BPCL to Set Up Ethanol Biorefinery in Maharashtra

The Bharat Petroleum Corporation (BPCL) will set up Maharashtra’s first-ever ethanol biorefinery at Vidarbha’s Bhandara district. The project will entail an investment of Rs 1,500 crore.

The government of Maharashtra has finalised the location along with BPCL and it will be set up in Bhandara’s Makardhokda village. The plant will manufacture ethanol from rice straw and will be set up on 46 ha of land that is currently with the Revenue Department.

The project will utilise two lakh tonne of rice straw annually and has a capacity to produce 700 tonne of biofuel. It is one among 12 such refineries planned in different states. The plant is likely to create around 10,000 jobs directly or indirectly. The rice straw will be collected, chopped and dried and then supplied to the refinery.

The Revenue Department holds 146 ha at the site, out of which 46 ha will be used for the project. The government plans to set up allied industries in the remaining land. The process to hand over the land to the Maharashtra Industrial Development Corporation (MIDC) has begun and once complete, the land will be notified as industrial. After this, it will be handed over to BPCL. The work on the project is expected to commence by 2020.