Hindustan Petroleum Corp. Ltd. plans to invest about ₹20 billion rupees ($231 million) over the next two to three years to set up 24 compressed biogas plants, a company official told Reuters on Friday.
India, one of the world’s largest greenhouse gas emitters, is turning to organic waste to produce cleaner fuels as part of its strategy to cut carbon emissions and meet its net-zero target by 2070.
HPCL Expands Green Energy Footprint
HPCL Renewable and Green Energy Ltd, a subsidiary of the state-run fuel retailer, is carrying out the project.
The company has already built two CBG plants and plans to construct 24 more, each with the capacity to produce 10 to 15 metric tons of biogas daily, the company’s chief executive, Mohit Dhawan, told Reuters.
“These plants will use agricultural residue, cattle dung and sewage water, among other waste sources,” Dhawan said.
National Mandate for CBG Blending
As of April, India requires that 1 percent of the gas used in automobiles and cooking be blended with CBG. That share will gradually increase to 5 percent by the 2028–2029 fiscal year, Vikas Singh, a director in the federal oil ministry, told Reuters.
India currently consumes about 28 million standard cubic meters per day of gas for transportation and household use.
“We expect this to rise to 44 MMSCMD by 2028–29,” Singh told Reuters, adding that India is projected to have 480 CBG plants by then, including 195 operated by state-owned oil and gas firms.
Reducing Dependence on Imported LNG
India imports nearly half of its natural gas requirements, primarily in the form of liquefied natural gas.
The government aims to increase the share of natural gas in the national energy mix to 15 percent by 2030, up from the current 6 percent, in order to reduce dependence on costly imports and support domestic production initiatives, such as HPCL’s biogas expansion.
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