CHANDIGARH: Asia's largest Compressed Biogas (CBG) plant in the Sangrur district of Punjab has now started commercial production, state's New and Renewable Energy Minister Aman Arora said on Friday.
The minister said the plant with a total capacity of 33.23-tonne CBG per day was commissioned at village Bhuttal Kalan (Sangrur) in April this year.
The plant has now started commercial production of CBG, which is being supplied to the Indian Oil Corporation Ltd (IOCL) outlet, Arora said in an official statement.
Besides, PEDA (Punjab Energy Development Agency) has also allocated 42 additional CBG projects with a total capacity of 492.58 Tonnes Per Day (TPD) based on paddy straw and other agro-residue to develop a lasting and sustainable solution to prevent stubble burning while also strengthening the rural economy.
The minister said these projects are expected to fetch private investment of around Rs 1,200 crore, besides generating employment opportunities for 8,000 skilled and unskilled individuals.
With these projects, emission of greenhouse gases will also be reduced and the rural economy will get a boost by providing additional income to farmers from the agro residue, he said.
Chief Executive of PEDA Sumeet Jarangal said two more plants with a total capacity of 14.25 tonnes CBG per day are likely to be completed in 2022-23.
The remaining projects are expected to be commissioned within the next three years. All these projects will consume nearly 16.5 lakh tonnes of paddy straw per annum to produce 492.58-tonne CBG per day, he added.
Apart from this, fermented organic manure produced from these CBG plants as a by-product will be used for organic farming. This will further help local allied industries to flourish, he said.
There is a huge potential for CBG projects based on agro-waste in Punjab, the minister said, adding that Hindustan Petroleum Corporation Ltd (HPCL) is setting up a project of capacity 100 KL 2G ethanol per day based on paddy straw and other agro-residue in Bathinda district.
It will be completed by February 2023. This project will consume about 2 lakh tonnes of paddy straw per annum, he said.
He further said that about 300 more projects having a capacity of 10 TPD each can be set up in the state.
For this, Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann's led-Punjab government is providing various incentives, including exemption of stamp duty and registration charges, change of land use and external development charge and a one-stop clearances system through 'Invest Punjab' under the state's new and renewable energy policy.