Chennai’s green move: Biogas plants planned in school kitchens

Chennai: The Greater Chennai Corporation (GCC) is planning to install biogas plants in Corporation-run schools to reduce dependence on LPG cylinders, promote clean energy for cooking, and familiarise students with sustainable waste management practices.

The initiative will prioritise school campuses with centralised kitchens that prepare meals for multiple institutions, enabling the effective use of food and vegetable waste to generate cooking gas.

Chennai Corporation Commissioner J Kumaragurubaran said the civic body plans to work with non-governmental organisations, residents’ welfare associations and individual partners willing to support the project. The move is expected to significantly lower cooking fuel costs while advancing the city’s renewable energy and waste-to-energy goals.

As a pilot project, the GCC is considering the installation of biogas plants at four cloud kitchens, where large volumes of food waste are generated daily. These facilities would integrate composting and biogas units, require limited maintenance, and can be set up at a cost-effective scale, officials said.

The proposal follows the successful commissioning of a biogas plant at a Corporation higher secondary school in South Chennai last month. The 75-kg capacity unit, installed at a cost of Rs 5.7 lakh with the support of a local residents’ association and a service organisation, serves a kitchen that prepares breakfast for around 10 Corporation schools.

Currently linked to a single stove, the plant processes 15 to 20 kg of food waste per day and generates enough biogas to meet part of the school’s cooking needs, saving one LPG cylinder every two months. About 250 students benefit directly, while the facility is also used as a hands-on environmental education tool.

A similar school biogas project in Adyar, set up last year with the support of civic groups, helped save seven LPG cylinders in 10 months, officials said. During this period, nearly 3,200 kg of food and wet waste were diverted from disposal, producing biogas used for cooking for about 270 hours.

In addition to reducing LPG usage, biogas plants produce nutrient-rich slurry, which can be converted into compost for school gardens and small-scale cultivation. Officials said the initiative aims to create a closed-loop system combining waste management, renewable energy generation and environmental education within school campuses.

IANS