The conference was attended by municipal commissioners, experts and industry representatives from all over India.

Delivering his keynote address, P W C Davidar, secretary, energy department, Tamil Nadu, said the State’s energy consumption has been galloping in the past five years, from 38,374 million units in financial year 2004 to 53,065 million units in financial year 2009.

He said it is a big challenge to meet the energy needs through conventional sources alone and that renewable sources are the way forward.

Moreover, with so much waste generated everyday, there is a huge potential to convert it into energy, thanks to proven technology available in India and abroad, he said.

Anil Dhussa, director, Ministry of New and Renewable Energy, Central government, said that though urban India generates 1.5 lakh metric tonnes of municipal solid waste every day, hardly 10 per cent of it is converted into energy, as against 80 per cent in Japan and 92 per cent in Singapore.

Rainer Rehn, sales director, BMH Enviro, Finland, said that prosperity has its flip side; increasing consumption is generating huge domestic and industrial waste.

Landfills are no longer an option; on the other hand it is economically beneficial to convert huge piles of waste into energy.

He said solid recovered fuel (fuel generated from solid waste) can deliver phenomenal profits; even with conservative estimates, he said the costs (Rs 480 per metric tonne) far outweigh revenues (Rs 1,500).

However, renewable sources can only complement conventional sources of energy, said Dr R Christodas Gandhi, chairman, TEDA.

He said global energy generation, currently skewed in favour of fossil fuels, will undergo a paradigm change given the fast depleting fossil fuels.