Biofuels to gain momentum with a slew of government initiatives

December 16, 2019 10:38 am

Biofuels — derived from renewable biomass resources and wastes — provide a higher degree of national energy security in an eco-friendly and sustainable manner by supplementing conventional energy resources, thereby reducing dependence on imported fossil fuels and meeting the energy needs of India’s urban and vast rural population. Oil Marketing Companies (OMCs) have been procuring biodiesel for the biodiesel blending programme since August 2015 and during April 2019 to October 2019, 8.62 crore litres of biodiesel have been procured by them.

Ethanol is produced by distilleries from various feedstocks. In order to encourage the production of ethanol, the government has announced remunerative prices for manufacture of ethanol depending on the feedstock.

The government has notified the National Policy on Biofuels 2018, which inter alia envisages a crucial role for village panchayats and communities in augmenting the indigenous feedstock supplies for biofuel production. The policy has also envisioned the plantation of non-edible oil seeds bearing trees and crops for feedstock generation from wastelands, through local communities under Gram panchayats and talukas. Farmers are encouraged to grow a variety of different biomass as well as oil seeds on their marginal lands, as intercrop and second crop wherever only one crop is raised by them under rain-fed conditions.

As per the National Policy on Biofuels 2018, the Ministry of Petroleum & Natural Gas (P&NG) has constituted a National Biofuel Coordination Committee (NBCC) under the Chairmanship of the Union Minister for Petroleum and Natural Gas, Shri Dharmendra Pradhan, to provide overall coordination, effective end-to-end implementation, and monitoring of the biofuel programme. In addition, a Working Group has also been set up by the Ministry, which consists of eminent and technical experts in the field of biofuels to monitor the implementation of the biofuel programme.

The National Policy on Biofuels 2018 has envisaged biodiesel production from used cooking oil (UCO) as well. In order to encourage large-scale production of biodiesel from UCO, OMCs have floated Expression of Interest for the procurement of UCO-derived biodiesel from 200 locations across the country.