BIHAR: West Champaran eyes Rs 200 crore investment in biogas sector

A major biogas project would be developed in Bihar’s West Champaran district by companies from Maharashtra and Uttar Pradesh. The firms will invest about Rs 200 crore to establish new biogas plants in the region to further the production of renewable energy and help slash fossil fuel imports.

As part of the biogas project, a facility by Vardhan Biogas Pvt Ltd is already operational in the Kumarbagh industrial area, where production of about 6 TPD of biogas has been ongoing for the past three months. As per reports, once all proposed units become fully operational, the district will generate a total of 31 tonnes of biogas daily.

Among the key projects, Bharat GPS Bio Energy Pvt Ltd, based in Mumbai, is setting up a plant in Kumarbagh with an investment of Rs 120 crore. The company is executing the project as a 50:50 joint venture with Bharat Petroleum Corporation Limited (BPCL), with an expected production capacity of 15 tonnes per day.

Moreover, Nautec Bio Fuels Pvt Ltd from Kanpur is developing two separate plants in Rampurwa and Pipariya villages in the district’s Gaunaha block. These units, with a combined capacity of 10 tonnes per day, are being established at an estimated cost of Rs 80 crore.

Land for these units has already been allocated by BIADA as well as through private arrangements and construction work is expected to accelerate soon. Today, the generated biogas is being sold directly to BPCL, with future plans to supply it to households through pipeline networks

Strengthening Circular Economy

The primary raw materials for biogas production in West Champaran will include press mud—a by-product of sugar mills—and cattle dung sourced from local livestock farmers. Currently, the operational Kumarbagh unit is utilizing press mud supplied by the Narkatiaganj sugar mill.

The biogas plants will produce substantial quantities of high-quality organic manure as a by-product. This solid and liquid fertilizer will be made available to local farmers at affordable rates.

Last year, Sistema.bio partnered with Saudi Arabia’s Forward7 Initiative and Air Products to launch a project providing subsidized Biodigesters to small farm owners in Begusarai district of Bihar.

Also, Bihar Industrial Area Development Authority (BIADA) has allocated nearly six acres of land in the Bariyarpur industrial area of Muzaffarpur for the development of a compressed biogas (CBG) plant.