Can biogas aid India’s energy security?
Tensions in West Asia continue to keep global energy markets on edge. India imports nearly 85% of its crude oil needs, much of it from
Tensions in West Asia continue to keep global energy markets on edge. India imports nearly 85% of its crude oil needs, much of it from West Asia, and supplies faced disruptions due to the Israel-U.S.-Iran war. While the government has diversified its crude oil suppliers, around 90% of India’s LPG imports still transit through the Strait of Hormuz, making any instability in the region a potential risk to India’s energy security. Over the years, India has pushed several initiatives to promote alternate fuels like compressed biogas to reduce dependence on imported fuel, tackle agricultural waste and support rural incomes. But despite ambitious targets and policy support, progress has remained limited. The search for an alternative fuel Biogas is a mixture of methane, CO2 and small quantities of other gases produced by anaerobic digestion of organic matter. It can be processed and compressed to get Compressed Biogas (CBG). It is chemically identical to CNG; renewable, carbon-neutral and can be produced from waste. It can be used directly to produce electricity, heating or as an energy source for cooking. India has also been trying to blend biogas into its gas supply for at least a decade. The push gathered pace in 2018, when the Sustainable Alternative Towards Affordable Transportation (SATAT) initiative was launched with a target of establishing 5,000 plants by 2023. Only 132 are completed as of June 3, 2026. The Centre launched the GOBARdhan (Galvanising Organic Bio-Agro Resources Dhan) scheme to increase CBG production.
Under this ‘waste to wealth’ programme, the government offered grants of up to ₹50 lakh per district for community biogas plants. ₹564 crore was earmarked for the purchase of biomass collection machinery, while ₹994 crore was allocated to build pipelines connecting biogas plants directly to the gas grid. However, progress on the ground has remained limited. The lack of infrastructure, poor private investment, difficulties in accessing formal credit and high upfront cost of technologies have stalled progress. Financial support from the government can make biogas projects economically viable. Other incentives, like accelerated depreciation and tax holidays, would also help attract private players. Impact on cultivation patterns The development of biogas has been uneven across the world, with Europe, China and the United States accounting for 90% of global production. Germany is one of the largest producers in Europe, along with France, Denmark and the U.K. The fillip for the sector came in 2000, when Germany introduced the Renewable Energy Sources Act to incentivise production. Over the years, it introduced schemes to guarantee income to producers, gave bonuses to help operators increase their income and encouraged small-scale biogas plants. However, the country’s push for biogas triggered a “corn mania”, with maize cultivation rising sharply because it was highly profitable for farmers. Maize slowly started to replace other food crops. Over a decade later, the government was forced to step in and control this by introducing a cap on the use of maize in biogas plants.
The BriefWire