India Turns to Biogas Amid Middle East War
As the Middle East war chokes off gas imports, more and more Indians are turning to locally-made biogas from cattle as an alternative.
Biogas in Rural India: A Sustainable Solution
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About 90km outside New Delhi, Gauri Devi is making chapati. While many Indians are struggling to get the cooking gas due to the Middle East War, Devi has plenty. And her “secret” really isn’t a secret at all.
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India has been promoting biogas – methane derived from cattle manure — since the 1980s. Its government has subsidized over five million digester units, particularly in rural areas where cattle are abundant.
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There’s work involved—mixing dung with water and pouring it into an underground tank. But users like Devi are satisfied with the results. She only uses other gas sources in emergencies.
Gauri Devi (BIOGAS USER):
I do all my cooking using [biogas]... vegetables, tea, lentils, and if some gas is still left, we even prepare feed for the buffaloes. If the pressure goes down, we let it rest for half an hour and it works again. After that, you can use it for anything.
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Pritam Singh installed his first biogas plant in 2007—and like other farmers who’ve made the switch, he’s long been impressed with the quality of the nitrogen-rich fertilizer that’s a byproduct of the gas-making process.
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Now, though, the war has interest in biogas surging, and Singh has been spreading the word and teaching fellow farmers how to make the switch themselves.
Pritam Singh (FARMER):
Before installing them, we show people how they work, have them taste food cooked using this gas, and demonstrate how the manure can be used. After that, farmers are able to understand it better.
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Biogas is a priority for India’s government. It hopes mass production in plants both big and small like this one will help make the country carbon neutral by 2070. Plants of various sizes are in the works. And it’s already started setting biogas quotas for both vehicle fuel and domestic energy.
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Still, there are obstacles to large-scale adoption. Cost and space is one. Then, there’s the fact that biogas plants need regular maintenance once installed. Still, some are optimistic good policymaking can overcome these challenges.
A.R. Shukla (PRESIDENT, INDIAN BIOGAS ASSOC.):
So what can be done is that a mechanism is set up under the aegis of the government under the policies of the government where the installation, commissioning, guidance for the operation and maintenance is taken care of by the rural-based, community-based, industrial and commercial, publicly commercial organizations.
REPORTER:
With India’s appetite for over 30 million tons of liquified petroleum gas a year—half imported—and with no end to the gas queues in sight, biogas may be the way of the future here in the world’s most populous country.
Howard Chang and John Van Trieste for TaiwanPlus.
