Energetica India Magazine March 2022

energetica INDIA- Mar_2022 23 BIOENERGY large-scale deployment. Trained staff and the supply chain of spares for re- liable maintenance and repairs were not created. As with so many govern- ment programmes, the rapid achieve- ment of target numbers and expen- diture became the sole goal. The key lesson from this failure is the necessi- ty of first trying out pilot projects to develop and fine-tune a sustainable model before scaling it up. The price at which cattle owners would provide cow dung in a village and the margin at which a local operator would find it worthwhile to run the plant have to be determined and tested. With these minimum costs, village-level plants for producing gas as well as electricity need to be installed and run to discover actual costs of supply. For electricity, a large programme without any subsi- dy is conceivable. A feed-in tariff can be determined and the local Distribu- tion Company can be mandated to buy this as a separate category as a part of their Renewable Purchase Obligation. For gas, the issue of aggregation and reliable supply to the consumer at a price that is the same as his existing options would be the key to scalabili- ty. Such a programme would generate additional income and employment in all villages. A similar approach would be needed for all the other agricultural waste. For different categories of waste, the most economical options would vary. Ethanol is already well established as an attractive by-product of the sugar industry. For other categories, methyl alcohol may turn out to be technolog- ically easier and cheaper. If so, then downstream viable uses would need to be developed. Transport may offer an attractive option. These are complex issues and would need to be addressed. The priority should naturally be the rice crop stubble that is being burnt ev- ery year in North India. The immediate solution would lie in buying the crop waste at a remunerative price, getting it converted into briquettes/pellets for burning in coal-fired thermal plants as a partial substitute for coal. This has been successfully tried out on a limited scale. For the long term, other feasible uses may be explored. Mini sewage treatment plants can gen- erate gas and electricity as can be done from animal waste. They may be the preferable solution for villages, small towns, and urban extensions in exist- ing cities where sewage treatment fa- cilities must be provided. This would make a significant contribution to the daunting task of cleaning our rivers and water bodies. Bio-waste has been relatively neglect- ed. It is high time it received focus through a new dedicated Mission. The Mission would naturally need good leadership with continuity, a man- date which provides adequate space for trials and failures, and to work in partnerships with state governments, village panchayats, NGOs, and private firms. It would be affordable if well de - signed. The benefits would range from greater, and ultimately, full utilisation of a major renewable energy source, to generating incomes and jobs across all our villages, and eliminating a major source of air pollution in North India.