HT Bureau
GUWAHATI, Feb 25: Chief minister Himanta Biswa Sarma has described compressed biogas (CBG) plants as an important alternative energy source, as such units have a cascading impact on the local economy with the raw materials procured from nearby areas.
Chief minister Sarma on Saturday attended as chief guest the foundation stone laying ceremony of northeast India’s first-ever compressed biogas plant project at Domora Pathar in Sonapur under Kamrup (Metropolitan) district.
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Being set-up by entrepreneurs Pankaj Gogoi and Rakesh Doley under the banner of Redlemon Technologies Private Limited, the plant, proposed to be operational from November 2023, will have a production capacity of 5 tonne-per-day of compressed biogas that would be produced from raw materials such as cattle-dung, municipal solid wastes, etc.
Speaking at the event, chief minister Sarma exuded confidence that the compressed biogas plant at Sonapur would go a long way in aiding the government of Assam’s aim of gradual transition to cleaner and greener energy.
“Apart from providing a solution to municipal solid waste management crises, the compressed biogas plants such as the one being built at Sonapur would also provide an additional source of income to farmers, as they shall be able to sell cattle wastes to the biogas producers,” the CM said.
Mentioning that such a plant in Varanasi in Uttar Pradesh uses dung as the raw material, Sarma said, “At one time, people thought rearing cows was no longer a profitable venture. But the age-old adage that cows are always the most profitable has been proved once again.
“Instead of killing the animal for the meat, people are now trying to keep them alive and use the dung as a source of fuel,” Sarma said.
The biogas unit in Sonapur, being set up under the Centre’s SATAK scheme, will be operational by November this year and will have an installed capacity of five tonnes CBG daily.
Guwahati-based Redlemon Technologies Pvt Ltd, which is setting up the plant, has proposed two more such units in the state, he added.
The Sustainable Alternative Towards Affordable Transportation (SATAK) scheme on CBG was launched on October 1, 2018. The programme envisages a target production of 15 MMT (million tonnes) of CBG by 2023 from 5,000 Plants.
Sarma also said that the Reliance group has also evinced interest in starting 16 CBG plants in the state, using hay and paddy residuals as raw materials.
Chief minister Sarma further expressed hope that the organic fertilisers that would be produced as a byproduct of biogas in such compressed biogas plants, would provide a safer alternative to chemical fertilisers currently in use across the state.
Referring to Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s commitments at international platforms such as United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change to reduce India’s carbon emissions, Chief minister Sarma said, “Assam, like the rest of the states, too would do everything in its capacity to ensure the country is able to fulfill its promises made on mitigating the impact of global warming.”
Chief minister Sarma expressed happiness over entrepreneurs willing to venture into novel territories such as biofuel and biogas production, while assuring all support from the government to anyone who would like to foray into biofuel/biogas production.
The day’s event was also attended by chief executive member of Karbi Anglong Autonomous Council Tuliram Ronghang, Dispur Assembly Constituency Member of Legislative Assembly (MLA) Atul Bora, Lakhimpur MLA Manab Deka, along with other invited guests and dignitaries. (With inputs from PTI)
