Bioenergy Adoption Essential For MSMEs Clean Energy Transition, Says Minister

New Delhi, Jan 17 (KNN) Union Minister of State for New and Renewable Energy Shripad Yesso Naik on Friday underscored the importance of bioenergy in India’s clean energy transition, particularly for providing green steam and heat solutions to the MSME sector.

He was speaking at a national workshop on ‘Introduction and Adoption of Biomass for Green Steam and Heat Applications in MSMEs’, organised by the Ministry of New and Renewable Energy (MNRE) in collaboration with the German Agency for International Cooperation (GIZ) and Grant Thornton Bharat. 

The Minister also released a report titled ‘Decarbonizing MSMEs: Use of Biomass for Green Steam and Heat Application’.

Naik noted that MSMEs, which account for nearly one-third of India’s manufacturing output, continue to depend largely on fossil fuels for process heat and steam, making a shift to biomass-based solutions essential for decarbonisation.

Highlighting India’s availability of agricultural residue, animal waste and municipal solid waste, he said biomass offers an opportunity to generate clean heat while creating additional income for farmers and rural entrepreneurs. 

He referred to government initiatives such as the National Bioenergy Programme, SATAT and GOBARdhan, which promote biomass-based solutions for MSMEs and are linked with the National Green Hydrogen Mission.

The report outlines a roadmap for biomass adoption in sectors such as textiles, food processing, chemicals, foundries and pharmaceuticals, and recommends measures including biomass deployment obligations, standardised steam supply agreements, biomass exchanges and stronger supply-chain coordination.

The Minister emphasised the need for collaboration across the biomass value chain and said MSMEs require confidence in fuel availability, pricing stability, operational reliability and supportive policy frameworks.

(KNN Bureau)