Merck commissions biomass energy plant in Goa

German chemical and pharmaceutical company Merck, has commissioned a climate-neutral co-generation plant (a biomass plant) at its production site in Goa. The project is part of a company-wide climate protection program. Merck previously commissioned a new co-generation plant at its headquarters in Darmstadt in July.
 
Located in Usgao, around 45 kilometers from Panaji, Merck's Goa site manufactures vitamin preparations, industrial and laboratory chemicals as well as microbiological products, among other things.
 
“As an innovative, high-tech company, we are also pursuing new solutions for generating energy at our sites throughout the world. Furthermore, our biomass plant shows the potential of corporate responsibility projects: the company, the environment and society benefit in equal measure,” said Karl-Ludwig Kley, Chairman of the Executive Board of Merck.
 
The co-generation unit, which has a power output of 3 megawatts, generates electricity and steam for the pharmaceutical and chemical production operations in Goa. Merck is mainly recycling the shells of cashews and coconuts, two crops that are farmed in the region, to use as biomass fuel. Overall, this will make it possible to reduce carbon dioxide emissions by around 11,500 metrics tonnes, corresponding to around 85% of the site's total carbon dioxide emissions. The biomass plant, which represents an investment of more than Euro 3 million, will ensure that the site has a reliable supply of energy and can operate independently of the public power grid.
 
The climate protection program Edison comprises around 300 climate protection and energy efficiency activities of the Merck Group. The objective is to reduce greenhouse gas emissions from energy generation as well as to enhance the energy efficiency of research and production processes. Merck aims to reduce its total direct and indirect greenhouse gas emissions by 20 percent by 2020, measured against the 2006 baseline. At its site in Jaffrey, New Hampshire (USA), Merck plans to further its renewable energy work by commissioning a biomass central heating plant next year.