Renewable Energy Ministry entered into MoU with Swedish Governemnt for Producing Bio-fuel

DJB, Indraprastha Gas Ltd (IGL) and KG Renewables Ltd on 23 november 2011 signed a memorandum of understanding for setting up a pilot plant at the Keshopur STP to help run DTC buses on compressed biogas (CBG). The fuel will be derived from sludge, a byproduct of treated sewage at Delhi Jal Board's sewage treatment plants (STPs).

The signing of the MoU was supported by the Government of Sweden and the Ministry of New and Renewable Energy, Government of India, in line with the Indo-Swedish MoU on renewable energy. The Indian and Swedish government are in a 50-50 cost sharing model of the estimated Rs 25 crore project.

DJB was lately facing a major problem in disposal of sludge at all its STPs and the sludge, a form of hazardous waste, had been piling up at the plants. Hence the idea of producing biogas at several STPs emanated. The production of biofuel is to take place for the first time in India.
 
The Memorandum of Understanding

The Delhi Jal Board (DJB) signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the Swedish government for upgrading its sewage treatment plant at Keshopur, with a capacity of 72 million gallons a day, for the purpose of producing biogas.

The two-year pilot project which is the first of its kind in India, proposed to use the fumes produced during the sewage treatment process and convert it to compressed biogas that would be fully compatible with Delhi’s grid of Compressed Natural Gas (CNG). The DJB will then use the gas to fuel over 120 DTC buses at the Keshopur filling station. The CApure system, being provided by Lackeby Water AB - Division Purac Puregas, will be designed for a minimum methane leakage and will lead to an emission reduction of 10000 tonnes of carbon dioxide per year.

As per the MoU, a detailed project report is to be developed after which a special purpose vehicle will be created for the purpose of implementing the project.

Keshopur Plant

The Keshopur STP can produce up to 25000m3 gas per day. Keshopur has a treatment capacity of 72 million liters per day. The estimated gas production at Keshopur is 25,000 cubic meters per day it would be sufficient to fuel a fleet of 120 DTC buses.