Article

How to get Central Financial Assistance (CFA) (Subsidy) for Biomass Pellet Projects in India, complete detailed procedure.

if you are interested to start Biomass Pellet Manufacturing Project
Contact: WWW.PELLETINDIA.COM
Sanjay Masuria
+91 9427210483
[email protected]
Servoday Plants & Equipments Limited

Biomass Pellet Project under the National Bioenergy Programme by the Government of India. Here are some key points:

1. Programme Approval:
   • The National Bioenergy Programme is approved for the period from April 1, 2021, to March 31, 2026, with a budget outlay of ₹858 crore for Phase-I.
   • It includes three sub-schemes: Waste to Energy Programme, Biomass Programme, and Biogas Programme.
2. Budget Allocation:
   • Waste to Energy Programme: ₹600 crore
   • Biomass Programme: ₹158 crore
   • Biogas Programme: ₹100 crore
3. Exclusions:
   • Bagasse-based Biomass Cogeneration projects are not supported under the Biomass programme.
4. Eligibility and Assistance:
   • The programme supports the setting up of Biomass Briquette/Pellet manufacturing plants and Biomass (non-bagasse) based cogeneration projects in industries.
   • Central Financial Assistance (CFA) is provided as follows:
     • ₹9 lakh per metric ton/hour (MTPH) manufacturing capacity for Briquette/Pellet manufacturing plants, with a maximum CFA of ₹45 lakh per plant.
     • ₹40 lakh per MW for Biomass (non-bagasse) cogeneration projects, with a maximum CFA of ₹5 crore per project.
5. Service Charges:
   • Implementing agencies receive a service charge of 1% of the total CFA for processing applications.
   • Performance inspection agencies receive service charges for monitoring and verification:
     • ₹25,000 per MTPH (maximum ₹1 lakh per project) for Briquette/Pellet plants.
     • ₹1 lakh/MW (maximum ₹5 lakh per project) for Biomass cogeneration projects.
6. Conditions:
   • Projects must use biomass like crop residues, wood from energy plantations, industrial wood waste, agro-based industrial residues, and forest residues.
   • Municipal solid waste, black liquor, slop, press mud, and other processed industrial waste are not eligible.
   • Minimum plant sizes are 1 MTPH for Briquette/Pellet plants and 0.5 MW for Biomass cogeneration plants.
   • Proposals must be submitted before commissioning the projects.
7. Procedure for Availing CFA:
   • Proposals should be submitted through the BioURJA Portal.
   • “In-principle” approval is required for projects, with specific conditions for projects with and without loans.
   • The commissioning of the plant should occur within specified time frames after receiving “in-principle” approval.
   • Performance inspection must be conducted within 18 months of commissioning.
8. Implementing Agency:
   • The Indian Renewable Energy Development Agency Limited (IREDA) is the implementing agency.
9. Guidelines and Appendices:
   • Detailed guidelines for the implementation of the Biomass Programme are provided in the document.

Here are the detailed conditions for the setup of a biomass pellet manufacturing plant according to the document:

Terms and Conditions

1. Eligible Biomass Types:
   • Crop residues such as paddy straw, wheat straw, mustard stalks, and cotton stalks.
   • Wood from energy plantations (e.g., prosopis juliflora).
   • Weeds, palm leaves, coconut shells, and husk.
   • Wood waste from industrial operations (e.g., sawdust, off cuts, bark).
   • Agro-based industrial residue (e.g., rice husk, barley husk).
   • Forest residues such as pine needles, branches, and stems of trees.
2. Eligible Projects:
   • Only projects for setting up briquette/pellet manufacturing plants and biomass (non-bagasse) cogeneration projects are eligible.
   • Bagasse-based cogeneration projects are not eligible.
   • Projects using municipal solid waste, black liquor, slop, press mud, and other processed industrial waste are not considered.
3. Eligibility Criteria:
   • Companies registered under the Companies Act, Partnership Firms, Proprietorship Firms, Cooperatives, Public Sector Companies, and Government-owned Firms are eligible for financial support.
   • Minimum project/plant size requirement:
     • Briquette/Pellet Manufacturing Plant: 1 MTPH (metric tons per hour).
     • Biomass (non-bagasse) Cogeneration Power Plant: 0.5 MW.
4. Financial Assistance and Application:
   • Central Financial Assistance (CFA) will be provided after successful commissioning and performance inspection of the plant.
   • Proposals for availing CFA should be submitted before the commissioning of the projects, except for specific cases mentioned in the document.
   • CFA should not be claimed from any other Ministry or department of the Central Government for the proposed plant.
   • Only projects installing new machinery (e.g., briquette/pellet making machinery, boiler, turbine) are eligible for CFA.
5. Safety and Statutory Requirements:
   • Measures should be taken to ensure the safety of stored biomass.
   • Necessary statutory clearances must be obtained from appropriate Central/State Government bodies before establishing or commissioning the plant.
   • The plant should share generation data with the Ministry of New and Renewable Energy (MNRE) or any designated agency through the installation of SCADA/remote monitoring system.
   • Biomass (non-bagasse) cogeneration plants should not utilize any fossil fuel.
6. Other Conditions:
   • The project should not be dislocated or dismantled without prior information to the Ministry.
   • The Ministry reserves the right to access project-related data for publishing success stories, case studies, technical papers, and for third-party inspection and evaluation of the project’s operation and performance aspects.