News Excerpt:

Uttar Pradesh stands out in India's renewable energy sector, boasting the potential to generate 24% of the country’s compressed biogas (CBG).

More detail about news:

• Western UP, especially Muzaffarnagar, Meerut, Saharanpur, Bijnor, Bulandshahar, and Aligarh, has abundant feedstock availability and hosts most of the state’s operational and upcoming CBG plants.
• Experts believe that UP could establish 1,000 CBG projects from the 5,000 plants planned nationwide under the Sustainable Alternative Towards Affordable Transportation scheme, using just 20% of its surplus feedstock.

Significance of Compressed biogas (CBG):

• Compressed biogas (CBG) can improve 
• Waste management.
• Promote local clean energy solutions.
• Reduce our dependence on imported compressed natural gas (CNG). 

Uttar Pradesh as the front-runner:

• With its ambitious bioenergy policy, Uttar Pradesh has emerged as the front-runner in this field among Indian states, spending Rs 750 crore (2022-27) for CBG in addition to offering subsidies, land leases, and other incentives.

Challenges:

• Key issues include limited offtake of bioslurry, a by-product of CBG production.
• Bioslurry, also known as fermented organic manure, is often seen as a disposal problem rather than a revenue source.
• The inconsistent purchasing of gas by oil and gas marketing companies leaves many plants operating below capacity.
• The absence of nearby CNG pipelines exacerbates this issue. For smaller plants (below 5 tonnes per day), transporting gas through cascades is viable, but larger plants require direct pipeline access for optimal operation.
• Operational inefficiencies, such as gas leakage and suboptimal performance, are also caused by a shortage of trained personnel in biogas systems and operations.
• Banks are hesitant to finance CBG projects due to perceived risks and low margins, requiring high collateral and offering interest rates starting at 11.5%.

Way Forward:

• Government-backed guarantee programme is a vital solution to ease financing hurdles to these plants. The RBI should oversee CBG project applications through a centralised portal to ensure transparency and efficiency.
• Diversifying feedstock sources to include liquid effluents like spent wash from distilleries and industrial discharges, which can enhance plant viability and sustainability.
• Farmers must be included as shareholders to ensure active engagement and profit-sharing in bioenergy initiatives.
• Establishing training centres for CBG operations is a proposed solution.

Government Initiatives: