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5 min ago 2 min read
India’s cabinet has approved Rs23,731 crore ($2.5bn) funding to progress biogas development.
The Union Cabinet, chaired by Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi, has approved the Gobardhan national circular bioenergy scheme.
The programme will aim to “transform the country’s abundant agricultural residue, cattle dung, press mud, municipal organic waste and other biomass resources into clean fuel, organic manure, rural income and national economic value,” according to a Ministry of Petroleum & Natural Gas statement.
The 10-year scheme will strive to establish compressed biogas (CBG) as a major pillar of India’s future energy mix by creating one integrated platform across the CBG value chain.
Offtake and pricing are integral to the scheme.
Assured offtake from city gas distribution entities will support the platform while a stable administered CBG price of Rs2,110 ($22) per metric million British thermal unit will be supported through a government-backed pricing framework.
Eligible greenfield CBG projects will receive capital assistance of up to Rs2 crore ($210,00) per tonne per day of installed CBG capacity and the scheme supports both cluster-based and standalone pipeline infrastructure connecting CBG plants with trunk pipelines and city gas distribution networks.
A dedicated credit guarantee mechanism will strengthen lender confidence and expand the flow of institutional credit to eligible MSME-based CBG projects, along with a CBG Ecosystem challenge fund to accelerate district-level implementation.
India’s demand for natural gas is expanding across transport, households, industry and commercial sectors. CBG can meet a growing share of this demand through domestic renewable production, strengthening energy resilience and reducing dependence on imported fossil fuels.
India is stepping up efforts to reduce reliance on imported LNG with Juno Joule Biofuels breaking ground on a in April.
