Biogas Magazine Edition 15

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BI GAS Magazine | Edition 15 | 2021

Title Sponsor

IBA’s commitment towards leapfrogging the prospects in the biogas/bio-CNG industry (Period: Jan, 21-Mar, 21): Pg 08

Biogas - made in Sweden: Pg 12

Carbon offsets for Sustainable Development: Pg 37 www.biogas-india.com

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Index IBA News IBA’s commitment towards leapfrogging the prospects in the biogas/bio-CNG industry

08

(Period: Jan, 21-Mar 21)

International Corner 12

Biogas - made in Sweden Innovative biogas based micro-grids for rural

22

communities in India

National Corner GFS - GLASS FUSED TO STEEL TANK: An

18

Ideal Choice for Bio Gas application Biogas perspectives from Bio-Waste Management in Rural India – Part I

28

Carbon offsets for Sustainable Development

37

Research Corner 32

Financing in the Indian Biogas industry

Published by

Financed by

Coordinated by

In-Cooperation with

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Foreword

T

he year 2021 started with a new hope when countrywide vaccination drives were announced in and provided a much-needed sigh of relief to humankind. Not only India but the whole world learned a lot during last year because COVID like situation can force us towards the Energy poverty thus why making Energy independency – a must! It also showed how humans impacted the environment and how earth mother can heal itself without any other aid – forcing us to rethink if we want to be a part of nature or apart from nature.

As we all know that energy independence will be important in coming years and renewable energy will play a vital role in making India independent in this domain.

Biogas, which not only is an energy source but also ensures the scientific organic waste management, is a versatile solution. Therefore, we are happy to bring the first edition of biogas magazine of the year 2021 with a lot of the latest information about the sector.

The magazine will give you a glimpse of the activities conducted by IBA in the last financial quarter. IBA had meetings with several ministerial departments including NITI Aayog to address the issues the Biogas sector is facing. IBA also organized a two days’ virtual trade fair and conference named “Bio-Energy E-Pavilion 2021” on February 18 & 19, 2021, to increase the visibility of the sector. The event saw a very active participation of many international and national companies. For more information, please refer to page no. 8.

We have also included an interesting article covering the biogas scenario in this magazine to give you an idea about how biogas can play a vital role in

the RE portfolio of a country and how CBG produced from Biogas can transform the transportation sector.

Apart from covering the biogas industry in Sweden, another article will give you interesting insights into the biogas based micro-grids, which are transforming the rural communities of India. This article is followed by another interesting article on rural India covering the Biowaste management from a biogas perspective.

To keep you updated about the latest technologies of the industry, we have included a tech-demonstrator article on glass fused digester tanks. The magazine also discusses the financing scenario of biogas projects in India and talk about the role of carbon offsets in the growth of the Industry.

As always, our efforts are directed towards keeping our readers updated with the latest information about the sector. We’d like to hear your thoughts as well. To share your thoughts and articles, please write to us at info@biogas-india.com We wish you a safe, healthy, and greener future!

Dr. A. R. Shukla

President Indian Biogas Association

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Be a part of the Bio-energy Pavilion

15 - 17

September 2021

Networking

Increased brand visibility

Business Meetings

Span the entire value chain

Social media coverage

International exposure

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Print media coverage

Lasting impression

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IBA’s commitment towards leapfrogging the prospects in the biogas/bio-CNG industry Period: Jan, 21- Mar 21 IBA’s participation in second follow-up meeting organized by NITI Aayog

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n our previous edition, we covered the first follow-up meeting on “Prospects of Compressed Biogas projects in India” organized on 23rd November 2020, through video conferencing under the chairmanship of Shri. V. K. Saraswat, Member, NITI Aayog.

Further, a second follow-up meeting on CBG and particularly on its pricing mechanism was organized on 11th March 2021 under the chairmanship of Dr. Rakesh Sarwal, Additional Secretary, NITI Aayog. Like the earlier version of the meeting, the follow-up meeting saw the participation of several

Ministries, (like MNRE and MoPNG), and key industry stakeholders. The participants deliberated on the procurement price earmarked in the SATAT scheme.

Dr. A. R. Shukla, President-IBA, expressed that the CBG price fixed by MoPNG at 46/Kg is at the lower side and biomass cost should be taken into consideration to arrive at a reasonable price. The biomass waste is seasonal and its storage requires extra cost. Also, the cost of processing biomass varies depending on the type of biomass, the technology deployed, varying operational expense, capacity utilization, and so on. While on the other hand, representative from OMC explained that certain plants in various parts of India are operating at the

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SATAT fixed price. Also, manure from the CBG industry is a source of revenue, and inclusive of it the SATAT fixed price is perfectly viable.

However, despite the contrasting opinions from different participants during the meeting, the following decisions were taken: • There is a need to promote this sector by solving issues of marketing and off-take of bio-fertilizer, the raw material availability, generation-based incentive structure, and cost structure. Ministry should consider all the views expressed by IBA and an action plan needs to be carved out within three weeks.

• The calculations for arriving at the production cost of CBG including raw material costs, etc. may be shared with MNRE, MoPNG, and IOCL for further deliberations and finding solutions to the pricing issue.

Successful organization of The ‘Bioenergy e- pavilion’, 2021 A two-day e-pavilion (on Feb 18th and 19th) was organized by Indian Biogas Association in coordination with the German Biogas Association (GBA).

The event was as well supported and promoted by National Dairy Development Board, Indo-German Chamber of Commerce, AIC, Mahamana Founda-

tion for Innovation & Entrepreneurship-IM- BHU, and Industrial Outlook Online Magazine.

This year due to the COVID pandemic, IBA had conducted its annual Bio-Energy Pavilion through a virtual platform. In the e-Pavilion, 26 exhibitor companies participated, working in the field of Biogas, Bio-CNG, Bio-fuel, Waste Management, Sewage Treatment Plant, Effluent Treatment Plant, Biomass, Bio-Diesel, Bio-Ethanol, Bio-fertilizer. A special attraction of the event was the SATAT corner and the Investor corner at the e-pavilion. These two informative booths were placed in the pavilion to address the queries of the visitors related to SATAT scheme and financing options available in the bio-energy sector.

The Bio-Energy E-Pavilion 2021 had over 1100 registrations and the list of participants included corporate professionals, aspiring entrepreneurs, environmental enthusiasts, research scholars, academics and NGOs, and relevant government officials. On average, over 500 visitors were recorded on either of the event days.

In the inaugural session of the conference, the participants were honored to hear inspirational words from our chief guest Mr. Dinesh Jagadale, Jr. Sec-

#bioindia2021

Of Bioenergy Bio-Energy e-Pavilion

18, 19 February 2021

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retary- MNRE, and our guest of honor Dr. Claudius da Costa Gomez, CEO, German Biogas Association. Precious thoughts were also shared by Dr. A. R Shukla, President, IBA, and Ms. Ravneet Mann, V. P, Invest India.

research and development initiatives for technology development and demonstration to integrate biogas technology for biogas generation and biofertilizers for sustainable energy and agriculture development.

The conference sessions, divided into four sessions, were spread over both the event days, The sessions showcased some of the world-class speakers, top-level industry leaders, and policy-makers, discussing a wide spectrum of Bio-energy topics.

