Energy News
BIO FUEL
Sacred cow: coal-hungry India eyes bioenergy to cut carbon
Reuters Events SMR and Advanced Reactor 2025
Sacred cow: coal-hungry India eyes bioenergy to cut carbon
By Philippe ALFROY
Barsana, India (AFP) Nov 8, 2024

Venerated as incarnations of Hindu deities, India's sacred cows are also being touted as agents of energy transition by a government determined to promote biogas production to cut its dependence on coal.

It is an understatement to say that Nakul Kumar Sardana is proud of his new plant at Barsana, in India's northern Uttar Pradesh state.

Firstly, says the vice-president of a biomass joint venture between India's Adani Group and France's TotalEnergies, because it occupies "one of the holiest sites in the world".

A four-hour drive south of the smog-filled capital New Delhi, among fields bristling with brickyard smokestacks, the small town of Barsana welcomes pilgrims who come to honour the Hindu goddess Radha.

But Sardana is also proud because his methanisation plant that opened in March is the "most technologically advanced and the largest biogas facility" in India.

It was built in Barsana to be as close as possible to its raw fuel -- cattle dung and harvest stubble.

"This region is home to a million cows," he said. "Their dung has been used as fuel for centuries in cooking".

Cows have been blamed for contributing to global warming because they produce methane -- a powerful greenhouse gas -- in their manure or when they belch.

But in this case, the region is finding a creative use for the waste produced by the cattle, which are used for their milk. Eating them is taboo for many Hindus.

Stalks left behind after the rice harvest -- that would otherwise be burned -- join the slurry.

"Farmers are traditionally burning them, creating smog and pollution", he added.

"In using natural waste, we are not only producing compressed biogas, but also high-quality organic fertiliser."

Long lines of tractors dump dung and straw in the factory's tanks, from which 10 tonnes of gas and 92 tonnes of fertiliser are produced each day.

- 'Convert waste' -

In its endless quest for power to fuel its economic growth, the world's most populous nation -- and third-largest fossil fuel polluter -- has pushed biogas to achieve a much-promised transition to carbon neutrality by 2070.

In 2018, the government set itself an ambitious goal of building 5,000 biogas plants in six years.

But despite generous subsidies and the introduction of a buyback guarantee, the project attracted little initial interest -- until the government forced the hand of producers.

From April 2025, at least one percent of liquid gas fuelling both vehicles and for domestic use must be biogas -- rising to five percent by 2028.

That prompted a response from key players, starting with billionaires Mukesh Ambani and Gautam Adani -- both close to Prime Minister Narendra Modi -- eying lucrative public contracts.

Ambani promised his Reliance group would build 55 biogas plants by the end of 2025 to convert "food producers to energy producers" and generate 30,000 jobs.

His rival Adani plans to invest around $200 million in the sector in the next three to five years.

"The government is pushing to convert waste for the wealth of the country," said Suresh Manglani, CEO of Adani Total Gas.

The International Energy Agency (IEA) says both China and India are leading global growth in bioenergy, seen as one solution to mitigate global heating.

Even though biofuel remains more expensive than conventional gas, Indian production is expected to grow by 88 percent by 2030, it predicts.

Biogas is considered a clean energy because the waste used to produce it is completely natural, said Suneel Pandey of The Energy and Resources Institute.

It is "a sustainable solution to make wealth from waste," he told AFP.

- 'Potential is huge' -

But the contribution of biogas to India's transition away from heavily polluting coal -- currently fuelling nearly 70 percent of electricity --- will be relatively small.

India plans to more than double the share of gas in its energy mix -- from six to 15 percent by 2030.

But the bulk of that will be liquefied natural gas (LNG), with Adani and TotalEnergies opening an LNG port on India's eastern coast at Dhamra.

Burning gas to produce electricity also releases damaging emissions, although less than coal and oil.

Total argues its backing of biogas is more about environmental responsibility than commercial opportunity.

"Biogas goes way beyond figures and business plans," said Sangkaran Ratnam, TotalEnergies chairman and managing director for India.

"It has also a tremendously positive knock-on effect on the rural communities in terms of jobs, in terms of care for the environment, and alternative forms of income."

Tejpreet Chopra, head of renewable energy company Bharat Light and Power, said the biogas market is "small in the big picture of things" but the "potential is huge".

But the investments required are vast. The Barsana plant cost $25 million, while the price of biogas remains uncompetitive: $14 per cubic metre, compared to $6 for LNG.

