New Delhi: 

 

Consumers can produce their own fuel from household waste and supply a part of it to the local gas grid in a model similar to the rooftop solar power system that helps residents meet their own energy requirements and sell surplus electricity to the grid.

 

“Today, this is possible with the help of the industry,” petroleum minister Dharmendra Pradhan said at the India Gas Infrastructure Conference 2019 organised by the Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FICCI).

 

He said industry should visualise this as an opportunity wherein people would produce methane from household waste and monetise it. Oil and gas sector experts said this is technically possible through a cluster-based approach with efficient collection centres.

 

“It would require two things; segregation of wet and dry household waste materials and reasonable volume. Unlike the model rooftop solar system, production of methane from garbage would be successful at large housing societies,” said AK Purwaha, former chairman and managing director of Engineers India Ltd. He was also director-business development at state-run gas company GAIL India Ltd.

 

Dr SC Sharma, former officer on special duty-energy and climate change in the central government, said, “It is an excellent idea ... But its implementation has several challenges and only a central coordinating agency can make this happen...” he said.