The Indian government announced on 7 November that it will continue its Bioenergy Programme until 2025-26, reported the Pioneer.
The Union Ministry of New & Renewable Energy committed a budget outlay of Rs 858 crore, which has been earmarked for the first phase of the programme. It will support the use of huge surplus biomass, cattle excrement and industrial and urban biowaste available for energy recovery.
The National Bioenergy Programme will include three sub-schemes: Waste to Energy, Biomass and Biogas.
The Waste to Energy Programme (Programme on Energy from Urban, Industrial and Agricultural Wastes/Residues) will support the setting up of large Biogas, BioCNG and Power plants (excluding MSW (municipal solid waste) to power projects).
Biomass Programme (Scheme to Support Manufacturing of Briquettes & Pellets and Promotion of Biomass (nonbagasse) based cogeneration in Industries) will support the setting up of pellets and briquettes for use in power generation and non-bagasse-based power generation projects.
The biogas programme will also support the setting up of family and medium size Biogas in rural areas. According to a team of researchers from IIT-Delhi and Mumbai, clean energy transition via utilising biomass resources has been projected as an important climate change mitigation strategy.
A vital characteristic of biomass is its localised nature; therefore, bioenergy utilisation should follow decentralised planning.
Indian government commits to Bioenergy Programme until 2025-26
