A four-hour drive south of the smog-filled capital New Delhi, among fields bristling with brickyard smokestacks, the small town of Barsana welcomes pilgrims who come to honour the Hindu goddess Radha. But Sardana is also proud because his methanisation plant that opened in March is the “most technologically advanced and the largest biogas facility” in India.
It was built in Barsana to be as close as possible to its raw fuel – cattle dung and harvest stubble
Cows have been blamed for contributing to global warming because they produce methane – a powerful greenhouse gas – in their manure or when they belch. But in this case, the region is finding a creative use for the waste produced by the cattle, which are used for their milk. Eating them is taboo for many Hindus.
Long lines of tractors dump dung and straw in the factory’s tanks, from which 10 tonnes of gas and 92 tonnes of fertiliser are produced each day.
Biogas is considered a clean energy because the waste used to produce it is completely natural, said Suneel Pandey of The Energy and Resources Institute.
But the contribution of biogas to India’s transition away from heavily polluting coal – currently fuelling nearly 70 percent of electricity — will be relatively small. India plans to more than double the share of gas in its energy mix – from six to 15 percent by 2030.
Burning gas to produce electricity also releases damaging emissions, although less than coal and oil.
the investments required are vast. The Barsana plant cost $25 million, while the price of biogas remains uncompetitive: $14 per cubic metre, compared to $6 for LNG.