Gadkari has been championing the use of Napier grass apart from other feedstock for making alternate fuel like bio-CNG.
The variety grows up to 18 feet in height, also giving it the name elephant grass. It is dubbed to be having high capacity to produce biogas as compared to other feedstock. Biogas is then further made into bio-CNG.
The plant is being set up by APSS Adarsh Bio Agro Private Limited. The promoter Achal Thool has business of renting lawn and a hall for events apart from heading a credit cooperative society. Thool told TOI that it is an over ₹15 crore project for which large part of the amount has been sourced from bank loan. Thool said he wanted to do something for the farmers and got to know about Napier grass from Gadkari’s speeches.
The company has tied up with 120 farmers to grow the grass in 70 acres.
The plant is being built on engineering procurement and construction basis (EPC) by Delhi’s Grunner Energy Private Limited, a startup in this sector.
Utkarsh Gupta of Grunner said even as other plants are also coming up in the country, the one at Wardha is expected to come up first and would also be running purely on Napier grass. The plant is expected to be ready in five months, he said.
The plant has a capacity of generating 3 tonne of gas per day apart from 10 to 12 tonne of bio-fertilizer. Gupta says apart from constructing the plant on EPC basis, Grunner will also be purchasing the bio-CNG and the fertilizer to be produced in the plant. Gupta said Grunner plans to set up a retail vending station in Nagpur. This, he claims, would be second bio-CNG vending station in the country with the first being in Gujarat.
Grunner is setting up three other plants and these are in Nanded and Ambajogai in Maharashtra and Mancherial (Telangana), each one would be using different feedstock. Grunner will be tying up for purchasing the bio-CNG with other entities for which the company is setting up the plant too, he said.
The company has a turnover of Rs30 crore, which it expects to take to Rs1,000 crore. This is because it has an order book for constructing 34 plants in all, though work has started in four of these, says Gupta.
