New and Renewable Energy Ministry issues revised guidelines for Waste-to-Energy projects

New Delhi [India], June 28 (ANI): The Ministry of New and Renewable Energy (MNRE) has issued revised guidelines for the Waste-to-Energy (WtE) Programme under the National Bioenergy Programme, the Ministry said in a release.

These revisions aim to foster a more efficient, transparent, and performance-oriented ecosystem for Bio Waste to Energy deployment in India. By simplifying procedures, expediting financial assistance, and aligning support with plant performance, the updated guidelines are designed to significantly enhance the ease of doing business for private as well as public sector.

Under the new framework, Ministry has simplified several processes, such as cutting down on paperwork and easing approval requirements, which will enable the industry especially MSMEs to enhance their production of CBG, Biogas & Power.

These changes align well with improvement of waste management including stubble, industrial waste, and India's broader goal of reaching net-zero emissions by 2070.

A key highlight of the revised guidelines is the improved system for releasing Central Financial Assistance (CFA). Considering the challenges faced by the developers to achieve 80 per cent generation, flexible provisions have been made in the Scheme for release of CFA based on plant performance.

Previously, companies had to wait until the entire Waste-to-Energy project attains 80 per cent generation to receive support.

Moreover, as per the revised guidelines, there is a provision to release the CFA in two stages. Based on performance of the projects, 50 per cent of total CFA will be released after obtaining the Consent to Operate certificate from State Pollution Control Board, against the bank guarantee, while the balance CFA would be released after achieving the 80 per cent of the rated capacity or the maximum CFA eligible capacity, whichever is lesser.

In notably, even if a plant does not achieve 80% generation for above both conditions during performance inspection, provision is made for pro-rata based disbursement based on the percentage output. However, no CFA will be given if the PLF is