Biomass Fuels as a part of India's Net Zero Journey by 2070

As India moves toward its long‑term climate goal of net‑zero emissions by 2070, the energy conversation is no longer only about solar and wind. Hidden in the fields, farms, and forests of the country is a powerful ally: biomass. Biomass briquettes and pellets, made from agricultural residues, crop waste, and forestry by‑products, are emerging as a critical piece of India’s low‑carbon puzzle—helping industries, power plants, and rural communities cut fossil‑fuel dependence while creating a circular, waste‑to‑wealth ecosystem.

Unlike intermittent renewables that depend on sun and wind, biomass offers dispatchable, on‑demand heat and power, making it a flexible complement to India’s solar‑ and wind‑dominant clean‑energy mix. When used correctly, biomass fuels can cut emissions significantly compared to coal and fuel oil, while also supporting energy access, rural employment, and import‑reduction—all key pillars of India’s net‑zero strategy.

How Biomass Fits into India’s Net‑Zero Vision

India’s net‑zero by 2070 target is built on three pillars:

1. Massive scaling of renewables (solar, wind, hydro),

2. Energy efficiency and demand‑side management, and

3. Low‑carbon and carbon‑neutral fuels for sectors that are hard to electrify.

Within this, biomass fuels sit firmly in the third pillar. They:

• Replace coal and oil in industrial boilers, brick kilns, and captive‑power plants.

• Enable co‑firing in existing thermal power plants (5–10% biomass share in coal‑fuel mix), helping to reduce per‑unit CO₂ without building new plants.

• Convert 230+ million tonnes of annual crop residue—often burned in fields—into useful energy, cutting open‑air burning and turning waste into income for farmers.

Studies suggest that with proper policy and infrastructure, bioenergy (including biomass briquettes and pellets) can contribute 10–15% of India’s total primary energy by 2030, and much more by mid‑century, as coal‑intensity falls and clean‑energy systems grow.

Biomass in Power and Industry: A National‑Level Story

On the national grid side, India is already pushing:

• Coal‑plant co‑firing mandates, encouraging thermal units across states to blend biomass with coal, including pellets and briquettes made from crop residues.

• Support for biomass‑based power plants and aggregated supply chains that link farmers to fuel producers via central and state‑level schemes.

In industry, biomass fuels are being adopted by:

• Brick‑kiln clusters in the Indo‑Gangetic plain and western states.

• Textile, food processing, dairy, and small‑scale manufacturing units in states like Rajasthan, Gujarat, Punjab, Haryana, Uttar Pradesh, and Tamil Nadu.

These units are discovering that biomass is not only cheaper than coal or LPG in many cases but also easier to manage from an emissions‑compliance standpoint as India aligns with international standards and carbon‑border mechanisms.

Environmental and Social Impact Across India

Beyond the numbers, biomass fuels are quietly reshaping the energy‑landscape narrative:

• Emissions reduction: Compared with coal, modern biomass‑fuel systems can cut CO₂ by up to 90–95% per unit of heat and ash and smoke by more than 70–80%, when used with clean‑burn technology.

• Air‑quality benefits: By diverting crop residue from open burning, biomass reduces seasonal smog and particulate pollution, especially in northern states.

• Rural livelihoods: Every tonne of biomass briquette or pellet represents income for farmers, collection‑agents, machine‑operators, and transporters, creating a pan‑India value chain.

In India’s net‑zero journey, this triple win—climate, air‑quality, and rural‑employment—makes biomass fuels too important to ignore.

Policy Landscape and Future Trajectory

The Government of India has already signalled strong support through:

• National Bioenergy Programme‑style initiatives that subsidise briquetting and pellet‑making plants, raw‑material‑aggregation, and grid‑connected biomass power.

• State‑level energy‑transition plans that integrate biomass with solar, wind, and grid‑modernisation.

• PLI and green‑industry schemes that indirectly favour low‑carbon fuel switching in manufacturing.

Experts project that by 2050–2070, as coal‑based power and high‑carbon fuels are phased down, biomass‑based heat and power, along with green hydrogen and advanced renewables, can provide the remaining flexible energy needed to keep India’s economy running without adding new emissions.

Biomass Fuels: A Bridge, Not Just a Niche

Biomass fuels are not meant to replace solar or wind; they are meant to bridge the gap where pure electrification is either too expensive or not yet feasible. For India’s net‑zero journey, that means:

• Gradually replacing coal in boiler‑ and kiln‑based sectors.

• Supporting industrial‑cluster decarbonisation without shutting down existing plants overnight.

• Linking climate action to rural‑economic growth across the country.

As India walks the long road toward net‑zero by 2070, biomass fuels—often overlooked—will quietly power millions of tonnes of industrial output, thousands of villages, and countless livelihoods, all while helping the nation breathe cleaner air and rely less on imported fossil fuels.