Renewable and green energy company SAEL plans to increase its power generation from biomass, particularly paddy stubble to one gigawatt over the next five years, its Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Laxit  Awla has said.  

As part of this, the New Delhi-based company is planning to expand its paddy straw-based waste-to-energy generation to different States. It is currently operating in Punjab, Haryana and Rajasthan. It has 11 power-generating units in these States, producing 165 MW of electricity solely from paddy stubble. The company is the largest producer of such power in the country. 

“As a nationwide player, we are targeting the entire country and wherever we can do paddy straw-based waste-to-energy. So we are looking at States like Chhattisgarh, Andhra Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh and Uttar Pradesh,” he told businessline in an online interview.

Realising pollution issue

New Delhi-based Sael has been in the power industry for about 10 years now. Over the past three years, it has grown from a portfolio of about 400 megawatts to 8.5 gigawatts on the Solar independent power production side. 

The company has backward integration in its module manufacturing and is coming up in the cell manufacturing space over the next one-and-a-half years. Apart from that, it is present in one of the major segments and a diversified segment - agri waste to energy.

The company has been present in this segment for over 15 years. “We primarily use paddy stubble as a fuel to operate our power plants. We used multiple fuels from 2009 to 2015. We built our first agri-waste-to-energy plant, which is still running,” said Awla.

SAEL used mixed fuels with rice husk, besides wheat straw, leaves and any kind of agri waste until 2015. From 2015-16, it realised that the pollution problem is because of paddy stubble.

Danish technology

“We got technology from a Danish engineering company, BWE, which made it easier for us to burn paddy stubble and produce power and run our plants at 85 to 90 per cent annual plant load factor. This is the highest in the industry,” said the company’s CEO.

The first agri-waste-to-energy plant was set up in December 2019, totally based on paddy stubble.  It has not gone for any other biomass or other fuel or bagasse. 

 Explaining the process, Awla said the burning of paddy stubble is controlled in a boiler, which also has pollution control equipment which sucks out excess particles. “Hence, whatever air that comes out of the chimney is basically clean air, or cleaner, which conforms to the atmospheric norms laid out by the government,” he said.  

SAEL pays for the paddy stubble received from farmers. “We procure approximately 2 million tonnes of paddy straw. These are procured in the October-January window (after the kharif harvest),” the company’s CEO said.   

Other sources

Paddy stubble supplies are from Punjab, Haryana and, to some extent, from Rajasthan. “We are probably the largest off-taker of paddy stubble. In the areas where we procure the stubble, the pollution has been reduced by at least 90 per cent,” said Awla.

On the logistics for stubble procurement, he said the company has put up balers that convert the stubble into rectangular bundles. These bales are collected from farmlands by tractors.

Though paddy stubble is the primary fuel for power generation, SAEL uses mustard straw in Rajasthan. “We also use groundnut straw, we use any available biomass depending on the crop,” he said. 

On the socio-economic impact of the procurement of paddy stubble, Awla said there are multiple benefits from it. The first is it ensures 24 hours of power supply. The second is that it offers entrepreneurial opportunities to farmers, given the supply chain that is involved. “Besides, it also generates direct and indirect employment,” said the CEO, adding that this comes in handy soon after the harvest season, when farmers and their families are free.

ADB funding

The third benefit is that it benefits the topsoil layer and helps in reducing fertilizer usage, thus saving input costs. Besides, it saves fuel and protects the environment, he said. During the Covid pandemic, when the country faced coal shortage, SAEL paddy stubble plants helped maintaining power supply in some areas, he said.

SAEL has been funded by the Asian Development Bank, Union Bank of India, Bank of Baroda and State Bank of India. The company, which has 2,500 employees, is “reasonably” profitable, said Awla. 

Power generated from paddy stubble has a bright futures with various State governments realising its potential. The company’s CEO said Haryana’s budget has specially mentioned about waste-to-energy projects. “There is definitely a push from the governments too,” he said. 

Published on May 14, 2026