AgenciesIntroduced in the year 2009, the current edition of the National Policy on Biofuels was approved by the Union Cabinet in May 2018. The policy is aimed at taking forward the indicative target of achieving 20% blending of biofuels with fossil-based fuels by 2030.
At present, apart from being highly dependent on non-renewable fuel sources, India is also largely reliant on imported crude oil to fulfil domestic consumption requirements. Moreover, according to the Ministry of New and Renewable Energy (MNRE), fluctuating crude oil prices in the world market majorly affect developing countries.
The government has set some ambitious goals for the energy sector which include electrification of all census villages by 2019, 24x7 electricity and 175 GW of renewable energy capacity by 2022, reduction in energy emissions intensity by 33%-35% by 2030 and producing above 40% electricity from non-fossil fuels by 2030. These goals clearly exhibit the Centre’s push towards strengthening the energy infrastructure of the country while promoting the agenda of sustainability. Additionally, in the official gazette of the National Policy on Biofuels, 2018, MNRE has also discussed the government’s five-point strategy to curb the country’s dependency on foreign imports in the oil and gas sector. The strategy involves increasing domestic production, adopting biofuels and renewables, energy efficiency norms, improvement in refinery processes and demand substitution.
Biofuels, being a derivative of renewable biomass resources such as plastic, municipal solid waste (MSW), forestry residues, agricultural wastes, surplus food grains, etc., have huge potential to help the country achieve the above-mentioned goals. In the current scenario, bioenergy is a fairly under-explored sector. Adopting biofuels as an alternative source of energy can significantly improve farmers’ income, generate employment opportunities, reduce imports, augment waste to wealth creation, etc. Therefore, the government, through several programmes, promotes the production and adoption of biofuels. One such programme is the ‘National Policy on Biofuels, 2018’. Let’s take a look at the highlights of the policy.
1. As per the policy’s dossier, the government aims at increasing the utilization of biofuels in the energy and transportation sectors of the country by promoting the production of biofuels from domestic feedstock in the coming decade through this policy.
2. Larger goals such as the adoption of green fuels, national energy security, fighting climate change, generating employment, etc. would be facilitated through this policy. Along with that, technological advancements in the field of biofuels will also be encouraged.
3. MNRE has set an indicative target of 20% blending of ethanol in petrol and 5% blending of biodiesel in diesel to be achieved by 2030. The percentage of the same currently stands at around 2% for petrol and less than 0.1% for diesel.
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4. The Ministry has also outlined a roadmap for the efficient realisation of the policy which entails the following steps:
5. As per the policy, fuels used for transportation or stationary applications that qualify as biofuels have been categorised as follows:
6. As a part of the policy, the government will also undertake the following steps to foster the adoption of biofuels.
7. The Ministry also plans on creating a ‘National Biomass Repository’ through a nation-wide appraisal program which will help ensure availability of biofuels produced from domestic feedstock.
8. Through the National Policy on Biofuels, 2018, the government will undertake various financial as well as fiscal measures from time to time to ensure effective development, promotion and adoption of biofuels in the country. Research and development in the sector will also be supported through this policy.
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At present, apart from being highly dependent on non-renewable fuel sources, India is also largely reliant on imported crude oil to fulfil domestic consumption requirements. Moreover, according to the Ministry of New and Renewable Energy (MNRE), fluctuating crude oil prices in the world market majorly affect developing countries.
The government has set some ambitious goals for the energy sector which include electrification of all census villages by 2019, 24x7 electricity and 175 GW of renewable energy capacity by 2022, reduction in energy emissions intensity by 33%-35% by 2030 and producing above 40% electricity from non-fossil fuels by 2030. These goals clearly exhibit the Centre’s push towards strengthening the energy infrastructure of the country while promoting the agenda of sustainability. Additionally, in the official gazette of the National Policy on Biofuels, 2018, MNRE has also discussed the government’s five-point strategy to curb the country’s dependency on foreign imports in the oil and gas sector. The strategy involves increasing domestic production, adopting biofuels and renewables, energy efficiency norms, improvement in refinery processes and demand substitution.
