The Ministry of New and Renewable Energy (MNRE) has issued revised guidelines for the Biomass Programme under Phase-I of the National Bioenergy Programme

• These changes aim to promote cleaner energy solutions, ease of doing business, and faster adoption of biomass technologies, contributing to India’s goal of achieving net-zero emissions by 2070.

National Bioenergy Programme

• The programme will aid the use of huge surplus biomass, cattle dung, and industrial and urban biowaste available in the country for energy recovery.
• This programme has a provision of Central Financial Assistance (CFA) for various components related to Power generation, Biogas/BioCNG generation and Briquette/Pellet manufacturing.

The National Bioenergy Programme will comprises of the following sub-schemes

1. Waste to Energy Programme (Programme on Energy from Urban, Industrial and Agricultural Wastes /Residues) to support setting up of large Biogas, BioCNG and Power plants (excluding MSW to Power projects).
2. Biomass Programme (Scheme to Support Manufacturing of Briquettes & Pellets and Promotion of Biomass (non-bagasse) based cogeneration in Industries) to support setting up of pellets and briquettes for use in power generation and non-bagasse based power generation projects.
3. Biogas Programme to support setting up of family and medium size Biogas in rural areas.

Key Features of Biomass Programme

• Central Financial Assistance (CFA): For instance for Briquette/Pellet manufacturing plants: Rs. 9.00 Lakhs/ TPH (Maximum CFA- Rs. 45.00 Lakh per project).
• Monitoring System: Projects must incorporate Supervisory Control and Data Acquisition (SCADA) or IoT-based remote monitoring systems to ensure real-time tracking and transparency.
• Eligibility Conditions: Only new machinery and equipment will qualify for the subsidy.
• Inspection Authorities: State Nodal Agencies (SNAs) and Sardar Swaran Singh National Institute of Bio-Energy (SSS-NIBE)

Revised Biomass Guidelines

• Ease of Doing Business
  • Simplified procedures: Reduced paperwork and faster approvals, especially beneficial for MSMEs.
  • Documentation relaxed: Briquette/pellet plant developers no longer need multiple clearance documents.
• Cost-Effective Monitoring: IoT-based alternatives allowed in place of costly SCADA systems.
  • Enables digital oversight suited for small operators.
• Flexible Sales Model: No mandatory long-term contracts: Two-year sales agreement replaced by a general sale agreement.
• Performance-Linked Subsidies : Central Financial Assistance (CFA) now tied to efficiency 
  • Full subsidy if performance ≥ 80% and others get on Pro-rata if < 80%.
  • A plant operating at 70% will get 7/8th of eligible CFA.
• Simplified Inspections:  Only 10 hours of continuous operation needed for capacity verification.
• Region-Specific Support: Pellet units in Delhi, Punjab, Haryana, NCR (Rajasthan, UP) can choose between MNRE or CPCB schemes to tackle stubble burning.

Impact: The revisions aim to:

• Ensure timely financial support to approved plants.
• Encourage the setup of new biomass plants.
• Support sustainable agricultural waste management.
• Address pollution caused by stubble burning.

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