“Innovation in business models coming from India will have a huge impact on how many other countries in the developing world can take up this entire initiative and move forward with it,” she said on November 3 while speaking at an event co-hosted by the Global Energy Alliance for People and Planet (GEAPP) and the Observer Research Foundation (ORF) in the capital. The event was held from November 1-3.
Illustrating with an example, Singh said that an innovative approach is needed to see how farmers can bring the biomass to “mandis” in order to be better organised. “These are the takeaways that have meaning for the Global South because a lot of economies are in a similar position.”
Elaborating further, Singh said that achieving net zero emissions by 2050 implies that 15-16% of energy consumption globally will come from modern biomass. “Today it is at 11% but the majority of it is via traditional biomass. So that shift will happen within the biomass sector itself. India is an agrarian society and the biomass supply chains can become more organised — it will have a huge impact on the economy of the country,” she stated.
Singh added that biomass being used now contributes to just under 60x joules of energy and is expected to up to 90x joules by 2030 and eventually reach 130x joules by 2050. “That’s a huge potential that one can see for biofuel — if the cost of technology comes down and we are able to move with waste stock like rice which has a lot of silica and is also difficult to process. That really is the direction which will get us many more countries in the game. Because a large number of countries import their fuel and energy, so it is good for their economy but good for farmers as well,” she said.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi had announced the launch of the Global Biofuels Alliance at the G20 Summit in September. An India-led initiative to develop an alliance of governments, international organisations and industry to facilitate adoption of biofuels, the GBA seeks to position biofuels as key to energy transition. According to a Press Information Bureau release, 19 countries and 12 international organisations have already agreed to join the GBA. “GBA members constitute major producers and consumers of biofuels. USA (52%), Brazil (30%) and India (3%), contribute about 85% share in production and about 81% in consumption of ethanol,” he stated.Alluding to the aspect of finance in the sector, Singh said that not enough has gone into the biomass and biofuel sector yet. “One of the big hopes for GBA is that it will set the stage to attract more investment. I hope more financial models will get pushed by this alliance because this sector needs a lot more investment and attention,” she added.
