Compressed Biogas and Bioenergy

How India turns farm waste, cattle dung and municipal waste into compressed biogas under the SATAT scheme, and why progress has been slower than hoped.

Bioenergy turns organic material into fuel.

Compressed biogas

Organic waste like crop residue, cattle dung and food waste is digested to produce biogas.
Purified and compressed, it becomes compressed biogas (CBG), similar to CNG.

SATAT

Launched in 2018, SATAT (Sustainable Alternative Towards Affordable Transportation) aimed for 5,000 CBG plants, with oil companies agreeing to buy the gas.

Progress

Only a small fraction of plants were operational by 2025, due to:

Feedstock collection challenges.
Financing and technology issues.
Price uncertainty.

Policy support

Mandatory blending of CBG in CNG and piped gas, phased in from 2025-26.
GOBARdhan scheme for village cattle-dung plants.

Benefits

Reduces stubble burning and landfill methane.
Income for farmers selling residue.
Organic fertiliser by-product.
Lower gas imports.

Indore’s plant

Indore opened one of Asia’s largest municipal bio-CNG plants in 2022, turning wet waste into fuel for city buses.

The stubble solution

Instead of burning rice straw, a Punjab farmer sells it to a CBG plant. The plant produces gas for vehicles and fertiliser for fields.

Thinking farm waste has no value

It can be converted into fuel and fertiliser.

Key takeaways

Organic waste can become compressed biogas.
SATAT (2018) targeted 5,000 CBG plants.
Feedstock, finance and prices slowed progress.
Blending mandates and Indore's plant show potential.