13,569 stations offering E20 petrol in India bolstering ethanol economy

A new report by the Petroleum Planning and Analysis Cell (PPAC) termed as ‘Ready Reckoner’ has revealed 13,569 outlets of the oil marketing firms owned by the government (public sector undertakings) are presently offering Ethanol Blended Petrol (E20). This is aligning with the goal of achieving a 20 percent ethanol blend by 2025.

The report says that India has made significant strides in expanding its energy infrastructure, now featuring 81,529 PSU retail outlets nationwide.

The report highlights that India is on track to reach the 20% blending target by 2025, with E20 petrol already available at 13,569 PSU outlets out of the total 81,529 as of April 30, 2024.

The report also mentions that the country has also conducted successful pilot studies on E27 fuel and Ethanol Blended Diesel Fuel.

The Government of India has been implementing the Ethanol Blended Petrol (EBP) Programme nationwide, requiring Oil Marketing Companies (OMCs) to sell ethanol-blended petrol. To meet the 20% blending target by 2025, approximately 1016 crore liters of ethanol are needed, with a total requirement of 1350 crore liters for all uses. This necessitates an ethanol production capacity of about 1700 crore liters by 2025, assuming plant operations at 80% efficiency. The demand projections account for the growth in petrol-based two-wheelers and passenger vehicles and the expected sale of Motor Spirit (MS).

To boost ethanol production capacity and achieve the EBP Programme’s blending targets, the government has introduced various ethanol interest subvention schemes.

In the beginning of this year, Union Petroleum Minister Hardeep Singh Puri said that the blending of ethanol into petrol has resulted in savings of over ₹24,300 crore of foreign exchange in the supply year 2022-23.

At the COP26 summit in Glasgow in 2021, Prime Minister Narendra Modi made an ambitious five-part “Panchamrit” pledge. This commitment includes achieving 500 GW of non-fossil electricity capacity, generating half of India’s energy needs from renewable sources, and reducing emissions by 1 billion metric tonnes by 2030.