Bolstering the roadmap of ‘Waste to Wealth’, the public sector oil marketing companies (OMCs) have planned to set up 100 biogas plants in Uttar Pradesh.
While, the first plant was commissioned yesterday in Badaun district, the foundation for 8 more compressed biogas (CBG) units was laid by UP chief minister Yogi Adityanath in the presence of union petroleum and natural gas minister Hardeep Singh Puri.
The Badaun plant, spread over 50 acres, entailed investment of Rs 133 crore by the OMC, HPCL.
Waste to Wealth Mission is one of the nine scientific missions of the Prime Minister’s Science, Technology, and Innovation Advisory Council (PMSTIAC). It aims to identify, develop, and deploy technologies to treat waste to generate energy, recycle materials, and extract resources of value.
The Badaun CBG plant will help reduce stubble burning, thus leading to annual reduction of 55,000 tons of CO2 emissions. It has a processing capacity of 100 million tonnes per day (MTPD) of rice straw, and can generate 14 MTPD of CBG along with 65 MTPD of solid manure or organic fertiliser.
The UP biogas roadmap aligns with the Centre’s emphasis on reducing dependence on imported fossil fuels. As part of the National Biofuel Policy 2018, it contributes to the goal of reducing import dependency by 10 percent, with a focus on second-generation (2G) bio refineries and CBG plants.
Upon stabilisation of production, the Badaun unit will help in reducing stubble burning of almost 20,000 acres of fields translating into an annual reduction of 55,000 tonnes of CO2 emissions and generate direct employment of 100 people and indirect employment of 1,000 people.
The project will boost farm income by procuring biomass from local farmers and Farmer Producer Organisations (FPO).
Additionally, the sale of organic manure to local farmers aims to enhance soil quality and crop yields, contributing to sustainable agriculture.
Puri said UP had made a rapid progress in terms of oil and gas sector, including number of petrol pumps, LPG distributors, PNG connections, CNG stations, LPG connections etc.
Addressing a news conference in Lucknow on Saturday, Puri said the daily consumption of crude oil in UP was to the tune of 5 barrels per day.
Before the Narendra Modi government came to power in 2014, India targetted 5 percent fuel blending with ethanol. However, only about 1.4 percent was achieved.
By 2022, India scored 10 percent fuel blending with the current blending standing at 12 percent.
In fact, the Centre has reduced the targetted timeline from 2030 to 2025 for 20 percent blending of crude with domestic ethanol.