In line with the aforementioned narrative, a National Training Programme on ‘Biogas Technology and its Implementation’ was organized by SSS-NIBE and IBA from 24th to 26th March 2021. The main objective of the national training program was to introduce various applications of biogas, plant design, operation and maintenance, lignocellulosic and other waste utilization for biogas production, purification and bottling, off-grid and grid power generation, bio-CNG, financing for industrial projects, and techno-economics for biogas production and its utilization. Furthermore, for ushering biogas technology as a potential source of energy and sustainable agriculture practices, contemporary aspects were taken up in an integrated manner during the training program. Some of the topics covered by a diverse array of panelists included: Biogas as Science and Industrial Process, Feedstocks and Supply Chain Management, Biogas Upgradation to BioCNG and Power Generation, Biogas Plant Design and Operation & Maintenance, Field Experiences/Success Stories, and Investment Opportunities. On the final day of the training, a field visit to paddy straw based biogas plant was organized.

On the first day of the Conference, the focus was on the Success stories of Biogas and the Fuels of the future of India. The agenda for the second day focused specifically on contemporary technologies such as BioCNG up-gradation, Yield augmentation, digestate up-gradation, CO2 separation, Cryogenics, bioethanol etc., and a session on ‘ International perspective on biogas’ to give a glimpse of the international scenario of bioenergy.

On average, over 250 participants logged in and attended the conference sessions.

Overall, the Bio-Energy E-Pavilion 2021 was extremely helpful in raking up awareness and interest amongst the participants towards the Biogas industry. It has to be said that the event succeeded in being the perfect precursor for the forthcoming physical event (Bio Pavilion of IBA), tentatively scheduled to be organized along with REI- E Expo in Sept 2021.

For more detailed coverage on the event, visit our webpage: https://biogas-india.com/bio-energy-pavilion-2021/ IBA organized the National Training Program on “Biogas Technology & its implementation” The Ministry of New and Renewable Energy (MNRE) has been supporting programs for promoting biogas as a clean fuel for domestic cooking, off-grid and grid power generation, and bioCNG for transport applications. Biogas generation from agriculture waste is also emerging as a potential area not only for biogas generation but also as climate change concerns in view of recent arising due to the burning of paddy straw in the Northern states. Thus, there is a strong need to take up

For more coverage of the event and other necessary information, please download the brochure from the following link: https://bit.ly/3dldDXs

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Biogas – made in Sweden Biogas production in Sweden dates back several decades. Since then, Sweden has made great progress in the exploitation of biogas and is leading the way in purifying biogas for use as a vehicle fuel. The biomethane share in the Swedish CNG is 95 percent, and the largest gas grid in the country has a biogas share of almost 30 percent.

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n Sweden, the biogas process has long been used to stabilize and minimize the amount of sludge at the country’s sewage treatment plants.

After the energy crisis of the 1970s, interest in producing renewable methane gas also increased from other organic materials, such as manure and industrial wastewater from sugar mills, pulp mills, and more. During the 1980s, many plants were built to extract biogas from landfills and since the 1990s, several plants that process food waste as well as solid waste and liquids from the food industry have been added. Today, Sweden is at the forefront when it comes to the use of biogas as an energy source.

The development of new biogas plants has been supported by central Government funding for many years, for example through climate investment programs. New plants and technologies are continuously being developed. However, in several regions, the demand for biogas is still greater than the supply. The interest in biogas and (liquified)

biomethane is rising in heavy-duty haulage, industry, and shipping.

Biogas and biomethane in Sweden are mainly produced from various organic wastes and residues, such as sewage sludge, organic household waste (food waste), manure, waste from food industries and slaughterhouses.

The total biogas usage in Sweden 2019, including imports, is estimated to almost 4 TWh. Since 2015 the biogas use has more than doubled. Most of the biogas produced in Sweden (64 per cent) is upgraded and used mainly for road transport due to a favorable support system. Also, in the transport sector, the willingness to pay is the highest.

World leader in biomethane With the help of natural gas, Sweden built a growing market for biomethane as a fuel. Biogas production, refueling infrastructure and gas-powered vehicle fleets are three essential parts of the bio-

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methane puzzle. They all had to expand simultaneously, and natural gas helped grease the wheels during the critical build-up phase.

The first gas buses were introduced in Sweden in the late 1980s. They were built on site and ran on natural gas. During the 1990s, more and more Swedish cities began to replace their diesel buses with gas buses, after which air quality improved remarkably. Vehicle manufacturers then started to develop gas buses of their own. Almost at the same time, biogas got its big breakthrough. Now there was suddenly a biogas market. Sweden started to build co-digestion plants, and biogas was upgraded to fuel quality; biomethane.

During the early years of the market development, the security of supply of natural gas was a prerequisite for most users to take the leap to biomethane.

After the arrival of gas buses, interest in biomethane grew from taxi fleets, the waste management sector, and transport companies. Initially, the vehicles were powered by a mixture of natural gas and biomethane. As biomethane production grew, natural gas was gradually phased out. Today, the Swedish fuel in gas-powered cars, vans, buses, and waste collection vehicles is virtually fossil-free. The biomethane (CBG) share in the CNG is now 95 per cent. Sweden went from being the pioneer to the world leader.

Expert in exporting Swedish engineers developed biogas technology, built up companies, and won customers all over the world. At this point, Sweden took its place as an international showroom for smart biogas solutions in the transport sector. Since then, many delegations from different continents have traveled to

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small country in the north to bring Swedish experiences to their home countries. Swedish biogas expertise is now a highly sought-after commodity, worldwide.

Local and regional cooperation laid the foundation for the Swedish success story. Biogas was identified early on as a unique asset to society. With this insight, Swedish cities began to develop cross-sectoral cooperation between waste, sewage, transport, and agriculture. Public and private actors worked together to establish local and regional circularity, with biogas production at the heart. Organic waste from households, restaurants, industry, and agriculture is converted into biomethane, which is used to fuel local city transport vehicles.

At the same time, nutritious biofertilizer is produced and cycled back to ecological agriculture.

It is renewable, sustainable, and circular economy in practice.

Political drivers On Thursday 15 June 2017, the Swedish Parliament decided to introduce a climate policy framework for Sweden, containing new climate goals, a Climate Act, and a climate policy council.

• By 2045, Sweden will have net zero emissions of greenhouse gases into the atmosphere and should thereafter achieve negative emissions.

• Emissions from domestic transport, excluding domestic aviation, will be reduced by at least 70 percent by 2030 in comparison with 2010 emission level.

The goals are very ambitious. To be able to reach the second goal, the transport sector must consist of cars, buses, trucks,and ships that are running on gas. Together of course with vehicles running

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sure that vehicles are refueled with renewable and sustainable biomethane, resulting in a world-leading biomethane share in the CNG. The recently launched governmental biogas inquiry suggests a national target on biogas production, additional provisions, and longterm subsidies to exploit the full potential of biogas and its broad and unique benefits to society.

on electricity, green hydrogen, or other biofuels. Also, the industry sector must change to a greener alternative to reach the climate goal for 2045.

In Sweden, general fiscal incentives in terms of high CO2 and energy tax on fossil fuels and tax exemption for renewables have been the main driver for decarbonizing since the 1990s. It is still the main driver of the biomethane market.

Politicians in Sweden have identified biogas and biomethane as unique and valuable resources to society. A circular economy is being developed here, using a combination of state, municipal and private investments.

