Bettiah: West Champaran district in Bihar is set to strengthen its role in India’s alternative energy sector with new bioenergy investments worth nearly Rs 200 crore aimed at boosting domestic fuel production and reducing dependence on imported energy sources.
Multiple biogas production facilities are being developed in the district with investments from companies based in Maharashtra and Uttar Pradesh. The projects are expected to support cleaner energy generation while creating additional value from agricultural and industrial byproducts.
One of the projects has already begun operations in the Kumarbagh industrial area, where Vardhan Biogas Private Limited has been producing around six tonnes of biogas per day for the past three months.
According to Rohit Raj, General Manager of the District Industries Centre, total biogas production in West Champaran is expected to reach 31 tonnes per day once all planned facilities become fully operational.
Among the upcoming projects, Bharat GPS Bio Energy Private Limited, based in Mumbai, is establishing a plant at Kumarbagh with an investment of Rs 120 crore. The company is operating as a 50:50 joint venture with Bharat Petroleum Corporation Limited (BPCL), and the facility is expected to produce 15 tonnes of biogas per day.
Another company, Nautec Bio Fuels Private Limited from Kanpur, is developing two separate biogas plants in Rampurwa and Pipariya areas of Gaunaha block. Together, these facilities will have a production capacity of 10 tonnes per day with an estimated investment of Rs 80 crore.
Land for these projects has already been allocated through BIADA and private arrangements, and construction activities are expected to progress further in the coming period.
The biogas programme will rely primarily on press mud generated by sugar mills in the district along with cattle dung sourced from local livestock owners.
At present, the operational unit in Kumarbagh receives press mud from the Narkatiaganj sugar mill, while byproducts from other sugar mills in the district are expected to serve as feedstock for future plants.
The biogas currently produced is being supplied directly to Bharat Petroleum. In the future, there are plans to distribute the fuel directly to households through pipeline networks.
Apart from producing cleaner fuel, the biogas facilities are also expected to generate substantial quantities of solid and liquid organic manure as a byproduct.
Officials say this organic manure will be made available to local farmers at affordable and regulated prices, supporting the expansion of organic farming practices in Champaran and helping reduce cultivation costs.
