Energetica India Magazine May-June 2021

BIOFUELS Biofuels are Key to India’s Energy Aatmanirbharta 54 energetica INDIA- May-June_2021 Vinod Paremal Regional President of Indian Subcontinent, Evonik The pursuit of equitable socio-econom- ic growth has been on India’s national agenda ever since it gained indepen- dence in 1947. The demand for fuel to sustain this growth has increased in- crementally as well. For a developing nation like ours, the need for affordable energy is fundamental, be it for ex- panding industrialisation, modernising key sectors such as transportation and modern agriculture, and fostering trade and commerce, among others. Yet, In- dia’s current domestic energy sources are unfortunately woefully inadequate to match this demand and the country has been largely dependent on expen- sive 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 ‘Aat- manirbharta’, 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/ag- riculture waste management systems, a significant role can be played by sus - tainable biogas systems. Waste man- agement, 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 to- day waking up to the possibility of har- nessing compressed biogas (CBG), a yet unmapped but potentially vast re- newable 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 green- er. India, among other countries, has been promoting ‘Waste-to-Energy’ projects using bio-methanation since 1982. More recently, CBG became a valuable com- ponent 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 ex- pected 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 auto- motive fuel consumption is a welcome step. Likewise, the utilization of Bio- mass for energy and other needs is still a major challenge. Biomass utilization in place of burning will be a major step 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.