The Swedish state provides investment subsidies and a premium for sustainable biomethane production. Refueling infrastructure is subject to investment support. In terms of end user incentives, the policy makers are equally dedicated. Purchase of gas driven vehicles are encouraged in the passenger car segment as well as on the light and heavy-duty side. The incentives are created through investment support and a climate premium for trucks, a purchase bonus for cars and vans as well as environmental zones in cities, allowing only electric and gas driven vehicles. By applying long-term tax exemption on biomethane, Swedish politicians en-

There have been several investment support programmes that facilitated this development. In the recent years, a large part of new production is run by private companies mainly focusing on industrial organic waste such as manure, waste and residues from agriculture, food industry, and slaughterhouses. It is also in the private sector where most of the additional production capacity investments are foreseen in the future.

The biomethane production has increased steadily since 2005, mainly driven by investments by municipalities,regions in biomethane-driven public transport (buses), and new biogas plants with upgrading facilities for recycling of organic household waste (co-digestion plants). Biogas production has occurred for several decades in many sewage plants but, since 2005 the share with biomethane upgrading has increased.

New technology – new sectors Since the taxes in Sweden are highest in the transport sector, most of the biomethane has been used

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for road transport, but also to some extent for heating. In other sectors, such as industry with high natural gas usage, the tax advantage for renewables is generally lower. It is only during the last 2–3 years that the biomethane demand in industry has risen dramatically due to primarily subsidized imported biogas which has been rather competitive with natural gas.

The biomethane market is growing rapidly in Sweden, due to technological development. The automotive industry is developing new solutions that make it possible and cost-effective to run longhaul heavy-duty vehicles on liquefied biomethane (bio-LNG). Production and distribution of liquefied biomethane is growing in parallel with the haulers shifting from diesel to biomethane. With the help of liquefied natural gas (LNG) Sweden is now en route to another biomethane success – but at a much faster pace this time. The amount of filling stations for liquefied biomethane has grown rapidly. In total 19 new stations have been built in the last two years. The interest in sustainable transport from the transport buyers has increased the demand for trucks running on liquefied biomethane.

Already, the liquefied gas used for transport in Sweden consists of almost 50 percent biomethane.

The interest in biomethane is spreading to industry, shipping, and power and heat sector. This is positive for the willingness to invest and the strong expansion of the biomethane production that Sweden wants to see. With waste and residues, there are good opportunities to meet demand with sustainably produced Swedish biomethane – today and in the future. Swedish research identifies biomethane production as an effective way to make high-quality products from waste and residues.

Already with existing technology, there are several ways to produce biomethane, from many different types of waste and residues.

With technology development, innovations and a growing bioeconomy, even more production routes are created. This gives a certainty that the availability of raw materials does not have to become a limiting factor for increased biomethane production. With excess electricity from wind and solar, we can also, via hydrogen, get even more biomethane from the

same amount of substrate (Power to Methane). In this way, we get not only a smart sector integration but a super-smart integration of electricity, heat, gas, transport, waste management, and agriculture.

Biogas – the decathlon winner Biogas offers solutions to several human long-term challenges: climate, soil fertility, clean water, and good air quality. Biogas turns a waste problem into valuable resources.

Swedish scientific findings show that biomethane contributes, directly or indirectly, to each of the 17 UN Sustainable Development Goals. This makes biogas and biomethane unique compared to other alternatives in the areas of waste treatment and transport.

Most technologies tend to solve one problem at a time. But biomethane is the decathlon winner who may not win every single discipline but, performs excellently in all of them. This makes biomethane a particularly cost-effective solution in the transition to a sustainable society. Furthermore, being based on proven technologies, biomethane is readily available and scalable.

From all combinations of fuel/energy carriers and power-trains explored, biomethane represents one of the absolute lowest greenhouse gas-intensive routes. This is concluded in a recently published Science for Policy report (JEC2 Well-To-Wheels report v5) by the Joint Research Centre (JRC), the European Commission’s science and knowledge service. The study argues that greenhouse gas emissions are associated with both fuel production and vehicle use; hence it is only by considering the

Maria Malmkvist CEO

The Swedish Gas Association

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whole pathway (Well-To-Wheels) that the overall impact of fuel and vehicle choices can be seen.

From that starting point, the study aims to provide, in a transparent and objective manner, information to guide future choices of fuel and vehicle technologies towards the 2025+ time frame. One of the key findings to consider is the outstanding greenhouse gas emission reduction performance of biomethane. The climate benefits of using biomethane are, according to the study, similar to the use of renewable electricity and synthetic diesel (e-fuels). Even significant negative emissions can be derived from routes involving biogas or biomethane from manure.

Biomethane has an obvious role to play in heavy-duty transport and shipping, where electrification might be more difficult or expensive, but also in other segments (e.g. passenger cars, vans, and buses) where more than one technology will be required to meet increasing climate ambitions in the wake of the Green Deal.

Huge potential Sweden is still using 122 TWh of fossil oil products that need to be phased out in areas like road transport, shipping, and a minor part in the industry sector. Industry is faced with the task of making the transition in line with Swedish climate goals and at the same time compete on the global market. The electricity system needs to be developed to meet the expected increase in demand, as well as the growing proportion of electricity from weather-dependent technologies. Our air needs to be clean and free of pollutants. Furthermore, we need to switch from a linear to a circular economy, where resource consumption and waste generation are

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minimized, and their potential is maximized. Agriculture must become more organic, and the security of supply must increase to meet the country’s need for fuel, raw materials, and crop nutrients.

The Swedish gas industry has drawn up a roadmap to show how energy gases can contribute to promoting fossil-free competitiveness. If current energy gas use is to become fossil free, 20 TWh of renewable gas is required. This can be compared with the current level of use of renewable gas, which is less than 4 TWh annually, and approximately half of it is produced in Sweden. Even higher volumes of renewable gas will probably be required as industry and the transport sector continue to make the switch from oil to gas in a concerted effort to reduce emissions quickly and effectively.

Production potential exists in Sweden but needs to be realized more rapidly than is the case at present. A governmental inquiry recently called for a national production goal at 10 TWh of renewable gases by 2030. Now, that is a good start.

Scan the QR-code for more information.

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GFS - GLASS FUSED TO STEEL TANK: An Ideal Choice for Bio Gas application Introduction lass-Fused-to Steel Tanks and Silos has been providing durable and cost-effectively engineered containment solutions in Biogas Industries and Agricultural environment worldwide. Hundreds of thousands of structures have been installed worldwide in the last 50 years, each with the ability to withstand local environmental extremes, from the cold of the arctic to the heat of the desert. Glass-Fused-to Steel Tanks and Silos have the ability to safely and securely store the tank contents with minimal downtime and reduced maintenance costs to give an efficient and cost-effective tank life span.

G

To offer a product into the municipal and industrial marketplace that will give long-term safe and secure liquid storage with lower maintenance and operational costs, -a Total Quality Management

solution is crucial. Any product; however, well designed, engineered, and manufactured is only as good as the final quality control and final product testing to meet international standards.

What is Glass-Fused-To Steel?

Glass-Fused-to Steel is a unique tank finish. Two materials are fused to achieve the best of both materials – strength, and flexibility of steel combined with the corrosion resistance of glass. Applied to both interior and exterior surfaces, Glass-Fused-to Steel can provide many years of trouble-free service in harsh environments.

