West Bengal is basically an agricultural-based state in India. Agriculture and forest residues are the two main categories of biomass residues generated in West Bengal. Out of the total biomass residues generated in the state, about 79% comes from agriculture. In this paper, district-wise biomass residues generation and the potential for power generation from surplus biomass, in the state, have been estimated. The study is based on a primary survey carried out in West Bengal. It has been estimated that about 2107 MW of power generation is possible. (C) 2008 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.