Governor of Odisha Ganeshi Lal laid the foundation stone for second generation (2G) ethanol bio-refinery at Baulasingha village, Bhatli Tehsil, Bargarh ditrict, Odisha.

The project is being developed by Bharat Petroleum Corporation. The bio-refinery, the first-of-its-kind to be set up, will have a capacity to produce three crore ltr of fuel grade ethanol annually using rice straw as the feedstock.

The ethanol produced from the facility will be blended with petrol. The project will see an investment of Rs 100 crore. The bio-refinery will make use of around two lakh tonne of rice straw annually as feedstock which will be sourced from nearby locations such as Bhati, Ambabhona, Sohela, Burla, Lakhanpur, among others.

The plant is based on zero-liquid discharge plant technology. The project will create an employment opportunity for around 1,200 people (both direct and indirect) during construction, operation of plant and supply chain management of biomass.

The country has surplus biomass availability of around 120-160 million tonne annually, if converted it has the potential to yield 3000 crore ltr of ethanol. The National Biofuel Policy of India 2018 aims 20 percent ethanol blending to petrol by year 2030. But the current ethanol blending in petrol is around three to four percent, due to non-availability of ethanol.