• High performance and hard-wearing • As strong and flexible as steel • Inert silica glass • Colour fast / UV stable

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Glass-Fused-To Steel Quality The quality shall be independently certified and meets or exceeds International Enamelling Standards. All industrial grade finishes shall be subject to 100% inspection and electrical testing of the contact surface. Any panel having a discontinuity are rejected to ensure the highest quality and commitment to ZERO DISCONTINUITY (defect-free at test voltage) glass fusion Glass Fused Steel Tanks – Ideal for anaerobic digestion In the industrial sector using anaerobic digestion to create biogas is increasingly recognized as a valuable method to utilize waste streams to create renewable energy.

The MOC for the Shell and Roof, especially the Gaseous Zone of the digester tanks, is very critical in Bio Gas / Anaerobic (AD) Application. One of the Ideal materials used for this application is GFS – Glass fused to steel tanks.

GFS is the process of cleaning the high strength steel sheets by shot blasting followed by acid wash, then spraying inert silica glass on the surface of the steel, and then using that with the steel at very high temperature forming a High-Performance Material which is strong, flexible and corrosion resistant.

They are bolted and fixed at site.

Leading manufacturers in the world like Permastore build tanks that meet/exceed AWWA D103-09

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and EN ISO 28765:2016 standards are designed for 30 years life cycle considering Seismic and Wind conditions at the site.

GFS tanks have long been used for Bio Gas/ (AD) tanks in the last 40 years. GFS tanks are Ideal to be utilized for mesophilic digesters, thermophilic digester, pasteurizing digesters, and enhanced enzymic hydrolysis (EEH) digesters amongst various other processes and applications.

Modular design allows the flexibility to accommodate various aspect ratios, process pressures, and temperatures to suit a variety of AD processes, designs, and applications as specified by your process designer.

The roofs are structurally designed to allow for local environmental loading and can also support centrally mounted mixer systems or can be designed for double membrane roofs also.

The combination of inert Glass-Fused-to-Steel finishes, combined with the strength of steel and the flexibility of modular construction gives significant benefits over other types of digester structures.

These include: Glass Fused Steel Tanks – Ideal for municipal applications In potable water applications, GFS tanks are globally accepted. A large range of water treatment processes can be accommodated within Glass-

Feature

Benefit

Long life span

Reduce replacement costs and improve returns on investment

Modular bolted tank construction

Rapid and cost effective site installation- Reducing project timescales, costs and requirement for onsite equipment

Flexibility to remodel and relocate

Tanks can be extended dismantled and resited giving long-terms asset value

Optimum corrosion resistance of Glass-Fused-toSteel

Safe and secure storage with minimal maintenance costs

Complete range of diameter and height options with storage capacity solutions exceeding 50,000m3 (13,200,000 US Gallons)

Most cost effective solutions to meet customer’s needs

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Fused-to Steel Tanks, including borehole water, seawater desalination tanks, reverse osmosis (RO), permeate tanks, settling tanks, filtration tanks, disinfection tanks, coagulation/flocculation tanks, aeration tanks, activated sludge tanks, filter tanks, sedimentation tanks, chlorine contact tanks, and dosing tanks, amongst others.

The hard, inert,and hygienic surface of the GlassFused-to Steel finish make it simple to clean and disinfect water tanks.

In sewage treatment, GFS tanks have a very high resistance to chemical corrosion and have excellent abrasion resistance properties, making them a suitable consideration in your sewage treatment application. GFS tanks have been successfully used for an extensive range of sewage treatment applications.

GLASS FUSED STEEL TANKS – IDEAL FOR INDUSTRIAL APPLICATIONS In industrial effluent, there can be a high degree of variability. This can place a challenge on the process designer to select suitable storage and process tanks to withstand a range of aggressive liquids.

waste to tannery effluent and leachate amongst others.

The advantages of the high corrosion resistance of Glass-Fused-to Steel together with the modular nature of the tank build give customers significant benefits in containment security, project build times, and lifetime costs.

Process water tanks take advantage of the inert properties of the Glass-Fused-to Steel finish and the fact that it does not require recoating, giving users the reassurance they require for these critical applications. For example, these can include food and beverage water requirements, or alternative water applications such as fish farms, or demineralized water storage for industries such as power plants. They can also incorporate roofs, cones, and connections for pipework or sensors.

“Word of caution is for the Bio Gas Company to choose a good GFS company who has experience in manufacturing and building GFS Tanks so as to ensure the quality of the glass coating is high and reliable.”

However, the Glass-Fused-to Steel solution provides a high degree of protection for the tank for a large range of industrial processes from food

Cyril Gubbi Director G.E.T. Water Solutions Pvt Ltd.

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Innovative biogas based micro-grids for rural communities in India

FOV Biogas Flexible Fabric digesters (Picture 1) 1. Project Background n April 2019, FOV Fabrics AB, Sweden along with consortium partners FOV Biogas India and Grass Roots Energy started working on a ‘developp. de project.’ The project was co-funded by Sequa gGmbH, Germany.

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The project aimed to set up biogas-based micro grids in 2 locations in Munger district of Bihar using FOV flexible fabric-based digesters. The microgrids were primary set up to support local microenterprises and train the local micro entrepreneurs.

To be sustainable, it was intended to create a circular economy model that uses locally available resources such as cow dung and agricultural waste as raw material for the biogas plants. The biogas produced and the organic residues are to be used for meeting the electricity and fertilizer needs of the communities. The local villagers were trained on waste management practices for cattle dung collection, the production, and usage of biogas as well as the management and use of slurry and manure for organic agricultural practices. Besides, local youth were trained in the installation and op-

eration of digesters, creating local employment opportunities. These measures should enable inclusive participation and knowledge transfer, resulting in a multiplier effect upon completion of the project.

2. Description of the project 2.1 Initial situation from a development perspective There are 400 million people in India with limited or unreliable energy access. In these locations, vast majority of these people are engaged in dairy, agriculture as primary income-generating activities.

These farming activities have significantly under-utilized agri or farm residues. The organic resources inside the farm/dairy waste can be processed into biogas to solve the pertinent energy access issues.

Thus the central problems which were addressed by the project are insufficient waste management, lack of access to electricity in remote locations, and degradation of soil due to traditional agriculture.

The project takes a holistic approach to address all these issues together: 1) Insufficient waste management: There are mil-

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3) Degradation of soil due to traditional agriculture: Lack of access to nutrient-rich organic manure limits the farmers to use chemical fertilizers, which in the long run removes the fertile top layer in the farms.

Slurry and manure residuals from the biogas digesters have been used by farmers in the local communities. Close to 1600 farmers from both the sites/communities have been trained on the usage of organic manure. 400 member test group was created and the improvement in yield of crops/vegetables was studied over a period of 1 year.

