The Ministry of New and Renewable Energy (MNRE) organised a seminar on the “National Bio Energy Programme” in New Delhi in partnership with UNIDO and GEF, as part of Azadi Ka Amrit Mahotsav. During the inaugural session, the union minister of power and new and renewable energy unveiled the compendium of the National Bio Energy Programme and launched the Biourja and Biogas portals. The minister enumerated the importance of bioenergy for providing clean cooking through biogas, co-firing in thermal power plants by utilising biomass pellets and briquettes and bio-CNG for transport. He emphasised that the benefits of utilisation of surplus biomass should reach the rural household by way of an additional source of income for farmers.
During the seminar, salient features of the National Bioenergy Programme and its implementation mechanism were discussed. The issues related to the financing of bioenergy projects, the resource potential of biomass and waste in India along with the socio-economic benefits of the bioenergy sector were dwelled upon.
MNRE has continued the National Bioenergy Programme for the period from 2021-22 to 2025-26. The programme has been recommended for implementation in two phases. The Phase-I of the programme has been approved with a budget outlay of Rs 8.58 billion. The National Bioenergy Programme will comprise of three sub-schemes including- waste to energy programme (programme on energy from urban, industrial and agricultural wastes /residues) to support setting up of large biogas, bio compressed natural gas (bioCNG) and power plants (excluding municipal solid waste to power projects); biomass programme (scheme to support manufacturing of briquettes and pellets and promotion of biomass (non-bagasse) based cogeneration in industries) to support setting up of pellets and briquettes for use in power generation and non-bagasse based power generation projects; and biogas programme to support setting up of family and medium size biogas in rural areas.