Yet Sardana remains more convinced than ever that biogas is key.

"We will learn the nuts and bolts of it and improve all processes," he said.

"We stop wasting energy, we create rural jobs, and we are contributing to a more sustainable environment."

pa/pjm/djw/cwl

TotalEnergies

Adani

Related Links
Bio Fuel Technology and Application News

Subscribe Free To Our Daily Newsletters
Tweet

RELATED CONTENT
The following news reports may link to other Space Media Network websites.
BIO FUEL
Vast and GGS Energy launch Project Bravo to power US green fuel production
Los Angeles CA (SPX) Oct 30, 2024
Vast Renewables Limited ("Vast") (Nasdaq: VSTE), a leader in concentrated solar thermal power (CSP) systems, has announced a development services agreement with GGS Energy LLC ("GGS Energy") to launch Project Bravo, a major synthetic fuels project in the Southwest United States. The partnership will leverage Vast's CSP v3.0 technology to power a refinery producing green methanol and sustainable aviation fuel (e-SAF), marking Vast's debut in the U.S. market. Project Bravo will utilize CSP-generated ... read more

BIO FUEL
UK clean power by 2030? Achievable but challenging, says report

Solving interface mystery in organic solar cells makes them more efficient

New method enhances solar energy storage and utilization

CSIRO facility launches flexible solar technology for broad real-world use

BIO FUEL
Azerbaijan: a country steeped in hydrocarbons

Iraq Kurds hope to resume oil exports after Baghdad offers higher cost payments

'Drill, baby, drill': Trump policy poses risks, opportunities for oil industry

Azerbaijan says 'God-given' oil and gas will help it go green

BIO FUEL
Lancet calls for urgenet shift in fossil fuel investment to tackle climate health impacts

Papua New Guinea to boycott 'waste of time' UN climate summit

1.2 billion people at 'high risk' from climate change: World Bank

Climate-scarred Australia faces fiercer fires, floods, droughts

BIO FUEL
In search of high-performance materials for fusion reactors

Silk Thread Innovation Powers Smart Textile Technology

Direct Observation of Space Charge Layers Inside Fuel Cell Electrolytes

Texas A&M to train machine learning tools to design materials for fusion power plants

BIO FUEL
Advanced biodegradable plastics achieve unprecedented toughness and sustainability

Are bioplastics really the wonder alternative to petro plastics

Vast and GGS Energy launch Project Bravo to power US green fuel production

Baylor engineers introduce ultra-clean biofuel combustion technology

BIO FUEL
BMW's profits plunge as China sales slump

Paris banishes through-traffic from city centre

Norway speeds ahead of EU in race for fossil-free roads

Paris to restrict traffic in centre: city hall

BIO FUEL
Surf and Turf: Oregon State researchers to study feeding seaweed to cattle

Czech Republic curbs animal movement over bluetongue spread

Lebanon's wine region wrestles with war

End of golden era for Chinese investors in Bordeaux wine

BIO FUEL
New laser technology speeds up landmine detection process

New 3D printed metal alloy enhances durability for space exploration

Laser measurements aid in tracking space debris and mapping Earth's water resources

To tackle plastic scourge, Philippines makes companies pay

Subscribe Free To Our Daily Newsletters




The content herein, unless otherwise known to be public domain, are Copyright 1995-2024 - Space Media Network. All websites are published in Australia and are solely subject to Australian law and governed by Fair Use principals for news reporting and research purposes. AFP, UPI and IANS news wire stories are copyright Agence France-Presse, United Press International and Indo-Asia News Service. ESA news reports are copyright European Space Agency. All NASA sourced material is public domain. Additional copyrights may apply in whole or part to other bona fide parties. All articles labeled "by Staff Writers" include reports supplied to Space Media Network by industry news wires, PR agencies, corporate press officers and the like. Such articles are individually curated and edited by Space Media Network staff on the basis of the report's information value to our industry and professional readership. Advertising does not imply endorsement, agreement or approval of any opinions, statements or information provided by Space Media Network on any Web page published or hosted by Space Media Network. General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) Statement Our advertisers use various cookies and the like to deliver the best ad banner available at one time. All network advertising suppliers have GDPR policies (Legitimate Interest) that conform with EU regulations for data collection. By using our websites you consent to cookie based advertising. If you do not agree with this then you must stop using the websites from May 25, 2018. Privacy Statement. Additional information can be found here at About Us.