Kerala's Suchitwa Mission Revives Waste-to-Energy Plans at Brahmapuram

In a significant turn of events, the Suchitwa Mission has reignited plans to establish a waste-to-energy (WTE) plant in Brahmapuram, Kerala, less than a year after the state government abandoned similar projects in major cities including Kochi. The mission has issued tenders for the selection of a transaction advisor to oversee the proposed plant, a critical step towards addressing the region’s waste management challenges.

In January 2025, the local self-government department canceled WTE plans across four cities—Thiruvananthapuram, Kochi, Kozhikode, and Kollam—due to insufficient financial closures, with only the Palakkad project moving forward. The abandonment of the Brahmapuram initiative was largely attributed to the inability to finalize a concessionaire agreement, alongside the concurrent construction of a compressed biogas (CBG) plant by Bharat Petroleum Corporation Limited (BPCL).

Currently, Kerala grapples with the generation of approximately 10,000 tons of waste daily, of which around 25% is non-biodegradable. After segregation, recyclable materials are sent to authorized recycling units, while the non-recyclable combustible fraction is often directed to co-processing facilities, such as cement plants, for energy recovery. However, due to a lack of local cement plants equipped for this purpose, such waste is frequently transported to facilities in other states.

The proposed WTE plant aims to address this pressing issue by converting non-recyclable combustible waste into energy, thus aligning with the Solid Waste Management Rules of 2016, which mandate the utilization of waste with a calorific value exceeding 1,500 kcal/kg for energy recovery. The transaction advisor selected from an empaneled list by the Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs will play a pivotal role in guiding the project from its conceptual phase through to financial closure, ultimately ensuring the plant’s successful development and construction.

The government's previous attempt to partner with GJ Eco Power Private Limited for the Brahmapuram plant in 2020 fell through, as the company failed to demonstrate the financial capability necessary to fund the initiative. With renewed efforts by the Suchitwa Mission, there is cautious optimism that the establishment of the WTE plant at Brahmapuram will finally materialize, turning a new page in Kerala's waste management strategy.