With a potential production capacity of 1,108 terawatt-hours, biogas is emerging as a promising renewable energy sector in India. The industry is labour-intensive and can offer both skilled and unskilled employment opportunities.
Employment opportunities have increased dramatically as a result of the phenomenal growth of the renewable energy sector globally. Statistics show that there are approximately 11.5 million jobs worldwide in the renewable energy industry. India ranks among the top ten nations in the world for renewable energy production. The nation is well-positioned to become a global leader in the sector thanks to innovative policy initiatives that actively promote renewable energy. Biogas is an emerging industry in the field of renewable energy that converts agricultural, industrial, animal, and municipal waste into energy. In addition to meeting the nation’s energy needs, it can aid in regulating greenhouse gas emissions, lowering pollution, and enhancing waste management. India estimates that it has a 1,108 TWh (Terawatt-hour) biogas production potential. The sector has a high demand for labour and can create jobs in both the skilled and unskilled categories.
The employment perspective.
The biogas industry is a small-scale, decentralised industry that relies on animal manure, agricultural waste, and other organic wastes to produce biomethane through the anaerobic digestion of organic wastes. Due to the need for labour for the various tasks involved in the collection of biomass, installation, operation, and maintenance of the biogas plants, production and procurement of biogas, conversion of biogas, and other operations in the bioenergy supply chain, the sector creates jobs and business opportunities in rural economies. Three main categories of jobs can be generated by the biogas sector. Direct employment in biogas projects is the first kind of employment, which includes all the labourers needed for crop production, building, operating, and maintaining the biogas plants, and transportation. The second category includes indirect jobs created in the economy as a result of investments in the biogas sector. The supporting industries, including those that produce equipment and offer services, account for the majority of indirect jobs. The biogas industry has the potential to provide induced employment in addition to direct and indirect employment. Increased revenue from both direct and indirect work possibilities may lead to an increase in demand for goods and services, which would then lead to new job openings. The amount of digested slurry is the same as the waste fed into a biogas plant, which is an added benefit. The slurry can be dried and marketed as excellent compost. Family-sized biogas facilities dominate India’s biogas industry. Over 4,120,000 biogas units exist in the nation, employing both semi-skilled and unskilled labour. The government’s emphasis on organic farming and renewable energy will advance the industry, which will result in a significant increase in the upcoming years. The SATAT (Sustainable Alternative Towards Affordable Transportation) scheme, which the Indian government introduced in 2018, aims to develop a sustainable ecosystem for compressed biogas generation from various biomass sources. The SATAT initiative aims to construct 5,000 substantial biogas facilities by 2025. These biogas plants are encouraged to be built by independent businesspeople. According to a more thorough analysis of the jobs that these biogas plants will generate, India will need about 55,000 skilled plant designers and site engineers, 200,000 semi- and low-skilled workers for construction projects, 10,000 highly skilled engineers to supervise administration, data monitoring, and other crucial operations, and 150,000 unskilled workers to perform standard plant operation and maintenance. SATAT is just one of the government’s initiatives to increase investment in biogas; others include Gobar-Dhan, the New National Biogas and Organic Manure Programme, the Biogas Power Generation (Off-Grid) and Thermal Energy Application Programme, the National Policy on Biofuels, and the Waste to Energy Programme. These programmes will help the country develop new industries and job opportunities.
Reduces consumption of fossil fuels.
Biogas is the best green alternative to fossil fuels. As you may be aware, the prices of fossil fuels such as petrol and LPG are currently skyrocketing. It is becoming increasingly difficult for comparatively poor families to catch up, resulting in a significant negative impact on a country’s economic growth. So, how can switching to biogas help a country’s GDP increase? The mining process for fossil fuels is extremely costly. An oil rig alone costs almost 20 million dollars. Drilling requires a significant amount of energy, which is an additional cost. Refining and processing raw crude oil is the costliest part of fossil fuel production. As the number of vehicles increases, so does the demand for fossil fuels, which results in a fuel crisis and price hike. Worse, these fossil fuels are not renewable, which means that once they’re gone, they’re gone! The drilling has been going on for centuries, and soon the fossil deposit might be fully consumed. It’s not practical to switch from fossil fuels all at once. What we need is an evolutionary change toward green energy. The production of green energies such as biogas is essentially free, with the exception of the initial investment. Only by replacing that expensive LP gas cylinder with a biogas plant can you save approximately 15,000 rupees; in addition, the slurry from the biogas plant can be used as excellent organic fertiliser, which will save you some money from buying chemical fertilisers. If properly processed, it can be used as motor fuel.
Other economic benefits
- The expenses for waste management are cut down significantly
- To strengthen rural areas’ resilience to fluctuations in commodity prices, develop new revenue streams.
- can increase new revenue streams while lowering farm expenses for fertiliser and animal bedding.
- Increases the soil fertility, thus agricultural growth.
- Helps improve user living standards, thus reducing health risks.
In conclusion, the use of biogas plants might change the economic sector of a country significantly. It’s also important that authorities take initiatives to promote green energy production, such as biogas, on a large scale. Let’s work sustainably together for the development of a better future. We, BIOTECH INDIA, have been promoting the use of biogas plants for over three decades. Join our initiative to make the world a better place. Visit http://www.biotech-india.org
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