Bidadi Waste-to-Energy Plant in Bengaluru: Promise and Challenges

The story of the Bidadi waste-to-energy plant in Bengaluru (Karnataka, India) feels a bit like science fiction—with a dash of everyday chaos thrown in. Operated by Karnataka Power Corporation Limited (KPCL), this Rs. 310 crore facility, formally launched in November 2024, is the first of its kind in the south Indian state of Karnataka – transforming municipal solid waste into electricity that powers local homes and industries.

Insights into Bidadi Waste-to-Energy Facility

Every day, trucks from the Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike (BBMP) arrive at the Bidadi WTE plant, carrying the city’s household waste. The plant is designed to process up to 600 tons of dry waste daily, generating a maximum of 11.5 megawatts (MW) of electricity. The Bidadi waste-to-energy plant is established over an area of around 10 acres. The facility can hold up to 4,200 tons of waste at any given time.

Here is a step-by-step process description of the Bidadi WTE plant:

1. Waste receiving: Trucks tip their loads into the storage pit. The waste is visually inspected and sorted to remove any undesirable materials.
2. Drying: The waste is treated to remove moisture. This step is crucial, as wet waste can disrupt combustion and reduce process efficiency.
3. Combustion: Once dried, the waste is fed into a high-temperature incinerator. Here, it burns at controlled temperatures, releasing heat energy.
4. Steam Generation: The heat from combustion is used to boil water in large industrial boilers which produces steam at high pressure.
5. Electricity Production: The steam drives turbines, converting thermal energy into mechanical energy, which is then transformed into electricity.

The resulting electricity is sent to the on-site Bidadi substation, where it is injected into the local grid.

 The MSW incineration process produces two main byproducts:

• Fly Ash: This fine particulate matter is captured and released through the plant’s chimney, with emissions carefully monitored to meet environmental standards.
• Bottom Ash: Heavier ash is collected, aggregated, and sent back to landfills for safe disposal.

It is to be noted that the plant significantly reduces the volume of waste sent to landfills, however it is dependent on responsible waste management practices both upstream and downstream.

The Key Challenges to Overcome

The Bidadi waste-to-energy plant relies on properly sorted dry solid waste, but BBMP often struggles to deliver clean, dry waste stream due the lack of waste segregation at source. This shortfall means the plant frequently operates below its designed output, highlighting the critical role of household waste segregation in the project’s success.

With only 400 metric tons of dry waste arriving daily—compared to the 600 metric tons needed for the designed capacity—the plant often falls short of its 11.5 MW electricity target. This underperformance is a direct result of inadequate segregation at the source.

For the Bidadi waste management plant to deliver on its promise of sustainable waste management, every resident’s role is vital. Source-segregation of household waste is crucial to the success of the Bengaluru’s waste-to-energy project. The entire process of generating energy from domestic waste depends on receiving the right kind of waste material: dry, combustible, and free from inert materials. But in reality, what arrives at the plant’s gates is a far cry from this ideal.

To make up the shortfall, the plant relies on legacy waste from Mandur, a landfill located 110 kilometers away. Mandur holds a staggering 24 lakh metric tons of stored waste, accumulated over decades. Each day, trucks haul about 300 metric tons from Mandur to the plant. But even this isn’t enough to meet the facility’s 600-ton daily requirement.

Transporting waste from such a distance is costly and inefficient. Plus, legacy waste is often even more mixed and contaminated than fresh city waste, making it harder to process and less reliable as a fuel source.

Bottom Line

The Bidadi waste-to-energy plant is a bold experiment in urban waste management for big cities in India. But the real story is not just about the electricity generated—it’s about the untapped potential lying in every bag of trash you throw away.

The challenge is not about building more energy-from-waste plants but about changing the way every citizen thinks about their garbage. Waste segregation at the source is the single most important factor that will determine whether waste-to-energy can truly power a sustainable future.

The Bidadi waste management model is being studied as a template for similar plants across Karnataka, but expansion plans are on hold until the issue of consistent, segregated supply and logistical inefficiencies is solved. The success of MSW-to-energy in Karnataka now depends on what happens in kitchens, living rooms, and apartment complexes across Bengaluru and beyond. If every household made waste segregation a daily routine, the impact would be transformative.

To conclude, the future of waste-to-energy in India is not just about megawatts or imported expensive technologies. If we can make waste segregation a habit, we will unlock the full potential of waste-to-energy solutions turning yesterday’s garbage into tomorrow’s power, and building a cleaner, brighter future for all.