Biofuels, being a derivative of renewable biomass resources such as plastic, municipal solid waste (MSW), forestry residues, agricultural wastes, surplus food grains, etc., have huge potential to help the country achieve the above-mentioned goals. In the current scenario, bioenergy is a fairly under-explored sector. Adopting biofuels as an alternative source of energy can significantly improve farmers’ income, generate employment opportunities, reduce imports, augment waste to wealth creation, etc. Therefore, the government, through several programmes, promotes the production and adoption of biofuels. One such programme is the ‘National Policy on Biofuels, 2018’. Let’s take a look at the highlights of the policy.
1. As per the policy’s dossier, the government aims at increasing the utilization of biofuels in the energy and transportation sectors of the country by promoting the production of biofuels from domestic feedstock in the coming decade through this policy.
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2. Larger goals such as the adoption of green fuels, national energy security, fighting climate change, generating employment, etc. would be facilitated through this policy. Along with that, technological advancements in the field of biofuels will also be encouraged.
3. MNRE has set an indicative target of 20% blending of ethanol in petrol and 5% blending of biodiesel in diesel to be achieved by 2030. The percentage of the same currently stands at around 2% for petrol and less than 0.1% for diesel.
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4. The Ministry has also outlined a roadmap for the efficient realisation of the policy which entails the following steps:
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- Improve the current production of ethanol and biodiesel by increasing domestic production
- Set up second-generation (2G) biorefineries
- Develop new feedstock for biofuels
- New technological developments to improve biofuel production
- Facilitate the blending of biofuels with conventional fuels
5. As per the policy, fuels used for transportation or stationary applications that qualify as biofuels have been categorised as follows:
- Bioethanol: Fuels produced from materials that have sugar such as sugar cane, sugar beet, sweet sorghum, etc.; materials that have starch such as corn, cassava, rotten potatoes, algae, etc.; cellulosic materials such as bagasse, waste wood, agricultural/forestry residues, etc. or other renewable industrial waste fall in this category.
- Biodiesel: This category includes methyl or ethyl ester of fatty acids derived from non-edible vegetable oil, acid oil, used cooking oil, animal fat and bio-oil.
- Advanced biofuels: Second-generation (2G) ethanol, drop-in fuels, algae-based 3G biofuels, bio-CNG, bio-methanol, dimethyl ether (DME) derived from bio-methanol, bio-hydrogen, drop-in fuels produced from municipal solid waste (MSW), etc. have been included in this category.
- Drop-in fuels: These are fuels derived from biomass, agri-residues, MSW, plastic wastes, industrial wastes, etc. produced as per Indian standards that can be used in existing engines without having to modify their fuel distribution system.
- Bio-CNG: These fuels are purified form of biogas produced from agricultural residues, animal dung, food waste, MSW and sewage water but their composition and energy potential is comparable to fossil-based natural gas.
6. As a part of the policy, the government will also undertake the following steps to foster the adoption of biofuels.
- Through the Ethanol Blended Petrol (EBP) Programme, ethanol produced from various types of feedstocks would be blended with petrol.
- Second-generation (2G) ethanol technologies would be developed and commercialized.
- Through the Biodiesel Blending Programme, biodiesel would be blended with diesel.
- Drop-in fuels derived from MSW, different types of industrial wastes, biomass, etc. would be emphasized.
- Along with them, advanced biofuels such as bio-CNG, bio-methanol, DME, bio-hydrogen, bio-jet fuel, etc. would also be emphasized.
7. The Ministry also plans on creating a ‘National Biomass Repository’ through a nation-wide appraisal program which will help ensure availability of biofuels produced from domestic feedstock.
8. Through the National Policy on Biofuels, 2018, the government will undertake various financial as well as fiscal measures from time to time to ensure effective development, promotion and adoption of biofuels in the country. Research and development in the sector will also be supported through this policy.
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