THE GOVERNMENT has announced a roadmap for manda- tory blending of compressed biogas (CBG) in the transportation and domestic segments of the city gas distribution (CGD) sector in a phased manner. The government expects this decision to push manufacturing and consumption of CBG, which has so far failed to take off in a big way in the country.
In a meeting on Friday, the National Biofuels Coordination Committee (NBCC) gave its nod to mandatory blending of CBG with compressed natural gas (CNG) for transportation and piped natural gas (PNG) for households starting 2025-26 (FY26), the petroleum ministry said in a statement.
The compulsory blending obligation will be 1 per cent of total CNG and domestic PNG consumption for FY26, 3 per cent for FY27, and 4 percent for FY28. The obligation mandates 5 per cent blending from FY29. A Central Repository Body (CRB) will be re- sponsible for monitoring and implementing the blending mandate.
“The key objectives of the CBO (compulsory blending obligation) are to stimulate demand for CBG in CGD sector, import substitution for liquefied natural gas (LNG), saving in forex, promoting circular economy and to assist in achieving the target of net-zero emission, etc,” the petroleum ministry said. According to Petroleum Minister Hardeep Singh Puri, this decision will encourage investments worth around Rs 37,500 crore and facilitate the establishment of 750CBG projects by FY29. Biogas is an energy-rich gas produced by anaerobic decomposition of biomass. It is produced from sources like agriculture residue, cattle dung, sugarcane press mud, municipal solid waste, and sewage treatment plant waste, among others. It can be bumed directly as a fuel, or purified and upgraded by removing carbon dioxide, hydrogen sulfide, and then compressed to make CBG. The CBG has methane con- tent of more than 90 per cent, which is similar to commercially available natural gas in composi- tion and energy potential.