India Among Top Three in Untapped Biogas Potential
The Parliamentary Standing Committee on Energy convened on Tuesday to discuss the National Bioenergy Programme (NBP), with officials updating members on progress and future plans. Committee Chairman and Shiv Sena MP Appa Chandu Barne stated that panel members sought information on measures to address agricultural residue burning in Uttar Pradesh, Punjab, and Haryana, which contributes to air pollution. Sources revealed that India is among the top three countries globally in terms of untapped biogas potential.
Presentation Highlights India's Bioenergy Growth
During the meeting, a presentation on the National Bioenergy Programme underscored India's expanding role in the global bioenergy sector. The country has significant opportunities to scale up biogas production using agricultural residues, animal waste, municipal solid waste, and other biomass resources. India ranks second globally in co-firing biomass pellets in thermal power plants, following Japan. India's installed biopower generation capacity stands at 11.76 GW, compared to China's 32 GW and Brazil's 18 GW.
National Bioenergy Programme Objectives
The National Bioenergy Programme aims to support waste-to-energy projects for generating biogas, compressed biogas (CBG), power, and syngas from urban, industrial, and agricultural wastes. The committee was informed of substantial feedstock availability: animal dung at 1,655 million tonnes per annum (MTPA), surplus agricultural biomass at 228 MTPA, sugarcane bagasse at 100 MTPA, municipal solid waste at 62 MTPA, and sewage waste at 72,368 million litres per day (MLD).
Waste-to-Energy Programme Progress
Officials highlighted achievements under the Waste-to-Energy Programme. A total of 67 Bio-CNG projects have been sanctioned, with 60 commissioned. Sanctioned capacity is 518.4 tonnes per day (TPD), while commissioned capacity is 468 TPD. Additionally, seven power projects (11.92 MW) and five biogas projects (72,100 cubic metres per day) have been commissioned. These projects help utilize approximately 36 lakh tonnes of agricultural and biogenic waste annually, potentially reducing greenhouse gas emissions by 8 lakh tonnes per year.
Biomass Programme and Historical Context
The Biomass Programme has also made notable progress. Officials traced India's bioenergy journey, noting that the first CBG programme was launched as a pilot in 2013. In 2020, a dedicated CBG scheme with a budget outlay of Rs 400 crore was introduced. The National Bioenergy Programme Phase-I followed in 2022 with an outlay of Rs 998 crore. The Ministry of New and Renewable Energy (MNRE) developed the CBG sector during its nascent stage, and it has now been transferred to the Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas (MoPNG) to support large-scale commercialization.
