In a recent statement, the union minister of petroleum & natural gas and housing & urban affairs, Mr Hardeep Singh Puri highlighted the need for domestic production of biofuels. He highlighted that it will play a pivotal role in achieving reduction in import of fossil fuel and ultimately help to achieve the target of net zero emissions. Highlighting the need for alternative fuels, Mr Puri said, “Considering the limited domestic availability of fossil fuels and import dependence for this, the energy security of the country will remain vulnerable until alternative fuels to substitute or supplement fossil fuels are developed based on indigenously sustainable renewable feedstock”.
He mentioned that the production of compressed biogas (CBG) will have multiple benefits like reduction of natural gas imports, reduction of greenhouse gases emission, reduction in burning of agriculture residues, providing remunerative income to farmers, employment generation, effective waste management amongst many others. “The Indian government has set a target to increase the share of gas in the energy mix up to 15 per cent in 2030 to make India a gas-based economy. Presently we are importing around 50 per cent of our requirement of natural gas. Speedy expansion of CBG will help in meeting our additional requirement from domestic resources”, he stated.
Policies of the government have enabled the adoption of green renewable energy in the last 10 years. These include the Sustainable Alternative Towards Affordable Transportation (SATAT) scheme and the use of agro-waste to generate compressed biogas. Puri also shared India’s ambitious target to set up 5,000 commercial plants by 2024 to 2025 and produce 15 MMT of CBG which can replace other gaseous fuels being used in the country. He mentioned that India has commissioned 46 CBG plants under SATAT Scheme and there are 100 outlets currently dispensing compressed biogas across the country.
While mentioning the importance of green and clean energy, the minister stressed the need for generating renewable, sustainable and indigenous energy sources that can supplement other conventional energy sources in the short term and take over as the primary source of energy in the long run. In addition, he highlighted how Fermented Organic Manure (FOM), a by-product of the CBG manufacturing process, might be applied in the agricultural sector to encourage organic farming and lower the usage of artificial fertilisers.
While talking about the financing of projects, he indicated that ‘Amrit Kaal Budget 2023’ gives a huge boost to India’s Bio-Gas and clean energy revolution in the following ways:
- Special attention was given to CBG projects along with the announced establishment of 200 CBG projects under the umbrella of GOBARdhan scheme.
- A 5 per cent CBG mandate will be introduced for all organisations marketing natural gas and biogas.
- To avoid cascading of taxes on blended compressed natural gas, excise duty on the amount of GST paid on compressed biogas contained in the blended CNG has been exempted.
