Case Study of the Day: Sustainable Energy from Pine Needles for Climate Adaptation

Background: ‘Avani Bio Energy’ has developed an entrepreneurial ecosystem, to harness the destructive energy of pine needles for climate adaptation through clean energy generation.

About the Sustainable Energy from Pine Needles

• The leaves Chir pine, called pine needles, build a thick carpet on forest floors when they shed. This biomass acts as an impact multiplier of forest fires that destroy biodiversity. It also increases soil acidity and reduces the percolation of water into the soil.
• To tap into the potential, Avani Bio Energy has developed technology utilising pine needles as fuel in biomass gasifiers.
  • Pyrolysis of the fuel creates biochar and releases producer gas.
  • When cooled and filtered, the gas runs an electricity generator.
  • Residual charred pine needles are mixed with a binder and pressed into briquettes, to be used as cooking fuel.
• The process is economically feasible to be set up in the vicinity of pine forests, because the low density of pine needles makes it uneconomical to transport them over long distances.
• The impacts from such an Initiative could be:
  • Conservation of biodiversity which helps protect the communities’ agricultural and ecosystem resources while making their habitat more robust and climate adaptive.
  • The provision of a sustainable source of cooking fuel reduces pressure on forests for fuel wood and drudgery for women.
  • Generation of conservation-based livelihoods for locals from underprivileged communities improves the rural economy and slows the trend of migration induced by resource stress.
• Given the potential utility of natural resources and the impact they can create on local communities, there is a need to implement such micro-sustainable projects in remote parts of India, to move towards Sustainable Development.

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