Government Advances Bio-Ethanol Production: New Plants to Boost Renewable Energy
The government has notified the “Pradhan Mantri JI-VAN (Jaiv Indhan- Vatavaran Anukool fasal awashesh Nivaran) Yojana” for providing financial support for setting up Second Generation (2G) bioethanol projects in the country in order to encourage the establishment of 2G bio-ethanol plant using cellulosic and lignocellulosic biomass including petrochemical route and other feedstocks.
Under this scheme, six commercial 2G bio-ethanol plants and four demonstration 2G bio-ethanol plants have been approved. The details are as under:
| Sl No. | State | District | Entities | Project Type |
| 1. | Haryana | Panipat | Indian Oil Corporation Ltd. | Commercial |
| 2. | Odisha | Bargarh | Bharat Petroleum Corporation Ltd. | Commercial |
| 3. | Punjab | Bathinda | Hindustan Petroleum Corporation Ltd. | Commercial |
| 4. | Assam | Numaligarh | Numaligarh Refineries Limited | Commercial |
| 5. | Karnataka | Davangere | Mangalore Refinery and Petrochemicals Ltd | Commercial |
| 6. | Andhra Pradesh | Nandyal | RCPL | Commercial |
| 7. | Haryana | Panipat | Indian Oil Corporation Ltd. | Demonstration |
| 8. | Bihar | Sagauli | Hindustan Petroleum Corporation Ltd. | Demonstration |
| 9. | Maharashtra | Sangli | Lignopura Agrotech Pvt Ltd | Demonstration |
| 10. | Karnataka | Sameerwadi | Godavari Biorefineries Ltd | Demonstration |
The 2G bio-ethanol plant set up by IOCL at Panipat, Haryana has been dedicated to the Nation on 10th August, 2022. The commercial bio-ethanol plants at Bathinda, Bargarh and Numaligarh are in advanced stages of construction.
IOCL has also set up a Third-Generation bio-ethanol plant at Panipat, Haryana.