Guwahati, September 29: Assam will set up a power plant which for the first time will use ‘waste’ gas as fuel. The plant, proposed to be set up at Titabor in Jorhat district, will use the associated gas that is produced as a byproduct during production of crude oil. The associated gas is generally regarded as an undesirable byproduct, which is either re–injected, flared, or vented. In oil fields in Upper Assam, these gases are burnt down at the sites after separation from the crude. “We have been asking the Centre, ONGC and Oil India to allow us to use these associated gases. The ONGC has finally given the nod. The project will be executed jointly by two Assam government PSUs – Assam Power Generation Company Limited (APGCL) and Assam Gas Company Limited (AGCL),” power minister Pradyut Bordoloi said. He said some small pockets of gas reserves have been traced in the Jorhat–Golaghat belt, in areas like Nambor, Kachomari, Uriamghat etc. AGCL will divert these associated gases from the production sites to a central place (Titabor) through pipelines. The power plant will be developed by APGCL. It is estimated that that daily around 2 lakh standard cubic metre of gas will be available from these reserves for the proposed project. Though the associated gases are “waste”, the State government will have to buy the gas from ONGC. “Initially, the generation capacity of the plant will be 50 MW. Later, depending upon the availability of gas, we will increase the capacity,” Bordoloi said. Though the detailed project report (DPR) is yet to be made, it is estimated that the new power plant will be built at an estimated cost of around Rs 300 crore. Assam Power Generation Company Limited managing director Pradyut Bujarbarua said the DPR would be prepared in two months time. Thereafter, the tendering process will start. “The project should be developed in two and half years’ time,” he said. The proposed plant would require around 70 km of pipeline to divert the associated gases from the reserves to the project site. The power department is also exploring the possibility of setting up a similar plant in Barak Valley to use the associated gas reserves available there. The APGCL is also contemplating on setting up a solar power plant at Amguri.