The share of gas in energy mix to increase up to 15 percent by 2030

Hardeep Singh Puri, Union Minister of Petroleum & Natural Gas and Housing & Urban Affairs, recently emphasised the need for domestic production of biofuels while speaking at the Global Conference on Compressed Biogas (CBG) in New Delhi, organised by the Indian Federation of Green Energy (IFGE), stating that it will play a crucial role in achieving a reduction in the import of fossil fuel and ultimately help to achieve the target of net-zero emission.

Highlighting the need for alternative fuels, Hardeep Singh Puri said, “Considering the limited domestic availability of fossil fuels and import dependence for this, the energy security of the country will remain vulnerable until alternative fuels to substitute or supplement fossil fuels are developed based on indigenously sustainable renewable feedstock”.

The production of CBG would have a number of advantages, including a reduction in the importation of natural gas, a decrease in GHG emissions, a drop in the burning of agricultural waste, a rise in farmer income, the creation of jobs, efficient waste management, etc. With the objective of transitioning India to a gas-based economy, the government of India has set a goal to increase the proportion of gas in the energy mix to 15 percent in 2030. Currently, India imports almost half of its natural gas requirements. Rapid CBG expansion will aid in supplying extra needs from domestic resources.

In the past ten years, adoption of green, renewable energy has been made possible by government policies. especially the SATAT (Sustainable Alternative to Affordable Transportation) scheme and the production of compressed biogas from agro-waste. Various waste streams, including animal dung, agricultural waste, MSW (municipal solid waste), sewage water, and industrial wastes, including press mud, spent wash from the sugar industry, spent wash from the food processing sector, etc., are being researched as feedstock for the production of biogas/CBG under the SATAT programme.

There is a need to develop renewable, sustainable, and domestic energy sources that can, in the short term, augment existing conventional energy sources and, in the long run, replace them as the main source of energy. The application of Fermented Organic Manure (FOM), a byproduct of the CBG production process, in the agricultural sector was emphasised as a way to promote organic farming and reduce the use of synthetic fertilisers.

With specific focus placed on CBG projects, 200 CBG projects were declared to be established under the GOBARdhan scheme. A 5 percent CBG mandate will be implemented for all businesses that market natural gas and biogas. Excise duty on the amount of GST paid on compressed biogas included in the blended CNG has been avoided in order to avoid cascading taxes on compressed natural gas.

In order to emphasise the inclusive growth strategy of the government, the minister said that agriculture and farmers are an essential component of it. Farmers will directly benefit from increased use of green energy, particularly compressed biogas, by using the agricultural and animal waste that is abundant in rural India.