Project activities: The project concept was to establish a cradle-to-cradle system in energy production and local economic development. During the last 14 months, the project helped Microenterprises operating on Biogas based power (picture 2) in setting up biogas-based microgrids at two different communities in lions of tons of organic and agri-waste which are not used or burnt causing significant environmenBihar. At present, majority of farmers in the target tal damages and health issues, unnecessary CO2 region use diesel-based fuel sources for various and methane emissions, and waste of potential enelectricity-based applications, which is expensive ergy sources. Dairy waste such as cow dung is left and environmentally harmful. Biogas microgrids in open generates methane, which is equivalent to have helped in cutting down the price per unit by 70 kg of methane per year per cow. The common 40% over diesel usage and 30% over solar-diesel untreated waste causes challenges in sanitation, thus bringing down the cost of electricity to the potential health risks in rural areas where women customers in the off-grid segment. Farmers are and children are the worst affected with lack of acsupplying cow manure to the micro-grids as feedcess to health services. One of the outcomes of the stock and have benefited by using gas and organic project has been establishing waste management manure generated. The residue from the biogas practices for the local communities/farmers in vildigesters is distributed to farmers in the rural arlages to recycle the waste into a valuable energy eas in the vicinity of the project. Organic fertilizers resource. Close to 140 farmers have been trained have led to reduced use of chemical fertilizers. on waste management practices.

Capacity development and practical training ac2) Lack of access to (clean) electricity/energy: Untivities reliable or completely lacking access to electric Once the plants were operational, training activgrids limits people’s productivity and hampers their ities were organized for 12-to-18 months. There income potential in rural areas. People depend on were different kinds of practical training activities expensive diesel connections (30-40 cents vs 10 which was supported by the project for different cents for grid connection) to power and light their target groups: homes and businesses. The project comprehen• Digester installation, operation, and maintesively solves these problems in providing renewnance for young people to work in the operation able energy and electricity in remote locations by and maintenance of the digesters. decentralized microgrids. There are a total of 6 microenterprises/micro entrepreneurs, who are cur• Good cattle management practices and waste rently using electricity for running their enterprises management for dairy farmers: The farmers were such as grinding mills. trained on waste management, collection, and

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best practices on cattle. These services are not present in rural areas. A typical setup requires 3 to 4 tons/ day of cattle waste from the dairy farmers. This required partnerships with about 70-80 small and marginal dairy farmers per site.

• Innovative business practices involved in providing electricity for micro entrepreneurs: Using the biogas, each microgrid site generated about 80-100 KW, which is being supplied to micro-enterprises near the project site. The micro-enterprises include agro-processing like the electric grinding machine for the pulses and spices from the locally grown produce. The endeavor was also to promote women members in the community.

• Organic manure application and organic farming practices: Each day from the digester, the residue is processed to make organic fertilizer, which is used in vegetable farms in the local community. Farmers were trained on methods of using the manure, application process, and monitoring the result. The organic fertilizer replaced chemical fertilizer, thus making these farms sustainable.

Training for lead farmers (picture 3)

Training for women farmers on manure usage (picture 4)

Joseph Vimal. A CEO FOV Biogas India Pvt Ltd. Impacts of the project The project impacted the development of two rural communities in Bihar. Within each community, different target groups were trained. Firstly, there are 5-10 local young people who were trained in digester installation, management, and maintenance. They were roped into jobs through the project and work for further management of the micro-grids. Secondly, about 150 dairy farmers (75 in each village) were trained in waste management, veterinary services, and cattle management. Thirdly, about 60 micro-entrepreneurs such as women’s groups, lead farmers, and micro entrepreneurs were introduced to biogas and manure usage and their commercial application. And finally, 1600 farmers were trained in organic farming using manure from the digester residuals. 8 to 9 trainers were involved in training the farmers and micro entrepreneurs on various aspects of the project. This inclusive cradle-to-cradle model thus addressed altogether about 1800 beneficiaries/farmers in the two communities. These measures have enabled inclusive participation, knowledge transfer, increase income levels, and employment generation. Table on page no. 25 succinctly portrays same:

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Group

Income increase

Category

Lead farmers (Microentreprenuers)

12%

Income increase

Organic fertilizer users

20%

Income increase

Maize farmers

26%

Income increase

On-site Microentreprenuers

Rs.15,000 per month

Employment creation

Change in farmer and Microentreprenuers incomes Indirect development impact: With the help of the holistic mix of project measures, a sustainable growth was triggered in the two villages, increasing the income of the participating farmers and entrepreneurs by about 15%-20% and benefiting about

150 households and 1800 inhabitants in the two villages. Another benefit will be the mitigation of about 450 tons of CO2 per annum through the two biogas-based micro-grids. The project shall be a demonstration project for other villages/communities in the country and is bound to have a multiplier effect.

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Biogas perspectives from Bio-Waste Management in Rural India – Part I

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bstract: Understanding the present biowaste management trends and India’s developmental requirements; this paper offers a ‘Smart-Village Model for Bio-waste Management in Rural India”, and its energy perspectives in the country. For example, it takes the case of Haryana and then demonstrates the model with an example of district Sonipat in Haryana.

As per the 20th livestock census, rural India has 95.78 % of the total livestock, and 95.35% of total poultry in India. (GoI, 2019, page 45). There are 6,04,301 villages in India (DAHD-20th Livestock census). The dung is generally burnt as dung-cakes or is kept in heaps to use later as bio-fertilizer. Besides, villages have a lot of crop-residue, burning of which causes hazardous problems. Rural livestock and availability of crop-residue demand for proper bio-waste management in rural India. For smart villages, the dung and surplus crop-residue is to be handled on a priority basis due to sanitation, ecology, and resource recovery purposes.

1. Bio-waste management concerns in Rural India Rural India generates different bio-wastes, and people are already using them to extract their known benefits. The problem arises when traditional methods (which are comparatively less en-

vironment friendly and are wasting many possible outcomes) are being used perpetually when more advanced methods have become available. Using new technologies efficiently can contribute towards solving many problems simultaneously.

1.1. Policy efforts for rural bio-waste management: Different ministries (like MNRE, MDWS, MoPNG) are making efforts for energy, sanitation, and environmental issues through different schemes biogas schemes (like NNBOMP, GOBARDHAN, SATAT, SMB - Gramin). The contemporary scenario consolidates the governments’ immense efforts towards using biogas-technology for handling bio-waste, and for promoting entrepreneurship by producing biogas through bio-waste. Composting is also advised, in SBM (Grameen), for a full cover of bio-waste management. Despite many efforts for rural bio-waste management, success is yet to be realized. However, a better strategy can do wonders and therefore policy approach needs to be shifted to get efficient results in rural bio-waste management concerns.

1.2 Need to Shift the Policy Approach: Current policy focus of rural bio-waste management supports disintegrated approach (where the functioning of every bio-waste management unit, small-scale or

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large-scale, is independent) with diverse methods (different aerobic/anaerobic methods of bio-waste management) in a much decentralized way (with small/ micro-scale bio-waste treatment). Therefore, the present policy supports - disintegration, diversification, and excessive decentralization; and it’s not multi-targeting (as it doesn’t target the full energy potential, and systematized entrepreneurial potentials which can solve many problems like income, employment, efficiency, sustainability, ecology, and smart rural infrastructure) as well However, the present scenario, in which countries are to solve many problems simultaneously demands a multi-targeting strategy. Therefore, there is a need to shift the policy approach.

1.3. Biogas efforts and lessons from the past: With success stories, there have been many issues and discontinuation too in the past. Often it’s asked that what barriers are faced in the successful operation of biogas plants in India. The main barrier in the success of biogas programme is management concerns at different government/non-government levels i.e. from planning to establishment to functioning, which encapsulates all other forms of barriers as well. Poor management causes technological malfunction, discontinuation of set-up plants, higher life cycle cost, market issues regard-

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ing input and output, and other operational issues.

