Compressed Biogas key to India's energy security; Industry flags infra, off-take challenges
New Delhi, July 3
Compressed Bio-Gas is emerging as a key pillar of India's energy transition, with industry leaders highlighting its role in enhancing energy security, reducing import dependence and addressing infrastructure challenges critical for the sector's growth.
On the sidelines of a CII conference, Bharat Petroleum Corporation Limited (BPCL) Business Head (Gas) Rahul Tandon underscored the strategic importance of domestically produced bio-gas in strengthening the country's energy ecosystem.
"...Given the recent situation, our gas procurement actually came under a lot of vulnerability... Our government has been very closely working on creating CBG (Compressed Bio-Gas) as one very important imperative and a molecule which can help us in improving our own security because it is indigenized, it is produced within the country, and it helps us replace the imported molecule," Tandon told ANI.
Highlighting the need for collaborative efforts, he added, "The forum is gathered here to see how we can work together along with industry, academia, institutions, ministry, and regulatory bodies, how we can all get together and come to a point where this does not remain just a lending obligation, but something which is serving the national cause and our commitment towards sustainable energy."
Meanwhile, GAIL India Limited Executive Director (CBG) Sachchidanand Yadav noted that ensuring gas off-take remains one of the biggest hurdles for scaling up the CBG sector in the country.
"The challenge of the off-take is one of the biggest issues for the expansion of the CBG (Compressed Biogas) sector in India. Off-taking of the gas is an issue which can be addressed by laying the pipeline either by CBG producers or CGD entities. CBG producers largely have no experience with the standards of oil and gas. Certainly, the responsibility lies with the CGD entity, the National Gas Read Operator. But laying the pipeline is very costly... Even the incentive from the Development of Pipeline Infrastructure (DPI) scheme under the Ministry..." Yadav said.
Industry stakeholders have been focusing on expanding CBG production and strengthening the supporting infrastructure to accelerate adoption of the clean fuel. The sector is expected to play a significant role in India's efforts to improve energy security, promote sustainable mobility and advance its clean energy goals.
— ANI
Reader Comments
This is promising! I grew up in a village where we used cow dung cakes for cooking. Now seeing it can power vehicles and homes in a clean way is amazing. Hope the government provides more incentives for small producers like us. Our waste can be our wealth. 🙏
As someone who works in renewable energy in the US, I'm impressed by India's ambition with CBG. But I worry about the cost. Pipeline infrastructure in rural India is expensive, and if the price per unit is high, it might not compete with subsidized LPG or PNG. Hope they do the math right.
I visited a CBG plant in Punjab last year. The tech is solid, but the issue is awareness. Many farmers don't know they can sell their crop residue for bio-gas instead of burning it. We need more outreach, not just infrastructure. Also, why no mention of women's role? Women in villages are the ones dealing with smoke from cooking fires.
Good direction but the article glosses over a key challenge: the quality of feedstock. In India, municipal waste is often mixed with plastics and non-organic matter. Without proper segregation, CBG production becomes inefficient. Need to fix waste management first. Also, the cost of laying pipelines in congested cities is crazy high. Realistic?
Interesting to see India's approach. In the UK, we've had similar struggles with biomethane grid injection. The upfront capital requirements and lack of standardised gas quality specs were major hurdles. Good to see industry leaders like BPCL talking about collaboration between academia and regulatory bodies. India can leap
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