Biomass Energy Sector in India – An Overview

Biomass energy accounted for 13% of India’s final energy consumption in 2023. By 2030, this share is projected to rise to as much as 45%, making India one of the world’s fastest-growing biomass energy markets. According to the International Energy Agency’s projections, India will account for more than one-third of global biomass energy demand growth by 2030.

Ambitious Biomass Energy Targets

India’s biomass energy program is powered by ambitious blending mandates for adoption of clean fuels and reduced dependence on fossil fuels. For example, ethanol blending is transforming the transport sector, while biogas blending is decarbonizing gas supply and supporting the rural economy.

The major targets include:

• 20% ethanol blending in petrol by 2025-2026
• 5% biodiesel blending in diesel by 2030
• 5% compressed biogas blending by 2028-2029
• 7% co-firing of solid biomass in coal power plants by 2026
• 2% biojet fuel blending in international flights by 2028

The Key Biomass-based Fuels

 The rapid growth in India’s biomass energy market is driven by several biomass-based fuels:

• Ethanol: Central to the 20% blending target, with production linked closely to the sugar industry.
• Biodiesel: Sourced from used cooking oil and other feedstocks, with a 5% blending goal by 2030.
• Compressed Biogas (CBG): 5% blending target by 2028 – 29.
• Biojet Fuel: 2% blending in international aviation by 2028.
• Solid Biomass: Bagasse from the sugar industry and rice straw from the rice industry will drive nearly 80% of new biomass energy uptake.

Feedstock and Supply Chain Strategies

To meet these ambitious biomass energy targets, India will need a 50% increase in feedstock supply by 2030. Key sources include bagasse, energy crops, crop residues, and MSW. New strategies are required for efficient feedstock collection and processing, such as:

• Improved recovery of used cooking oil for biodiesel and sustainable aviation fuel
• Maximized use of agricultural and organic waste for CBG
• Support for mixed feedstock digestion and advanced processing technologies

In addition, a centralized biomass feedstock assessment framework and robust biomass commodity tracking systems is essential for transparency, regulatory compliance, and international trade.

Feedstock Challenges and Innovations

India’s biomass energy revolution is built on ambitious renewable energy targets, but achieving these goals depends on overcoming significant feedstock challenges. The main sources for this growth are the agricultural and industrial biomass waste resources highlighting the abundant biomass potential in India, with nearly 1 billion tonnes of unused biomass available.

For example, bagasse from the sugar industry will drive almost 80% of new biomass energy uptake, while demand for liquid biofuels could nearly quadruple by 2030. However, this growth is only possible if you can secure and sustainably manage the necessary feedstock supply.

To tap India’s full biomass energy potential, it is essential to adopt innovative methods for the collection and processing of biomass wastes:

• Recovery of Used Cooking Oil: A robust collection mechanism for the collection of used cooking oil to produce biodiesel and sustainable aviation fuel is critical. This requires new logistics and incentives for households, restaurants, and food processing industries.
• Multi-feed Anaerobic Digestion: Development of co-digestion biogas plants working on crop residues, energy crops, sewage, organic industrial waste, and organic fraction of MSW can improve compressed biogas generation across India.
• Agricultural Residues and Organic Waste Collection: Improved systems for the collection of crop residues and other biomass wastes can reduce open burning, improve air quality, and provide quality feedstock for biomass power plants.

The growth of India’s biomass energy will require investment in advanced biomass processing technologies. The country has plentiful availability of lignocellulosic biomass, such rice straw, wheat straw, corn stover, and forestry waste but there are challenges in their efficient conversion into biomass energy.

Future Perspectives

Conventional biomass energy, such as firewood and dung cakes, made up 40 percent of India’s total biomass energy consumption in 2023. It is important to make a switch from polluting biomass resources in order to improve air quality, protect environmental health, and make biomass available for cleaner biomass energy conversion.

To avoid biomass resource conflicts, a centralized, comprehensive resource assessment of biomass wastes will help in aligning strategies for sustainable generation of biofuels, biogas and other biomass-based products.