BIOENERGY
AND
SUSTAINABILITY
2012
Biomass materials are used since millennia for meeting
myriad human needs including energy. Main sources of
biomass energy are trees, crops and animal waste. Until
the middle of 19th century, biomass dominated the global
energy supply with a seventy percent share. Among the
biomass energy sources, wood fuels are the most
prominent. With rapid increase in fossil fuel use, the
share of biomass in total energy declined steadily
through substitution by coal in the nineteenth century and
later by refined oil and gas during the twentieth century. 2
Oil & Gas: The early years of the twentieth century
ushered in oil which developed into one of the most vibrant
global industries of all times. One hundred years later, this
industry has reached its zenith with the panorama of entering
its twilight years in the second half of this twenty-first century.
How far in the future can the happening of this event be
deferred depends on how much we can decelerate a
runaway demand and how expeditiously we can implement
specialized renewable technologies. These measures will
give us more breathing space to develop alternate energy
forms, non hydrocarbon fuels like biomass. 3
With a rapidly growing economy and rising population,
India is the fifth largest and one of the fastest growing
petroleum oil consumers in the world. With limited
domestic crude oil reserves, India meets over 72 per cent
of its crude oil and petroleum products (diesel, aviation
fuel, etc.) requirement through imports. Energy demand in
the transport sector is growing relatively high due to the
growing economy and rising private vehicle ownership,
particularly four-wheelers. Due to rising oil consumption
and relatively flat domestic production, India is increasingly
dependent on imports to meet its petroleum demand. 4
• What is Bioenergy?
• What is Sustainability?
• What are the connections between
them in India?
• Goals of bioenergy technologies
• Strategies to address these goals
• What is happening towards this
strategy implementation?
• Way Forward
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• What is bioenergy?
– Energy from trees, plants, crops
or from human, animal, municipal
and industrial wastes – Woody and
Non Woody Biomass.
• Woody - derived from forests,
plantations and forestry residues
• Non Woody - comprises agricultural
and agro industrial residues, algae,
and animal, municipal and industrial
wastes.
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In a social, economic, legal and political setting
What is Sustainability?
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Bioenergy- In a social, economic, legal
and political setting 9
Power, Lighting, Heating, Operation of Kilns,
Transportation, Milling, Motor Usages, Cooking.
• Solid biomass combustion and gasification for
electricity
• Slurry biomethanation for electricity and
cooking energy (gas)
• Efficient wood-burning devices for cooking
• Liquid biofuels for local usages and
transportation 10
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What are the connections between
Bioenergy and Sustainability in India?
To meet sustainability goals – social,
environmental domains
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GOALS OF BIOENERGY TECHNOLOGIES
In India, policies aim to promote modernization
and commercialization of biomass production,
combustion, densification, and electricity
generation.
A long-term techno-economic analysis using the
MARKAL model shows that biomass electricity
technologies have significant potential to penetrate
Indian market under a fair competition with the
fossil technologies. Under an optimal greenhouse
gas mitigation regime, biomass electricity
penetration can be reached in next thirty years. 13
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Myriad economic, social, technological and institutional
barriers remain to be overcome. The future prospects
of biomass technologies depend considerably on
removing these barriers. The key issue before
the Indian policy makers is to develop the market for
biomass energy services by ensuring reliable and
enhanced biomass supply, removing the tariff
distortions favouring fossil fuels and producing energy
services reliably with modern biomass technologies at
competitive cost.
RESOURCES FOR BIOFUELS IN INDIA
India's biofuel strategy continues to focus on use of
non-food sources for producton of biofuels: sugar
molasses for production of ethanol for blending with
gasoline, and non-edible oilseeds for production of
biodiesel for blending with petro-diesel.
The government's current target of five per cent
blending of ethanol with petrol has been partially
successful in years of surplus sugar production, but
falters when sugar production declines.
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• The cornerstone of India's energy security
strategy is to focus efforts toward energy self-reliance
and developing renewable energy options like biofuels
vis-à-vis fossil fuels.
• Adoption of environmentally friendly biofuels to
meet improved vehicle emission norms.
• Developing an alternative usage for crops like
sugarcane and its byproducts as feedstock for biofuels
to support farm income.
• Improve utilization of wastelands and other
unproductive land for cultivation of biofuel feed stock.
• Enhance rural employment and livelihood
opportunities by promoting production and marketing of
biofuel feed stocks
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POTENTIAL SOURCES FOR BIOMASS
Wasteland
Agricultural Residues
Forest Wasteland - forest, forest tree twigs, forest
wastes, plantation, farmlands, homesteads, degraded
lands and shrubs
Marginal Cropland
Crops – Rice, Maize, Cotton, Sugarcane
Dung – Cattle, Buffalo - cattle dung, leaf litter and
woody biomass as the feedstock, biogas can be used
for cooking
Oil bearing seeds, crops - Jatropha curcas, Neem,
Mahua, Wild Species, Sweet Sorghum, Rice Bran,
Neem, Sal, Karanja
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Energy forms which are available –
– gaseous (biogas, producer gas)
– liquid (ethanol, methanol, biofuels)
– solid (briquette) fuels
Penetration of bioenergy technologies has been
marginal in comparison to the target inspite of
large number of programmes
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Lignocellulosic ethanol technologies by biochemical
conversion using enzymes are the focus of a
considerable amount of research, notably in the
United States. Thermochemical conversion, by
gasification and the Fischer Tropsch synthesis of
the gases into petroleum substitutes, is also under
evaluation at a demonstration scale. There is no
clear consensus about when lignocellulosic
technologies will be commercially competitive.
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The National Programme for Improved Cook stoves
(NPIC) was launched to disseminate mud based improved
cook stoves, equipped with chimneys, and portable metallic
stoves to increase the fuel use efficiency and to reduce
indoor air pollution.
ƒThe National Project on Biogas Development (NPBD),
to set up family type biogas plants.
ƒThe Village Energy Security Programme (VESP) was
started by the MNRE with an objective to provide total
energy requirement of villages_ lighting, cooking, and
motive power with the involvement of local community.
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Biomass based power systems come under the
purview of the Electricity Act. Further, the Rural
Electrification Policy (2006), National
Electricity Policy (2005) and the Integrated Energy
Policy (2005) provided the required enabling
environment for the promotion of electrification to
the entire country. The National Policy on Biofuels
was approved by the Government of India (GOI)
on December 24, 2009.
PRACTICAL CONSIDERATIONS
alternative use of biomass as fodder or
industrial raw material
collection efficiency
actual availability of so-called waste
lands, forest lands and other types of
lands
availability of water, geographical and
weather conditions
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The most vital issue for biomass energy in India is
the development of market for biomass
energy services.
Two broad responses to this are:
i) ensuring reliable and enhanced biomass
supply, and
ii) provide energy services reliably with biomass
technologies at competitive cost.
WAY FORWARD
Training programmes for creating pool of skilled
personnel
Entrepreneurship Development
Effective Monitoring and Evaluation for quality control
Economic/Financial Viability by means of pilot projects,
transparent feasibility studies, prototype business
plans
Coordinated R&D policies
Incentives for private sector participation
Development of information package in technologies
and subsequent dissemination to entrepreneurs, end-
users, policy makers, manufacturers 30
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