps.
Picture Credit: Ecoprog
