“Sustainable Alternative Towards Affordable Transportation” (SATAT) was launched to extract economic value from biomass waste in the form of Compressed Bio Gas (CBG) and bio-manure.
Minister of State in the Ministry of Petroleum & Natural Gas, Rameswar Teli unveiled Waste to Energy Programme, under the umbrella of the National Bioenergy Programme, inter-alia includes support to the project developers in the form of Central Financial Assistance (CFA) for setting up of Bio-CNG projects throughout the country.
Municipal solid waste, sugar industry waste (press mud) and agricultural residue have significant potential for production of the same. Oil and gas CPSEs have come forward to promote the use of CBG by offering floor price to offtake CBG for the first 10 years through upfront commercial agreements.
Given the abundance of biomass in the country, CBG has the potential to support the development of alternate clean fuel in automotive, industrial and commercial uses in the coming years. We have proposed that CBG plants be primarily set up through independent entrepreneurs. CBG produced at these plants will be transported through cascades of cylinders to the fuel station networks of OMCs for marketing as a green transport fuel alternative.
In order to facilitate financing and access to funds to the entrepreneurs, CBG plants have been included under priority sector lending by Reserve Bank of India. State Bank of India, Punjab National Bank, Canara Bank, Union Bank of India and Bank of Baroda etc. have launched products on financing of CBG projects.
Under Waste to Energy Programme, Ministry of New and Renewable Energy (MNRE) has released Rs 49.5 crore to project developers (upto 31.07.2023) for setting up Bio-CNG projects.
During 2022-23 Oil and Gas Marketing Companies (OGMCs) procured 11,227 Ton CBG. Further, during April 2023 to June 2023 OGMCs procured 4578 Ton CBG.
This information was given by the Minister of State in the Ministry of Petroleum & Natural Gas, Rameswar Teli, in a written reply in the Lok Sabha.