1.4. Need for a smart-village bio-waste management model in India: An alternate bio-waste management model, based on ‘multi-targeting, which can work simultaneously for sanitation, ecology, energy, crop-residue burning, investment and employment, agriculture, and rural development is the immediate requirement. Therefore, the current system needs to be replaced with the new model – a model which can cover all possible bio-waste, which can provide efficient production with minimum efforts, economies of scale thus bringing cost-efficiency, boost demand and supply sustainably, give the economy a robust infrastructure, make it possible to see the bio-waste management system as a whole, easy, alignment with ‘Swachh Bharat Mission, ‘Self-reliant India’, ‘One Nation One Gas-grid’ missions, and fulfillment of SATAT goals. Besides, a well-organized system will make villages smart and will support regional/economic equality, and will help India in reclaiming its position of ‘Vishvaguru’.

2 Rural bio-waste in Haryana: The rural bio-waste scenario in Haryana is explained through sources and uses of bio-waste. In Haryana, as per (DAHD -20th Livestock census), 6,950 villages have 65,17,177 livestock with them. Like national trends, Cattle and buffalo hold the maximum share in total livestock in Haryana. Besides, crop-residue burning is a major identified issue to be solved. Most of the rural bio-waste is either with agricultural households or with charity or business institutions like gaushalas and big dairies respectively. Households have small-scale and much scattered bio-waste in comparison to these institutions. To know the types and uses of bio-waste is important for preparing an efficient resource-recovery mechanism.

Gohana Ganaur Sonipat Kharkhoda The sources of bio-wastes Biogas refining & compressing centre Village biogas plant with rural households are– animal-dung, crop-residue, kitchen-waste, and human excreta.

Sketch Map-1: Bio-waste handling in Sonipat District- A Kitchen-waste is not the major proposed Smart village model

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concern as primarily it’s meager in amount, and secondarily it’s generally fed to domestic animals.

Human excreta should be handled separately, at least in present times. Hence, presently, animal dung and crop-residue need to be used efficiently for resource recovery and the model focuses on these bio-wastes. Crop-residue is found seasonally in fields; and compared to animal institutions it’s much scattered and non-perennial. Institutions have large-scale bio-waste availability in rural India. A study of the Sonipat district presents that Gaushalas, poultry farms, and dairy farms are the places with bulk availability and provide perennial supply of animal dung. Gaushalas are the largest institutions regarding the availability of animal dung. The situation is the same all-over rural Haryana. i.e., 408 gaushalas have 3,06,490 animals in Haryana (DAHD - Pashudhan Haryana). An average Indian dairy holds 2 to 3 animals. Most of the dairy animals are kept by households, who generally treat it as a secondary source of income. Commercial dairies are rather big in size but, still, they are

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very few in numbers. Dairies with about 350-400 animals in each are from very large size dairies in India. Therefore, dairy farms are also a big source of bio-waste; however, mostly their sizes are very small as compared to gaushalas. Poultry farms are also a big source of bio-waste. However, due to the bio-waste amount and uncertainty about the lifespan of poultry farms, it ranks lower than gaushalas and dairy farms (Manisha, 2017).

As the model focuses on dung and crop-residue management, we need to know the uses of dung and crop-residue with rural households. Rural households use dung in two ways – energy and bio-fertilizer. From a mixing bucket (like- wood, plant stems, dung cakes, LPG, kerosene, and electricity) of energy-sources, biomass is a main source of energy among rural households. As all dung is not used for making dung cakes, the leftover is used for fertilizer purposes. Both uses (dung cakes, and bio-fertilizer) are important for rural people because of their fuel needs, and their preference

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to use their available bio-fertilizer in their fields to improve the soil quality.

Crop-residue is generally used for animal fodder and energy needs. Grassy and soft stem residue is generally used as animal fodder. Wheat straw is preferred to paddy straw as animal fodder due to fodder quality difference. Cotton stalk and pigeon-pea sort of hard woody stem are used for fulfilling energy needs. However, many women spent a lot of time in the drudgery of collecting woody stems from different trees and plants. Surplus crop-residue burning is a serious issue. Institutional dung/bio-wastes are also used in traditional ways.

3. The Smart-village bio-waste management model: A need for the grid 3.1. The Model’s Aim: Keeping attention towards the multi-targeting potential of efficient bio-waste management, the model aims at multi-targeting.

3.2. The Model’s Approach: To get the maximum benefits, the model works for ‘creating a cohesive system through biogas grid’ by adopting the ‘Unification via integration-cum-disintegration’ approach. The model presents the need for a biogas grid. As per the approach, all bio-waste must be treated in a single centralized from a village perspective but, highly decentralized from district/ state/nation outlook. Besides, the biogas refining center will be centralized from the perspective of biogas production plants. It will form a biogas grid via a single systemic system (comprised of many units).

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be supplied to a centralized biogas refining center (few or one in a district, which should be decided at the time of model implementation) through a pipeline catering to many centralized village levels biogas systems. It will help in separate and focussed efforts for biogas production, and refining.

The centralized biogas refining center (facility 2) will supply the refined and compressed methane to the nearby natural gas pipeline. Also, possibly, bottled CO2 can be supplied to the places of its demand.

4. The model in Haryana The model (Sketch-Map 1) presents the biogas-grid with village-level biogas plants and 4 biogas refining centers (taken division-wise here; however number and location of refining centers should be decided at the time of project implementation, after analyzing carefully). The Sketch-Map doesn’t represent the actual number of desired biogas plants and the actual grid. It just clarifies the idea for the functioning of the model.

5. Conclusion Considering the contemporary situation, incompetent ways can’t solve the problem but will only have a snowballing effect. India needs a smart rural bio-waste management system for sustainable development requirements.

3.3. The three prerequisites for the sustainable success of the model 3.3.1. Providing alternatives of households’ uses of bio-waste.

3.3.2. Definite supply of all village bio-waste in a central bio methanation plant 3.3.3. Efficient management (technical/non-technical) 3.4. The three stepped model (Source -->Facility 1 -->Facility 2--> the supply destinations) Village bio-waste will be supplied to the single central bio methanation plant (facility 1) of the village. The bio-fertilizer should be available for the village as per pre-decided rules. The biogas should

Manisha Assistant Professor in Economics Aditi Mahavidyalaya, University of Delhi

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Financing in the Indian Biogas industry

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ny fledgling market as is the present state of the Biogas industry in India resembles a typical Chicken-Egg scenario. It means that there lies a high degree of uncertainty in what happens first; whether a reliable market is established upon plenty of quality investments or it’s the other way around i.e., an established and reliable market ropes in further quality investments. The scenario is common in any capital-intensive sector, so nothing new is transpiring in the Indian biogas/bio-CNG industry. In this context, it’s worthwhile to systematically look into various components of financing (or the capital mix) and its related challenges in the biogas/bio-CNG industry.

A typical capital mix in a biogas project entails around 30-40 % equity and balance typically in form of credit/borrowing from Financial Institutions [as commonly prevalent in any other industry too].

Occasionally, government or sovereign grants may also share a significant or nominal chunk in the Capital mix. Equity is normally considered to be the riskiest form of investment that comes from the project promoters. The promoters can in turn get the equity component completely self-financed or get a portion of it financed from strategic investors.

