The Uttar Pradesh government has cleared six biofuel investment proposals worth almost Rs 17 billion in a boost to its green energy roadmap. The proposals were approved by a high-level committee headed by the state chief secretary.
These private projects are proposed to be set up in five districts, including Sitapur, Hapur, Meerut, Bareilly and Muzaffarnagar. This includes a mega biofuel plant to be developed by SunLight Fuels spanning almost 90 acre in Sitapur and costing Rs 15.5 billion. The company will utilise bagasse to generate biofuel.
The company has tied up with the Birla Group operated sugar mill in Hargaon, Sitapur for getting bagasse supply for biofuel production. The proposed biofuel plant is likely to utilise around 500 tonne of bagasse per day to produce 1,75,000 ltr of drop in fuel. The biofuel plant will be established under technical collaboration with a Netherlands- based company.
The five other projects entail an investment of more than Rs 200 million each and are proposed to utilise farm waste, press mud (sugarcane byproduct) and other agro waste to produce biofuel, bio CNG and bio fertiliser. Each of these units is expected to produce roughly 5,000 kg of bio CNG a day.