Shri Dharmendra Pradhan, Union Minister of Petroleum and Natural Gas & Skill
Development and Entrepreneurship today launched an innovative initiative here,
with PSU Oil Marketing Companies (OMCs) inviting Expression of Interest (EoI)
from potential entrepreneurs to set up Compressed Bio-Gas (CBG) production plants
and make available CBG in the market for use in automotive fuels. The EoI are
available on the websites of the OMCs and can be filled from 1st October, 2018
to 31st March, 2019.
Speaking on the occasion, the Petroleum Minister said that the Swachhta fortnight
is being observed throughout the country, and this is a significant move in this
direction. He said that the Gas is clean and cheaper mode of fuel and the Government
has taken several steps to promote its production and usage. Sh Pradhan said
that the Government is keen to set up 5000 CBG plants in next 5 years, and for
this purpose, production offtake guarantee is being given for such plants. There
will be no restriction on the technology choice and Government is incurring Rs
75,000 Crore capital expenditure for setting up infrastructure for City Gas distribution
network. Besides the potential to boost availability of more affordable transport
fuels, better use of agricultural residue, cattle dung and municipal solid waste,
the CBG plants will provide an additional revenue source to farmers, and 75,000
direct job opportunities and lakhs of indirect jobs. He said that not only OMCs,
but also other Gas distribution companies and other concerned departments should
also take part in it. The Minister said that currently 42 lakh households are
getting PNG supply, and there is a commitment to cover 2 crore households in
300 districts by the suppliers after the implementation of 9th round of CGD bids.
Titled SATAT, the initiative is aimed at providing a Sustainable Alternative Towards
Affordable Transportation as a developmental effort that would benefit both vehicle-users
as well as farmers and entrepreneurs. This initiative holds great promise for
efficient municipal solid waste management and in tackling the problem of polluted
urban air due to farm stubble-burning and carbon emissions. Use of CBG will also
help bring down dependency on crude oil imports and in realising the Prime Minister’s
vision of enhancing farmers’ income, rural employment and entrepreneurship.
Background
In a significant push that has the potential to boost availability of more affordable transport fuels, better use of agricultural
residue, cattle dung and municipal solid waste as well as to provide
an additional revenue source to farmers, Shri Dharmendra Pradhan, Union
Minister of Petroleum and Natural Gas, Skill Development & Entrepreneurship,has
kicked-off an innovative initiative with PSU Oil Marketing Companies
(OMCs, that is, IOC, BPC and HPC) inviting Expression of Interest (EoI)
from potential entrepreneurs to set up Compressed Bio-Gas (CBG) production
plants and make available CBG in the market for use in automotive fuels.
Titled SATAT, the initiative is aimed at providing a Sustainable Alternative
Towards Affordable Transportation (SATAT) as a developmental effort that
would benefit both vehicle-users as well as farmers and entrepreneurs.
Launched on the penultimate day of the ongoing Swachhta Hi Seva fortnight,
a mass movement to fulfill Mahatma Gandhi's vision of a Clean India,
this initiative holds great promise for efficient municipal solid waste
management and in tackling the problem of polluted urban air due to farm
stubble-burning and carbon emissions.
Use of Compressed Bio-Gas (CBG) will also help bring down dependency on crude
oil imports and in realising the Prime Minister’s vision of enhancing
farmers’ income, rural employment and entrepreneurship.
What is Compressed Bio-Gas (CBG)?
Bio-gas is produced naturally (through a process of anaerobic decomposition) from waste / bio-mass sources like agriculture
residue, cattle dung, sugarcane press mud, municipal solid waste, sewage
treatment plant waste, etc. After purification, it is compressed and
called CBG, which has high methane content. Further, Compressed Bio-Gas
is exactly similar to the commercially available natural gas in its composition
and energy potential. With similar calorific value and other properties
similar to CNG, Compressed Bio-Gas can be used as an alternative, renewable
automotive fuel. Given the abundance of biomass in the country, Compressed
Bio-Gas has the potential to replace CNG in automotive, industrial and
commercial uses in the coming years.
Benefits of Compressed Bio-Gas (CBG)
There are multiple benefits from converting agricultural residue, cattle dung and municipal solid waste into CBG on a commercial
scale:
- Responsible waste management, reduction in carbon emissions and pollution
- Additional revenue source for farmers
- Boost to entrepreneurship, rural economy and employment
- Support to national commitments in achieving climate change goals
- Reduction in import of natural gas and crude oil
- Buffer against crude oil/gas price fluctuations
Production & Marketing Plan
Compressed Bio-Gas plants are proposed to be set up mainly through independent entrepreneurs. CBG produced at these plants
will be transported through cascades or through pipelines to the fuel
station networks of Oil Marketing Companies (OMCs) for marketing as a
green transport fuel alternative. The 1,500-strong CNG stations network
in the country currently serves about 32 lakh gas-based vehicles.
The entrepreneurs would be able to separately market the other by-products
from these plants, including bio-manure, carbon-dioxide, etc., to enhance
returns on investment.
It is planned to roll out 5,000 Compressed Bio-Gas plants across India in
a phased manner in the next 4 years.
The Corporation commenced sale of Compressed Bio-Gas (CBG) in select cities with the brand name IndiGreen. As part of the SATAT scheme, IndianOil has issued LOIs to prospective entrepreneurs for setting up 295 plants for production & supply of 0.6 MMTPA of CBG.
Government Support Schemes
The National Policy on Biofuels 2018 emphasises active promotion of advanced bio-fuels, including CBG. The Government of
India had launched the GOBAR-DHAN (Galvanising Organic Bio-Agro Resources)
scheme earlier this year to convert cattle dung and solid waste in farms
to CBG and compost. The scheme proposes to cover 700 projects across
the country in 2018-19. The programme will be funded under Solid and
Liquid Waste Management (SLWM) component of Swachh Bharat Mission-Gramin
(SBM-G) to benefit households in identified villages through Gram Panchayats.
The Ministry of New and Renewable Energy has notified Central Financial
Assistance (CFA) of Rs. 4 crore per 4,800 kg of CBG per day generated
from 12,000 cubic metres of biogas per day, with a maximum of Rs.10 crore
per project.
Future Potential
Compressed Bio-Gas can be produced from various bio-mass/waste sources, including agricultural residue, municipal solid waste,
sugarcane press mud, distillery spent wash, cattle dung and sewage treatment
plant waste. The other waste streams, that is, rotten potatoes from cold
storages, rotten vegetables, dairy plants, chicken/poultry litter, food
waste, horticulture waste, forestry residues and treated organic waste
from industrial effluent treatment plants (ETPs) can be used to generate
biogas.
Going forward, Compressed Bio-Gas networks can be integrated with city gas
distribution (CGD) networks to boost supplies to domestic and retail
users in existing and upcoming markets. Besides retailing from OMC fuel
stations, Compressed Bio-Gas can at a later date be injected into CGD
pipelines too for efficient distribution and optimised access of a cleaner
and more affordable fuel.
Conclusion
What is considered as waste today can be transformed into energy in the near future! Every bit of biomass can be used to
produce bio-gas and bio-manure. This will go a long way in making India
energy self-reliant, help combat global warming and mitigate climate
change. The Government of India is committed to transforming India into
Sasya-Syamala Bharat, a Sujala-Suphala Bharat.