A half-day awareness program on the use of biomass for co-firing in Thermal Power Plants was organized at NTPC Solapur under the aegis of district administration Solapur and Sustainable Agrarian Mission on use of Agri-Residue in Thermal Power Plants (SAMARTH). 

The program was inaugurated by Shri Milind Shambharkar, District Collector & District Magistrate, Solapur. Among the dignitaries were Shri Balasaheb Shinde, Project Director ATMA, Solapur; Shri Sudip Nag, Mission Director, SAMARTH Mission and Executive Director (Biomass) NTPC; and Shri NS Rao, Head of the Project and Executive Director, NTPC Solapur, who graced the occasion.

The aim of the half-day workshop was to promote and facilitate ex-situ utilization of agri-residue in various applications, with a focus on developing an ecosystem for aggregation, transportation, manufacturing, supply, and co-firing of biomass in thermal power plants. The workshop has been organized in an area where a lot of potential is there and to discuss with concerned stakeholders to resolve the issues towards expanding Biomass aggregation & Pellet manufacturing.

Presentations were given by a SAMARTH Mission representative and the founder head of Biofuel Circles, an online trading platform for biomass, followed by an open house where in addition to addressing the queries of the participants, the policy for use of biomass was also discussed. The feedback received from farmers was encouraging. More than two hundred participants attended the program including representatives from farmers, FPOs, ATMA, Mahagenco, biomass pellet manufacturers and traders.