As part of India’s ambition to achieve net-zero carbon emissions by 2035, significant efforts are underway to develop alternative energy sources. The Andhra Pradesh government, under Chief Minister Chandrababu Naidu, is making rapid progress toward this goal, according to an official statement.
In collaboration with State Minister for Human Resources, IT, and Electronics, Nara Lokesh, Reliance has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the Andhra Pradesh government to establish 500 Compressed Bio Gas (CBG) plants with an investment of Rs 65,000 crore. As part of this initiative, Nara Lokesh will lay the foundation stone for the first Reliance CBG plant in Kanigiri, Prakasam district.
The event will be attended by Minister of Energy Gottipati Ravi Kumar, other state ministers, Reliance Industries Director PMS Prasad, RIL Mentor PVL Madhav Rao, and Reliance Bio Energy Business CEO Harindra K. Tripathi, marking a key milestone in the biofuel sector.
The planned investment of Rs 65,000 crore over the next five years will create approximately 2.5 lakh direct and indirect job opportunities. The 500 CBG plants will bring 5 lakh acres of barren land into productive use. Each plant will require 1,000 acres of land, and the establishment cost per plant is Rs 130 crore, which includes Rs 105 crore for plant setup and Rs 25 crore for land rejuvenation. The initiative aims to produce 40 million metric tons of CBG annually.
Each CBG plant will produce 7,800 metric tons of compressed bio-gas and 22,000 metric tons of high-quality fermented manure each year, which will be used to fertilize 3,000 acres of land.
Reliance is establishing four integrated CBG hubs across India, with one located in Prakasam district. The company will set up these plants on barren lands in Andhra Pradesh’s Prakasam, Anantapur, Chittoor, and Kadapa districts. The goal is to convert 3-4 percent of barren lands into renewable energy plantations through these 500 integrated CBG plants.
Reliance plans to cultivate hybrid Napier grass and other energy crops on 5.5 lakh acres of barren land in Andhra Pradesh. The green fertilizer produced by these plants will help convert non-productive lands into fertile farmland, boosting rural employment and economic activity in the state.
India has 160 million acres of barren land spread across 13 categories, and climate change is contributing to the expansion of this area each year. Nearly 50 percent of the country’s barren land is concentrated in Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, Andhra Pradesh, and Gujarat. The establishment of CBG plants will drive large-scale industrialization and contribute to GDP growth.
Once fully operational, the CBG plants will fuel 9.75 lakh Light Commercial Vehicles (LCVs) daily, covering 5 percent of India’s fuel demand. Furthermore, the 110 million metric tons of organic fertilizer produced by these plants will help improve the fertility of 15 lakh acres of land.
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