- In this article, we will delve deeper into the details of the policy and explore the potential benefits of promoting green fuel in Tamil Nadu.
- The policy makes a noteworthy contribution to the national biofuels policy, which aims to achieve 20% blending of ethanol in petrol by 2025.
As we strive towards a sustainable future, the need to transition towards cleaner and more efficient forms of energy has become imperative. In line with this, the Tamil Nadu government has introduced a new ethanol blending policy to promote the use of green fuel in the state. The policy aims to attract multi crore investment in molasses or grain-based ethanol production capacity and meet the estimated ethanol blending requirement of 130 crore litres over a period of time.
Let’s explore how this policy can benefit the state’s economy, agriculture, and environment.
New ethanol blending policy of Tamil Nadu
Tamil Nadu, one of India’s leading states in agriculture and industry, has launched a new ethanol blending policy to promote sustainable and cost-effective green fuel. The state government aims to attract investments worth Rs 5,000 crore in molasses or grain-based ethanol production capacity to meet the increasing petrol requirement and reduce GHG emissions from the transportation sector. The new ethanol blending policy of Tamil Nadu is a step towards sustainable energy and agriculture, promoting cost-effective green fuel, reducing GHG emissions, reviving the sugar industry, improving farmer income, and maximising value addition to the state’s natural resources. The policy is a significant contribution to the national biofuels policy of achieving 20% blending of ethanol in petrol by 2025. It is also a model for other states to emulate and create a sustainable ecosystem for ethanol production, providing multiple benefits to the economy, agriculture, and environment.
Reducing GHG Emissions and Mitigating Climate Change
With transportation accounting for nearly one-fourth of GHG emissions and the projected growth of the state’s vehicular fleet, there is an immediate need to transition to alternate cost-effective green fuel that mitigates climate change. The new policy aims to achieve this goal by increasing the production of fuel grade ethanol from a diversified range of crops such as sugarcane, paddy, maize, tapioca, and sweet sorghum. Some of the key benefits of the policy are:
- Meet the estimated ethanol blending requirement of 130 crore litres over a period of time
- Reduce dependence on fossil fuels and enhance import substitution through indigenous sourcing and production of fuel grade ethanol
- Reduce air pollution arising from fossil fuels and mitigate climate change risks
Reviving the Sugar Industry and Improving Farmer Income
The policy also seeks to improve farmer income through price realisation and expansion in opportunities due to ethanol blending. It aims to revive the sugar industry in Tamil Nadu through improved utilisation of existing mills and diversification to dual feedstock. This will create new avenues for income generation for farmers and boost the state’s economy. Some of the key benefits of the policy are:
- Encourage diversification of feedstock to encourage low water consuming and versatile crops like maize, sorghum and tapioca
- Utilisation of damaged rice for ethanol production
- Expansion of grain-based distilleries and creation of new molasses and sugar/syrup-based distilleries
Maximising Value Addition to the State’s Natural Resources
Tamil Nadu has a natural advantage with a total cropped area of 6.63 million hectares from a diversified range of crops such as sugarcane, paddy, maize, tapioca, and sweet sorghum. The coverage of irrigated area is higher than the national average, providing an ideal ecosystem for ethanol production. The new policy provides an opportunity for Tamil Nadu to maximise its value addition to the state’s natural resources by promoting indigenous ethanol production based on existing locally available agrocentric resources, expansion of these resources as well as utilisation of surplus and damaged produce.
Roadmap for Ethanol Blending in India 2020-25
The “Roadmap for Ethanol Blending in India 2020-25” lays out an annual plan to increase domestic ethanol production in line with target of the amended National Policy on Biofuels (2018) as well as with its Ethanol Blended Petrol (EBP) Programme to reach a blending of 20% of ethanol in petrol (E20) by 2025/26.
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