Page 16 - CIJ Dec 2023 - Digital Edition

News Track

India Embarks on Biogas Blending Initiative for

Energy Independence

n a decision aimed at enhancing biogas into the mainstream energy Parallel to the biogas blending,
energy sustainability, the Indian consumption landscape, further the government is also focusing on
government has announced a reducing the carbon footprint. incorporating sustainable aviation
Iphased plan to blend compressed India, a major global importer of fuel (SAF) in aircraft turbine fuel.
biogas with natural gas. This oil and gas, currently sources about The objective is to achieve 1% SAF
initiative, starting in April 2025, is set half of its overall gas consumption in aviation fuel by 2027, doubling
to bolster domestic demand, reduce from external suppliers. The biogas to 2% by 2028, initially targeting
reliance on natural gas imports, and blending initiative is expected to international flights. This measure is
contribute to India’s goal of achieving curtail import costs significantly, part of the broader strategy to address
net zero emissions by 2070. enhancing energy self-sufficiency. emissions in the aviation sector.
The first phase of this initiative
will commence in April 2025,
introducing a mandatory 1% blending
of compressed biogas with natural
gas. This phase will primarily
target utilisation in automobiles and
households, marking a significant
step towards diversifying India’s
energy mix.
By 2028, the government plans
to increase the mandatory blending
percentage to approximately 5%.
This gradual increase underscores
the commitment to integrating

9,000 Single-Use Plastic Bottles Recycled in

10 Months

umbai’s Chhatrapati Shivaji with a ban on single-use plastics, waste recycling, organic compost
Maharaj International leading to a 100% plastic-free production, and publishing GRI-
Airport (CSMIA) has status. The RVMs are projected to compliant sustainability reports.
Mrecycled around 9,000 cut carbon emissions by about 125 These measures aim to integrate
single-use plastic bottles in ten tCO2e annually, aligning with the sustainability into all business
months, advancing its zero waste airport’s carbon neutrality objectives. aspects, reducing indirect carbon
landfill goal. Two Reverse Vending CSMIA’s green initiatives emissions from PET bottle
Machines (RVMs) installed at include solar energy adoption, manufacturing.
Terminal 2 in January 2023
have been instrumental in this
achievement. These machines,
capable of processing 450 bottles
per hour, compress 70% of the
waste, facilitating efficient transport
to recycling centres, thus saving
resources and reducing emissions.
Following this success, CSMIA
plans to add three more RVMs
in November 2023. The airport’s
sustainability journey began in 2019

DECEMBER 2023•Clean India Journal
16 www.cleanindiajournal.com