The Ministry of New and Renewable Energy (MNRE) has notified revised guidelines under the waste-to-energy (WtE) component of the National Bioenergy Programme. The revised framework is aimed at improving performance monitoring and accelerating the disbursement of central financial assistance (CFA). Key changes include simplification of approval processes, reduction in documentation, and flexible performance-based CFA disbursal, especially to support micro, small, and medium enterprises involved in producing compressed biogas, biogas, and power.
The updated guidelines allow the release of CFA in two installments. Developers can receive 50 per cent of the total CFA after obtaining the consent to operate certificate from the state pollution control board, provided a bank guarantee is submitted. The remaining 50 per cent CFA is performance-based, and will be released after the plant achieves 80 per cent of the rated capacity or the maximum eligible CFA capacity, whichever is lower. In cases where a project fails to achieve the 80 per cent benchmark, a pro-rata disbursal will be permitted based on output, as long as plant load factor (PLF) remains above 50 per cent. No CFA will be awarded if PLF is less than 50 per cent. Developers who do not opt for advance CFA are required to undergo only one performance inspection, reducing delays. Developers are allowed to claim CFA either within 18 months from commissioning or from the date of in-principle CFA approval, whichever is later.
The inspection process is also revised to improve transparency and credibility. Joint inspections will be conducted by the National Institute of Bio-Energy along with one agency among the state nodal agencies, biogas development and training centres (BDTCs), or any MNRE-empanelled agency. A list of BDTCs includes institutions such as IIT Guwahati, IIT Delhi, PAU Ludhiana, MPUAT Udaipur, DAVV Indore, KIIT Bhubaneswar, UAS Bangalore, and TNAU Coimbatore.
