“Compressed biogas (CBG) offers a multitude of benefits for India: it can help enhance waste management, promote local clean energy solutions, and bring down our dependence on imported compressed natural gas (CNG). And Uttar Pradesh – especially its western districts of Muzaffarnagar, Meerut, Saharanpur, Bijnor, Bulandshahar and Aligarh — leads the nation in the potential to generate compressed biogas: it accounts for a sizable 24 per cent of the country’s total potential”: said researchers from New Delhi-based think tank Centre for Science and Environment (CSE) in Muzaffarnagar.
They were speaking at a one-day symposium on CBG in western Uttar Pradesh; the symposium was jointly organised by CSE and the Uttar Pradesh New and Renewable Energy Development Agency (UPNEDA). Compressed biogas is made from various feedstocks, including municipal solid waste, agricultural waste, press-mud, and animal wastes. It is a purified version of biogas, and is also referred to as bio-CNG. Over 90 per cent of CBG, which is produced from anaerobic digestion from organic waste or biomass, constitutes of methane.
Speaking at the symposium, Nivit Kumar Yadav, programme director, industrial pollution, CSE said: “Among Indian states, Uttar Pradesh has taken the lead in this sector with its ambitious bioenergy policy, allocating Rs 750 crore (2022-27) for CBG, while providing subsidies, land for lease and other incentives. This symposium has been organised to discuss the challenges faced by CBG producers, share successful practices, highlight opportunities for start-ups, raise awareness among district-level bioenergy committees, and educate farmer-producer bodies on the potential of bioenergy.”
Echoing Yadav’s comments on the state government’s strides in the sector, Pankaj Singh, secretary/CPO, UPNEDA, said: “Uttar Pradesh has the most advanced bioenergy policy in India and leads in the number of upcoming CBG projects. Of the 128 CBG projects, 15 are operational, while the remaining 113 are in various stages of construction.”
