PM Modi inaugurates 2G Ethanol Plant: On the occasion of World Biofuel Day, Prime Minister Narendra Modi inaugurated the newly developed 2G Ethanol Plant at Panipat Refinery in Haryana. PM Modi will dedicate the 2G Ethanol Plant to the nation through video conferencing. Union Minister Hardeep Singh Puri will be present in person at Panipat Refinery for the inauguration function. The development of the 2nd Generation of Ethanol Generation Plant at Indian Oil Corporation Limited - IOCL’s Panipat Refinery comes at a time when India is prioritizing the production and usage of biofuels in the country.
At 4:30 PM today, will dedicate to the nation a 2G Ethanol Plant. This plant in Panipat will strengthen the efforts to boost production and usage of biofuels & will immensely help our farmers. https://t.co/mraDRJL0Mu
2G Ethanol Plant - Key Highlights
Developed at a whopping cost of Rs 999 crores, the 2G Ethanol Plant will be used to transform 2 lakh tonnes of rice straw (parali) into 3 Crore litres of Ethanol annually. The plant has been setup on 35 acres of land and can produce 100 kilolitres of ethanol per day by processing 750-tonne paddy straw. Furthermore, the project will also boost employment in the region with 250 people directly employed at the project site and another 1000 people getting indirect employment through thesupply chain for rice straw cutting, handling, storage, etc.
The key highlights of the 2G Ethanol Project are:
- Production of clean energy from agricultural residues
- Increase in the income of farmers, Direct Benefit to 1 Lakh Farmers
- Curb air pollution caused due to burning of crop residue
- Reduction in CO2 emissions of about 3 Million Tonnes annually
Why 2G Ethanol Plant is being setup in Haryana?
The development of the 2G Ethanol Plant at Haryana’s Panipat comes as a two-pronged solution to the energy crisis being faced in the country. The plant will use rice straw (parali) and transform it into Ethanol. Stubble or Rice Straw burning is a major cause of air pollution in North India and it impacts the states of Punjab, Haryana and Delhi along with parts of Easter Uttar Pradesh.
Praj Partners with IOCL to unveil First-of-its-Kind & Asia's First 2G #Ethanol Bio-Refinery at Panipat, Haryana at the hands of Hon. Prime Minister Shri. Narendra Modi ji on #WorldBiofuelDay 10th August 2022 at 4:30 PM through virtual video conferencing. pic.twitter.com/dSqYhKUoYd — Praj Industries Ltd. (@PrajIndustries) August 10, 2022
By setting up the 2G Ethanol Plant, the refinery will now buy the Rice Straw waste from farmers and use technology to transform it into Ethanol, which is a biofuel. To help source Rice Straw from farmers, a total of 12 collection centres have been established in Panipat and Karnal. The plant will help increase the income of Paddy farmers as the refinery will also pay them for the Rice Straw which was earlier burnt by them to clear their fields. In addition to this, buying rice straw by the refinery will also mean that farmers will no longer burn and thereby it will also help in curbing air pollution.