Biogas plants set up at 193 institutions in 5 yrs: Gujarat govt

Gandhinagar: The state govt said on Sunday that more than 193 biogas plants have been made operational in various institutions of the state in the past five years, and these have a capacity of generating 13,995 m3 of biogas a day. The govt said that Gujarat Energy Development Agency (GEDA) provides subsidies to these biogas plants.An official statement said that for 2026-27, a provision of Rs 12 crore has been made for institutional biogas projects, and the govt aims to financially assist in setting up 60 biogas plants during the year. Gaushalas, animal shelters, educational institutions, and charitable trusts in Gujarat have significant livestock and organic waste from fields and kitchens. These organic materials are decomposed anaerobically to produce biogas, which provides cheap fuel for cooking, the statement said. Citing the instance of Sattadhar Dham in Junagadh district, the statement said that the biogas plant of this institution is the biggest in the state. The pilgrimage site has about 1,000 cows, and on an average, 10,000 visitors and pilgrims are daily provided meals cooked with biogas. About 8,000 kg of cowdung is used daily at the institution's biogas plant, the statement added.