Lokesh to lay foundation for Reliance's first CBG plant in Prakasam

Minister for IT and HRD Nara Lokesh is set to lay the foundation stone for Reliance's first Compressed Biogas (CBG) plant in Kanigiri, Prakasam district on April 2. The plant marks the beginning of a significant partnership between Reliance Industries and the Andhra Pradesh government.

At the initiative of minister Lokesh, Reliance has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the state government to establish 500 CBG plants across the state with an investment of Rs 65,000 crore. The event will be attended by energy minister Gottipati Ravikumar, along with other government officials and key Reliance executives, including director PMS Prasad, RIL mentor PVL Madhav Rao, and Reliance Bioenergy Business CEO Harindra K Tripati.

In the next five years, the project is set to utilize 5 lakh acres of wasteland for energy plantations, alongside the development of the 500 CBG plants. This initiative will generate direct and indirect employment for 2.5 lakh people in the state. Once fully operational, these plants are expected to produce 40 lakh metric tons of compressed biogas annually.

Reliance is setting up four integrated CBG hubs across the country, with one of them located in Prakasam district. The CBG plants will be set up on high-wasteland areas in Prakasam, Anantapur, Chittoor, and Kadapa districts. Reliance aims to produce renewable energy using energy crops from just 3-4 percent of the State's wastelands, with each plant requiring 1,000 acres of land. The total investment for each CBG plant is Rs 130 crore, with Rs 105 crore allocated for plant establishment and Rs 25 crore for revitalizing surrounding wastelands.

Each plant will produce 7,800 metric tons of compressed biogas and 22,000 metric tons of high-quality fermented manure annually. This will help in converting 3,000 acres of wasteland into fertile land.

Reliance plans to grow hybrid Napier grass and other energy crops on 5.5 lakh acres of wasteland in Andhra Pradesh. The green fertilizer produced at the CBG plants will be used to improve soil quality, transforming barren lands into productive areas. This initiative is expected to boost rural economic activities and provide employment opportunities for local youth in the areas surrounding the plants.