1611 Fuel Stations in India Now Offer Ethanol Blended Petrol

Recent data from Lok Sabha indicate that India has set up 1,611 fuel stations across the country which are offering ethanol blended petrol for vehicles. This data was shared by the Minister for Petroleum and Natural gas Rameswar Tehli, in a written reply before the House.

In his recent reply, the minister highlighted the targets set for ethanol blending, as per the roadmap set for Ethanol Blending. The minister shared details on the previously achieved target set by the government for blending 10% ethanol, which was set under the ‘Roadmap for Ethanol Blending in India for 2020-2025’. The minister further elaborated on the current blending percentage of 11.77% achieved by the government.

According to the data shared by the minister on the distribution of the E20 petrol outlets in the country with ethanol-blended, the country host a total of 1,611 such outlets. It shows that the state with the highest distribution of E10 is Maharashtra with 218 such station, followed by Uttar Pradesh – 180, Punjab – 166, Tamil Nadu with 154, and Haryana 129. Whereas states with the lowest ethanol blending retail outlets are Assam -1, Chandigarh – 4, Daman and Diu – 4, Meghalaya – 5, and Goa – 6.

As per the national ethanol blending program, India set the target for 10 % ethanol blending that it achieved in November 2022, much ahead of the set timeline. By November 2022 the Public Sector OMCs have attained an average of 10% ethanol blending in petrol across the country.

As per the current target, the government is set to achieve a target of 20% ethanol blending by 2030, under the National Policy on Biofuels through, its E20 fuel. Earlier, the government data suggests that the program has increased the ethanol blending in petrol from 1.53% in 2013-14 to 10.17% in 2022. It plans to advance its target to achieve 20% ethanol blending in petrol from 2030 to 2025-26.

The government suggests that with the phased rollout of E20 that commenced from 1st April 2023, it currently plans on setting up five 2G ethanol biorefineries in the country at Panipat (Parali) in Haryana, Bathinda in Punjab, Bargarh (Parali) in Odisha, Numaligarh (Bamboo) in Assam and Devangere in Karnataka.

However, certain factors are affecting India from achieving its target such as the lack of necessary transportation and infrastructure available. This prevents its adoption across the country. Further, the issue of price variability of crops such as rice and wheat which are the primary source in ethanol production.