Understandably, the equity holders are concerned about the financial parameters (such as higher ROI, lower payback, levered returns or Equity IRR

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etc.) being commensurate with the assumed project risks. Thus, the emphasis is on maximizing the revenues and lowering the associated cost to the extent possible. Occasionally, this denigrates to an extent wherein the promoter/investor overly emphasizes to squeeze the project schedule. Feasibility analysis, which ideally should be an indispensable activity in the project, is then considered to be an inessential activity that delays the project and has undesired expenses attached to it.

In contrast, it worthwhile to note that a nominal cost and time spent during the feasibility study aids in mitigating a great degree of the multiple risks associated with a project. There are several examples of successful on-ground projects wherein significant time (nearly a couple of years) was invested in

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apt planning, and also unsuccessful cases wherein hastily undertaken projects with inappropriate planning has led to plants being non-functional in the long run. Of course, over-planning delays the project cash flows and adversely impacts the associated financial returns but, the underlying message is to involve a subject matter expert/agency right from the conceiving stage to appropriately plan and derisk the project.

So far as the loan component is concerned, it spans a bulk of the financing need in projects. Financial Institutions (FI), primarily comprising of Commercial Banks and NBFCs, may either extend the credit directly to a project promoter or they can be the intermediary to lend mapped funds from international or sovereign institutions such as World Develop-

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ment Bank (WDB), Asian Development Bank (ADB), KFW, etc. IBA has come across various narratives of promoter’s difficulty in achieving financial closure of planned projects, meaning an inability to get the loan sanctioned with a reasonable interest rate along with reduced collateral requirement. One interesting aspect to understand here is about what actuates the willingness of a FI to extend credit to a particular sector?

Typically, FIs have a list of risk buckets whose weighted average leads to the determination of the interest rates or, for that matter to determine whether it makes sense to take exposure of a particular sector. Some of the risk types factored by Financial Institutions can be categorized as the operational risk (featuring supply chain concerns, sanctity and longevity of offtake/purchase agreements, adequate capacity utilization, reasonable cost drivers, etc.), the Management or company risk (corporate governance, management’s experience, and past track record), financial risks (how strong are the various accounting ratios of the promoting company), and the industry risks (including things such as historical trend, market maturity, degree of standardization, viable and commercial technology, etc.).

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But interestingly, more often than not, the lending exposure or interest rates are not only influenced by these inherent risks (as segmented above) attached to the projects in a particular industry. It’s more about the lender’s ability to assess these risks appropriately, and FI’s overall comfort with the industry/sector. Risk-averse lenders tend to be more skeptical in the risk allocation and thus are warier to lend out to the sector owing to no concrete or justified reason. Thus, it’s extremely critical to ensure adequate understanding of the bio-CNG industry with the lender, possibly upon conducting appropriate capacity building exercises.

Diving deep into some of the ground facts, related to the overall convenience in the lending process that’s expected upon inclusion of bio-CNG into the priority lending sector, delineate that people are extremely excited about ‘Priority Sector Lending’ prospects. But, the relevant question is whether it has a concessional influence on the interest rates?

The point remains that despite being categorized as a priority sector, banks are independent to determine the interest rates based on their perceived risk for a given sector/ industry. So, the interest rates calculation (cost of credit/loan) continues to be purely on the ‘assessed risk’ basis.

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Furthermore, as per RBI, individual lending quotas (as % of Adjusted Net Bank Credit/ANBC) is defined only for some of the present eight sectors featuring in the Priority lending category (i.e. Agriculture-18%, MSME-7.5%, Export Credit-2%, and advance to weaker sections-10%). So, particularly for the renewable sector, there isn’t any assigned individual quota, and banks are independent to determine their exposure to this sector purely on risk basis. Also, Banks are under no obligation to even meet these individual lending quotas as it doesn’t matter if the entire priority lending quota (currently at 40% of ANBC, as cited in RBI’s master circular for priority sector) is met by lending to just a few of these priority sectors. Moreover, even if the overall priority lending target is missed, banks still have various alternate means to channelize and offset the missed priority sector lending targets.

Upon defaulting over priority sector lending targets; amongst other available options, almost all the banks primarily park the equivalent amount of missed credit target in form of deposits in the Rural Infrastructure Development Fund (RIDF) managed

by NABARD, SIDBI, etc.

Then, another source of capital for biogas/bioCNG projects lies in the provision to avail the Central Financial Assistance (CFA/subsidy) covering as much as INR 4 crore/ MWel.eq. (max. up to INR 10 crore per project). It can roughly cover 15-25% of a typical bio-CNG plant cost. However, one needs to be cognizant of the fact that subsidy inflow is back-ended, meaning it flows in only after the plant is operational. Moreover, as per the requirement to avail the subsidy under the CFA scheme, the subsidy for a project can only be used to retire the debt, thus making it necessary for the promoter to borrow a bridge loan of an equivalent amount upfront.

Now, let’s take a look into the relative importance of the present central subsidy scheme in the ambitious SATAT program. As per the latest relevant notice on 28.02.2020, for the remaining period 2019-20, around INR 478 crores for 257 MWeq. was allocated under the CFA grants. Now, this allocation is way less than the subsidy needed over fiveyear period (approximately INR 15000 crores) to achieve the envisaged target of 5000 plants (each estimated to be of avg. 5 Tons/day of bio-CNG capacity) under the SATAT initiative.

Notwithstanding the above-cited shortcomings associated with the various components of the Capi-

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tal mix, now let’s look into the overall lucrativeness of bio-CNG projects particularly from an investors’ standpoint. More often than not, they tend to pivot their investment decision primarily on cursory estimates of various parameters associated with a typical project. Such ball-park estimates are bound to be highly confounding. So, the investors are either too skeptical or show extreme willingness to foray into the bio-CNG projects. Surely, these project or financial estimates should be specifically arrived on case-to-case basis rather than just using the law of averages. A succinct analysis of some of the associated critical revenue and cost drivers in a biogas/ bio-CNG project is as portrayed underneath: Revenue DriversOn the revenue side, surely the offtake price of bioCNG being fixed under SATAT provides huge relief in terms of derisking at least one of the variables (per Kg price of bio-CNG) to an extent. However, assured or guaranteed long-term offtake agreements for sales and distribution of produced products and by-products (organic manure) are paramount to ensure viability. Presently, risks remain w.r.t. participating OMCs conditionally buying the produced bio-CNG only as per the generated demand at earmarked bio-CNG stations. Also, despite the incorporation of Fermented Organic Manure in the FCO, its marketability and acceptance amongst end-users is still not systematized. So, revenues from this by-product can’t be projected with a high degree of conviction, and if it’s considered into the estimates, a confidence level should be attached to it.

