ORIGINAL PAPER Performance analysis of micro turbine-based grid-connected biogas power plant in Purulia in West Bengal, India Krishna Singh • Tushar Jash Received: 6 March 2014 / Accepted: 16 August 2014 Ó Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg 2014 Abstract A micro turbine-based biogas power plant has been generating electricity in Purulia in West Bengal, India since 2007. The present study reports on technical perfor- mance of the Purulia biogas power plant for the period since the inception of operation. The performance analysis revealed less than acceptable operational standard of the power project. The reasons behind low power generation rate were identified, and recommendations made to improve the efficiency of the power plant. Keywords Biogas Á Micro turbine Á Electricity Á Stagnant Á Accumulation Introduction With the rapid increase in population, industrialization, and development, the demand for electricity is increasing in both cities and rural areas in India. To worsen the situation, the conventional resources for electricity generation are limited and are depleting gradually. This has forced the government to think about the renewable sources of elec- tricity. Biogas is one such option. Biogas, a medium cal- orific value (20 MJ/Nm 3 ) gaseous fuel containing 55–65 % methane, is produced when bacteria degrade organic matter in the absence of oxygen. India has a huge potential for biogas generation from animal waste because of its large cattle population which currently holds the second place in Asia. Biogas production from animal waste in anaerobic digesters should be considered as an opportunity in utilizing green and sustainable energy (Dikshit and Cha- kraborty 2006) which would control the escape of methane, a potent green house gas, into the atmosphere and thereby contribute to the reduction of global warming (Puksec and Duic 2012). In India biogas is mainly used for direct heating purposes. More than 4.5 million family-sized bio- gas plants were installed in India, and the Indian govern- ment had provided financial subsidies for the construction of these plants. Almost all these biogas plants were installed in rural India and are fed by cattle dung. However, biogas can effectively be used for electricity generation through biogas-based power generation system. Now, India has to import coal for power generation because the ash content in Indian coal is very high. If electricity can be generated from cow dung-based biogas plants, it can significantly reduce the consumption of fossil fuels as well as the emission of CO 2 (Wenzel 2009). This in turn can reduce the import of coal, thereby providing financial benefits. Although the Government of India had launched the National Project on Biogas Development (NPBD) long back in 1982, but the main emphasis of the project was on installation of small scale domestic biogas plants used for heating purposes, until in 2006 when the Indian government introduced the Biogas based Distrib- uted/Grid Power Generation Programme (MNRE-Biogas 2013). Under this new program, 98 biogas-based power generation plants have been installed in India. In almost all these power plants, either dual-fuel CI engines or 100 % biogas engines were used, except in one where micro tur- bine was used as a prime mover. Electricity generation through biogas-fueled micro turbine system is carbon neutral and it emits lesser amount of NO x per unit of electricity generation as compared to a dual-fuel CI engine. Besides, in a dual-fuel diesel engine, 20–30 % diesel is required that increases the unit cost of electricity K. Singh Á T. Jash (&) School of Energy Studies, Jadavpur University, Kolkata 700032, India e-mail: tusharjash@yahoo.co.uk 123 Clean Techn Environ Policy DOI 10.1007/s10098-014-0838-0