Punjab government sign MoU to construct bioethanol refinery

In India, the government of the state of Punjab  has entered into a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with a consortium of Beta Renewables, Novozymes, and CVC India Infrastructure to set up a bioethanol refinery in the state.

The INR9.5 billion (€131 million) facility is expected to begin operation in 2017, and it is projected to make Punjab the Indian state leader in the biorefinery sector.

The Punjab government hopes the biorefinery will help solve the state’s chronic problem of wheat and paddy straw burning and help contain the loss of land fertility and environmental damage.

The plant will help in generating co-products of biogas, pellets, and compost through processing biorefinery effluents and pellets.

In addition, the government signed 12 other MoUs worth INR213 billion, which include a biomass power plant by Sukhbir Agro Energy, 100MW worht of waste-to-energy projects by AG Dauters Consulting, and a co-generation power plant by Indian Sucrose.