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In this communication biomass energy resource, potential, energy conversion and policy for promotion implemented by Government of India are discussed. The total installed capacity for electricity generation in India is 2666.64 GW as on 31st March 2013. Renewable energy is contributed 10.5% of total generation out of which 12.83% power is being generated using biomass. India has surplus agricultural and forest area which comprises about 500 million metric tons of biomass availability per year. In India total biomass power generation capacity is 17,500 MW. At present power being generated is 2665 MW which include 1666 MW by cogeneration. The various category of biomass in India is also discussed in this paper. And the research reveals that India has large potential for bio mass feed stock from different sources. Government of India deployed different policies and executed that the strategies for biomass power generation. Such approaches have included the whole biomass energy sector which incorporated the bio gas, bio diesel etc. in the policies. Government of India has focused on the deployment and development biomass energy sector with strategic policy and program which is notable portion of this review paper. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: Biomass based energy generation is one of the major focus areas of renewable energy programs in India. The strength of India's biomass resources mostly lies in the agricultural sector. A large quantity of crop residue biomass is generated in India. However, crop residue biomasses are distributed resources with variation in spatio-temporal availability and its characteristics. Competing uses of residues also vary geographically. Therefore, local biomass databases are important for decentralized bioenergy programs. However, in India, state wise crop level biomass database is limited. The present paper assessed crop residue biomass and subsequently bioenergy potential in all the 28 states of India using crop statistics and standard procedure. A total of 39 residues from 26 crops cultivated in India are considered for the study. Overall, India produces 686MT gross crop residue biomass on annual basis, of which 234MT (34% of gross) are estimated as surplus for bioenergy generation. At state level, Uttar Pradesh produces the highest amount of crop residue amongst all the 28 states. Amongst all the crops, sugarcane produces the highest amount of surplus residue followed by rice. The estimated annual bioenergy potential from the surplus crop residue biomass is 4.15EJ, equivalent to 17% of India's total primary energy consumption. There exists variation from 679MJ (West Bengal) to 16,840MJ (Punjab) of per capita crop residue bioenergy potential amongst the states of India. The information generated in this study is expected to be useful for decentralized crop residue based energy planning by the states of India which in turn would positively influence the overall renewable energy growth in India. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: India and Indonesia are privileged with abundant biomass resource potentials, 23 Giga-watt (GW) and 50GW equivalents respectively, yet both countries harvest small proportions, with fundamentally different deployed policies and articulated strategies. In this regard, this paper focuses on analyzing evolution and deployment of different policies and execution of strategies by two countries. It analyzes the effects of the biomass energy policies and executed strategies in India and Indonesia with a holistic approach. Such an approach takes the policy and strategy of the whole biomass energy sector rather than a segmented and separated sector as biofuel, biogas, biodiesel, etc. Furthermore, how they have resulted in different outcomes is also addressed. Our analysis shows that India's biomass energy policy has evolved from incremental to more radical changes, while Indonesia's policy remains incremental. India has also a relatively more unified biomass energy strategy than Indonesia. India has been more focused on technology development and deployment along with strong institutional creation, whereas Indonesia has not been able to create any biomass sector supporting strong institutions. Therefore, in terms of biomass energy utilizations, India has demonstrated better performance than Indonesia. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: The last decade has seen a surging demand for biofuels in the wake of increasing oil prices and rising environmental concerns. The most common biofuel is bio-ethanol accounting for more than 90% of total biofuel usage. It is increasingly produced from sugar cane making cane a strategic crop for biofuels. Given the growing demand for “green” fuels, bio-ethanol production has been supported by energy policies in the past decade, which have consequently been accused of contributing to the global trend of rising food prices and thus jeopardising food security. However, while biofuel policies are an important driver, prices as much as food security will ultimately be determined by supply constraints of strategic crops. This paper hence investigates drivers of and constraints to sugar cane production in China and India and shows that supply side constraints vary significantly in the two countries. China and India both face serious limitations with regard to suitable available land for the further expansion of sugar cane production. Equally they are both faced with challenges to increasing yield output per hectare, albeit different ones. With regard to productivity, China achieved 2.7% annual yield growth since 1997, while India has seen yield decreases of −0.1%p.a. over the same period. The authors conclude that cane used as a feedstock to meet the rising energy demand will come at the expense of converting fertile land for non-food purposes. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: Asia’s largest biofuels producers are currently Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, Thailand, China and India. This paper first examines the current status of biofuels in these countries, including the national development targets, strategies, incentives and policies. It then identifies the fundamental driving forces behind the development and promotion of these industries and considers their economic, social and environmental impacts. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]