Uttarakhand’s Champawat gets pine needles-based fuel-making technology; A look at initiatives by other states

This comes after the two entities signed an MoU on March 5 under the directions of Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami.

As part of this agreement, the CSIR Indian Institute of Petroleum will implement two major technologies in the district at the grassroots level.

‘The selected technologies include a briquetting unit with a capacity of 50 kg per hour based on pine needles and 500 units of improved cookstoves for rural households. An extended field trial study will be conducted regarding energy conservation and its environmental impact,’ the Ministry of Science & Technology said.

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The unit will be established in Champawat’s Energy Park, and the briquettes produced here will be used as fuel in homes and local industries, the ministry said.

The management and use of pine needles are necessary to reduce the instances of forest fires, Dr Harendra Singh Bisht, Director of the CSIR – Indian Institute of Petroleum, said. The pine needle briquettes and pellets can replace coal and protect the environment, he added.

The briquettes can be used for domestic cooking and as direct or co-firing fuel in brick kilns and thermal power plants.

In September 2020, the then Chief Minister of Uttarakhand, Trivendra Singh Rawat inaugurated the state’s first project for generating power via pine needles with 25KW capacity made at a cost of ₹25 lakh in Uttarkashi’s Dunda.

Pine needle to bio-briquettes

In Jammu and Kashmir, subtropical pine forests account for 16.4% of the total forest cover and are predominately distributed over the Shivalik Range of the Himalayas.