Cost Driversa. Capital Expenditure- CAPEX requirement depends on the technology deployed across the process steps, the scale of the plant, processed feedstock type and mix (for co-substrate digestion), degradability of feedstock, and so on. For instance, lesser degradable feedstock (like agro residues with lignocellulosic composition) typically calls for additional pre-treatment thus increasing CAPEX requirement. Also, there is no dearth of adept technologies, which in turn can augment revenues, be it in form of harnessing CO2 from biogas, recovering elemental sulphur, value-added fertilizers through slurry up-gradation, biogas yield improvement, and so on. But, it has to be kept in mind that the technology deployment comes with additional Capital Outlay (CAPEX). So, a cost-benefit analysis on the deployed solution will be inter-

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esting to prove its commercial viability. b. Operational Expenditure- Likewise, OPEX is related to the chosen technology across the process steps (pre-treatment, digestion, gas and digestate up-gradation, end-usage of gas and organic manure, and so on), and this is completely dependent on the feedstock type being processed. Furthermore, with microbiological operations happening at biogas plants, the start-up time to attain a steady-state is comparatively much higher than a typical chemical process. So, appropriate plant downtime in case of troubleshooting requirement, or provision in form of reduced capacity utilization has to be factored into the estimates.

Based on the analysis provided above, it has to be deeply ingrained within that hand rules to gauge the economic viability or financial returns of biogas/bio-CNG projects is a hyped misfit. Rather, every biogas/bio-CNG project is always specific depending upon umpteen no. of variables and its dependency to various scenarios. Accordingly, detailed project-specific scenarios with needful risk

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mitigation measures have to be appropriately delineated before foraying in the industry. Surely, one can expect to reap long-term dividends with this approach.

Abhijeet Mukherjee Project Head Indian Biogas Association

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Carbon offsets for Sustainable Development

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ndore has been crowned the cleanest city in the country for the fourth time in a row this year. The single most important reason for Indore bagging this title is the combined efforts of the city’s people, its public representatives, and government officials. Indore’s journey is inspiring, and the steps it took are now being followed by many cities in India and across the globe.

These initiatives also helped Indore in one more noble and pioneering work, i.e., in creating additional financing channels for emission reduction projects through carbon credit offset trading. In this endeavor, India’s and World’s largest carbon offset developer – EKI Energy Services Limited (EnKing International) assisted them in issuing the carbon credits successfully and trading them.

The unorganized trenching grounds had over 13 lakh tons of legacy waste, which were causing

methane-induced fires, bad odours, and attracted disease-causing insects. Only about 5 percent of the city saw door-to-door waste collection, with no source segregation. Unorganized collection, transportation, and dumping of fecal sludge were also rampant.

The city had to emerge out of this undesirable situation, which required the support and cooperation of citizens and communities. The municipal and sanitation workers weren’t motivated and organized to perform at their optimum capacity. This was due to a lack of monitoring mechanism and an ineffective citizen complaint redressal system.

Apart from this, there was no political awareness to achieve cleanliness goals. There was also no awareness about solid waste management processes in local media, as well as among the local administration and resident welfare associations (RWAs).

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A Journey to cleanliness Begins: Swachh Bharat Mission, started by Hon. Prime Minister Narendra Modi on 2 October 2014, threw up challenges to each city in India to overcome poor cleanliness. Cities were made to participate in a national-level competitive program to become clean cities. In 2016, Indore achieved the rank of 25 in this challenge.

Meanwhile, Indore’s rural district marched ahead to become the second open defecation-free district in India in 2016. This achievement made Indore’s municipal administration introspect and challenge itself to turn the city into the cleanest one in the country. The then Municipal Commissioner galvanized the entire corporation towards achieving this goal.

The Process: Indore took multiple steps to motivate people into adopting clean habits: • Free distribution of dustbins inwards/households, wherever there was high resistance by citizens.

• Joint visit of municipal officials and public representatives to persuade citizens to segregate waste at home. There was one instance in which an official himself segregated waste from the dustbin of a citizen, who had refused to segregate waste despite multiple requests. This led to huge embarrassment, and not only changed the behavior of that one household but also had a cascading impact on others.

• Several religious leaders came together on a common platform and conducted mass road-sweeping exercises at various locations.

• The Indore Municipal Corporation (IMC) involved 850 Self-Help Groups, comprising almost 8,500 women, in spreading awareness for source segregation at home, conducting mass campaigns, including material recovery facility centers.

• Campaigns for zero-waste markets and colonies were launched to focus on areas that needed attention.

• Composting awareness campaigns, which resulted in more than 50,000 households doing home composting, by converting kitchen waste into compost.

• Imposing fines for non-segregation of waste at home, and public littering.

Current Scenario: Today, 100 percent of household waste in Indore is segregated at the source, and then taken to trans-

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fer stations for final processing and disposal. Ten ultra-modern mechanized transfer stations have been established in different parts of the city.

Indore’s wet waste management techniques have been linked to its public transport as well. A bioCNG plant with a capacity of 200 tonnes per day, which converts wet waste through biomethanisation process, was established. Today, up to 15 city buses operate on this bio-CNG gas.

A dry waste processing plant with a capacity of 300 tonnes per day has been established on public-private partnership (PPP) mode. A construction and demolition (C&D) waste plant with a capacity of 100 tonnes per day has also been established, which takes care of the waste generated within municipal limits. This C&D waste is reused to make non-structural concrete, paving blocks, lower layers of road pavements, etc.

Through the process of bioremediation, Indore’s dumping yard has been converted into a green belt. Hundred percent of legacy waste has been remediated, and a hundred acres of land worth Rs 300 crore has been reclaimed. There is a proposal to develop a golf course and a city forest on the reclaimed land. The place that once used to be the source of a horrible stench is now where VIPs throng to have a cup of tea.

Manish Dabkara MD & CEO EKI Energy Services Ltd

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Carbon Offsets: Out of all these projects and initiatives, the following projects were selected as emission reduction projects for Carbon Offset credit certification as per the eligible methodologies available under Clean Development Mechanism (CDM) and Voluntary Carbon Standard (VCS): • A 600TPD Composting Project • Three Bio-Methanation projects of cumulative capacity of 50 Tonnes Per Day (TPD) • 101.5MW Solar project These projects can result in an annual emission reduction of 283,396 tonnes of CO2e.

VCS was chosen to register these projects and get carbon credits issued as VCS has good credibility and integrity in the market. The cost vs benefit analysis is also in favor of VCS. The most important benefit it provides is the relaxation in project registration deadline - projects can complete VCS registration within 2 years of their plant commissioning or commercial operations date, whereas in CDM the registration process has to be initiated within 6 months of the first PO release for the project.

These projects can avail Carbon Offsets for 10 years starting from 12/10/2017 and ending on 11/10/2027. The crediting period can be renewed twice to extend the crediting period to 30 years.

Indore also became a pioneer among city councils and municipals for being the first smart city and

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municipal corporation to issue and trade carbon credits from its emission reduction projects.

Right now only the bio-methanation and composting projects generating approximately only 50% of the carbon offsets are operational. From these projects, Indore Municipal Corporation (IMC) earned approximately 1.7 lakh tonnes of CO2 eq. reduction for the period of 12/10/2017 to 30/06/2019 and these when sold in the international carbon markets generated a revenue of approximately INR 50 lakhs, which would be doubled in the future on an annual basis when all projects run at their rated capacity.

Role of EnKing: • Identification of the appropriate Standard with the highest potential of capital generation and initiating the project registration within its eligible timeline • End - to - End CARBON ASSETS MANAGEMENT - Project Design - Validation - Registration - Monitoring - Verification - Issuance of credits - Trading & Retirement of credits • Identification of BUYERS to get the best rates possible in the market • Negotiating Emission Reduction Purchase Agreements (ERPAs) with appropriate buyers

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