India’s Bioenergy Growth Can Outpace Overall Energy Demand: Secretary MoPNG at IEW 2026
India’s bioenergy sector can outpace overall energy demand and become a major driver of energy security, emissions reduction and rural growth, said Neeraj Mittal, Secretary, Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas, while launching the IEA India Bioenergy Market Outlook at India Energy Week 2026.
January 30, 2026. By Mrinmoy Dey
Speaking on the Addition Stage at the release of the IEA ‘India Bioenergy Market Report: Outlook for Liquid and Gaseous Biofuels to 2030’ and the fifth edition of the PPAC Journal ‘Ensuring Energy Security: Role of State Energy Policies’, Dr. Mittal emphasised the urgency of scaling sustainable energy solutions.
“India’s energy consumption is in the lower half globally on a per capita basis, but its growth rate is almost twice the world average. In the next decade, India’s energy growth could outstrip global growth by a factor of two or more,” he said.
Highlighting the success of policy-driven outcomes, Dr. Mittal cited the ethanol blending programme as a global benchmark. “In 2014, ethanol blending was just 1.4 percent. Today, we are close to 20 percent, and we have enough domestic ethanol to go beyond that if technology and national vision take us there,” he added. He noted that similar blending targets have been set for biodiesel, compressed biogas (CBG) and sustainable aviation fuel.
The IEA India Bioenergy Market Report, released during the session by the International Energy Agency, presented a strong growth outlook for liquid and gaseous biofuels through 2030. Presenting key findings, Dr. Paolo Frankl, Head of the Renewable Energy Division at IEA, said that India has already tripled its consumption of modern bioenergy since 2020, driven by a combination of blending mandates, targeted incentives, research support and supply-chain development. He added that under enhanced policy implementation, India could double biofuel deployment again by 2030, making it one of the fastest-growing bioenergy markets globally.
Dr. Frankl highlighted compressed biogas as a major emerging opportunity for India due to the country’s vast agricultural residues and organic waste potential. He added that improved feedstock aggregation, infrastructure proximity and stable offtake mechanisms would be critical to sustaining growth and lowering costs.
Complementing the IEA report, the Petroleum Planning and Analysis Cell (PPAC) released the 5th edition of its bi-annual technical journal. P Manoj Kumar, Director General, PPAC, said that the edition focuses on the pivotal role of state-level energy policies in strengthening availability, affordability and resilience. He added that the journal brings together contributions from states, policymakers and institutions, reinforcing evidence-based policymaking and cooperative federalism in the energy sector.
Charlotte Morton, Chief Executive of the World Biogas Association, contributed to the panel’s deliberation with crucial insights on the need for a cohesive national framework for biogas. She highlighted biogas as a multi-benefit solution that supports waste management, rural livelihoods, emissions reduction and decentralised energy systems, and called for stronger coordination across policies, finance and markets.
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