Biofuels are Key to India’s Energy Aatmanirbharta

The pursuit of equitable socio-economic growth has been on India’s national agenda ever since it gained independence in 1947. The demand for fuel to sustain this growth has increased incrementally as well. For a developing nation like ours, the need for affordable energy is fundamental, be it for expanding industrialisation, modernising key sectors such as transportation and modern agriculture, and fostering trade and commerce, among others. Yet, India’s current domestic energy sources are unfortunately woefully inadequate to match this demand and the country has been largely dependent on expensive fuel imports to keep the homes fires burning so to speak. 

The current Government in India is keen to minimise the expenditure of precious foreign exchange on imports and, in keeping with that, is eagerly focussing on renewable and affordable sources of energy production. Developing ‘Aatmanirbharta’, or self-reliance, is a key priority for the Government and in line with the framework of global climate change goals. The need to fuel progress is important and energy that is clean and renewable is the need of the hour for India. Within the broader renewable energy discussion, biogas has emerged as a promising fuel source globally. This is not only because it is an environmentally sustainable solution, but also because of the crucial role it has played to help nations transition to a circular economy. 

To promote a circular economy between municipal solid waste and industrial/agriculture waste management systems, a significant role can be played by sustainable biogas systems. Waste management, especially of the organic kind, poses a severe challenge to nations across the globe. Methane emissions are now already a major threat owing to the harmful effects that greenhouse gases (GHG) of its kind can have on the environment.

Governments across the world are today waking up to the possibility of harnessing compressed biogas (CBG), a yet unmapped but potentially vast renewable energy source. CBG, otherwise also known as biomethane globally, is an enriched form of biogas containing more than 90% methane. Sustainable Biogas systems are being regarded as a key step towards making the adoption of alternative renewable energy widely accepted and making the planet greener.

India, among other countries, has been promoting ‘Waste-to-Energy’ projects using bio-methanation since 1982. More recently, CBG became a valuable component of India’s future green mixture, outlined in the Government of India’s 2018 ‘Sustainable Alternative towards Affordable Transportation’, or SATAT, scheme. The Government, under the SATAT scheme, envisages setting up 5,000 CBG plants by 2023-24 with a production target of 15 MMT. This is expected to create both greener fuels and new employment opportunities in rural belts.

The combined effort of the Government of India’s SATAT initiative, decentralized CBG facilities and Indian oil marketing companies coming together to provide infrastructure to integrate CBG for automotive fuel consumption is a welcome step. Likewise, the utilization of Biomass for energy and other needs is still a major challenge. Biomass utilization in place of burning will be a major step.

in addressing the pollution issues currently affecting India. With modern and innovative technologies, policymakers can focus on and incentivise companies who are willing to set up facilities to convert Biomass into chemicals and energy. and thereby delivering energy independence for India.
 

There are multiple benefits of introducing CBG in the transport sector, such as aiding waste management and reducing carbon emissions. It will also create an additional revenue source for farmers by creating wealth from waste. It will also boost entrepreneurship in the rural economy, while generating employment opportunities. Also, the adoption of CBG as fuel will reduce the import of natural gas and crude oil, thus aiding to create a buffer against the price fluctuations of these petroleum products. If the true potential of CBG is exploited in the country, India can produce an equivalent of approximately 62 MMT of CBG annually, which is sufficient to satiate the entire gas demand of the nation.

Dharmendra Pradhan, India’s Minister of Petroleum, Natural Gas and Steel, has said that the country is well poised to achieve its renewable energy target of 450 gigawatts (GW) by 2030. That may well be true if India remains focused on developing a gas-based economy in an integrated manner, which includes encouraging the cleaner use of fossil fuels, greater reliance on domestically produced fuels like biogas, focusing on raising the adoption of electricity as a power source, moving into emerging fuels like hydrogen and promoting digital innovation across all energy systems.

Traditionally, Indians have used biofuels like wood and cow dung in chulhas, especially in rural areas, to cook food and heat water. But these techniques were extremely inefficient and have been proven to be highly polluting as well. In fact, because of the smoke, lung diseases were rampant in many house holds that used these stoves.

This is where advanced technology can step in. Modern systems to extract fuel from biomass can reduce pollution drastically, and at the same time, be affordable all thanks to their overall efficiency and reduction of losses throughout the process.

How well India can embrace appropriate technology to make biofuels available to its citizens as well as its industries and business sectors will act as a significant force multiplier of social and economic growth in the country. The very fact that this energy is harnessed from raw materials that would have otherwise been discarded, is invaluable and is the perfect example of a waste-to-wealth approach to energy sustainability. CBG is the solution for both organic waste as well as tackling the fuel deficit that India is grappling with. Indeed, this is ‘Aatmanirbharta’ (self-reliance) in its truest form. 
 

- Vinod Paremal, Regional President of Indian Subcontinent, Evonik