The August 13, 2002 was a historic day for the Indian Ethanol Program. It was on this day that the Government of India finally announced that from January 1, 2003 blending of 5% ethanol would be made mandatory in nine States and four Union Territories. The Nation now awaits the notification that would normally follow this announcement. Though this should be the next obvious step, however, the yet-to-be-decided fate of the excise duty concession of Rs 0.75 per liter for 5% ethanol doped with petrol, which was passed by the Indian Parliament almost five months ago, has created many doubting Thomases. But as we go to the press, we understand the notification has finally been issued.

At the same time, one must not forget that the present Indian Government has shown the courage and determination to move forward with this program unlike other Governments in the past. The present Minister of Petroleum and Natural Gas and his colleagues in the Inter-Ministerial Task Force deserve to be congratulated by all votaries of ‘renewable energy and sustainable development’ for going ahead inspite of anti-ethanol lobbies.

The introduction of a gasohol program has a long history that consists of innumerable committees being set up; a large number of commissioned reports gathering dust; research and development to reinvent the wheel; scores of seminars; hundreds of technical papers; a few field trials; and successful pilot projects at three sites. Maybe it is time to forget the past and look at the challenges that lie ahead, that are daunting, yet exciting for all stakeholders.

The D-day is hardly three months away and about 70% of all gasoline consumed in the country has to be doped with ethanol. To ensure that about 350 million liters of ethanol of the right quality will be made available in adequate quantities at various oil depots and dispersed throughout the country during the next calendar year is a Herculean task facing the alcohol industry. Successful implementation of this requires full and liberal cooperation of the Central and State Governments. The State Governments have to accept the Constitution and realize their role in the non-potable sector is limited to ensuring that alcohol is not used for potable purposes. The State Excise Departments should ‘change their mindsets’ and accept denatured ethanol as any other chemical. The Government must not interfere in setting up of new units or expansion of existing ones. It must allow the use of any substrate for ethanol production, the pricing of which should be determined by market forces.

Financial institutions and banks have to make funds readily available at short notice. For example, the Sugar Development Fund has to notify and announce attractive and liberal terms and conditions for ethanol projects immediately. The Ministry of Non-conventional Energy Sources (MNES) must also take a rational and early decision on various incentives, including interest incentives for ethanol projects, keeping in mind that all projects likely to come up in the near future will be based on molasses.

It should also be remembered that molasses is a waste by-product of the sugar industry and is derived from a renewable source of energy. The use of molasses also prevents acute pollution problems that take place if it is discarded. All studies have shown that it can be made available in adequate quantities. Therefore, there is no reason to leave out molasses out of the interest incentive scheme.

As far as the ethanol industry is concerned, now is the time to select the most appropriate technology, which is efficient and non-polluting by not giving into the temptation of saving a few lakhs in the project cost. Competent plant suppliers should be selected to achieve the task of setting up 30 to 40 ethanol dehydration units with an average capacity of 30 klpd in the shortest possible time. The buyer, the petroleum industry, needs to procure ethanol for hundreds of locations (oil depots) after ensuring that they have made adequate arrangements for proper storage and blending facilities, which also requires substantial investments in a very short time. The retail outlets and consumers have to be made aware of the advantages of ethanol blending and the precautions that have to be taken in order to avoid problems like phase separation. Without a consumer awareness program, the first few weeks of the program may have its fair share of glitches.

The list of tasks is long and requires perfect planning and meticulous execution. A detailed road map and date-wise implementation schedule for each district involved in the gasohol program was, and still is required. The days and weeks to come are going to be arduous and long but exciting and eventful. All the players involved have to be aggressive and purposeful, creative and persevering, short on words and long on action and achievements.

In this issue, we have attempted to make our newsletter more informative and relevant to all stakeholders. As the ethanol program becomes a reality, we at Winrock, hope to serve and contribute to it by providing the latest, relevant and important information - what is happening in the world and India, updates on policy and new technologies, developments in raw material utilization, new initiatives in the oil and automobile sectors, consumer response, commercial aspects, and last but not least, feedback from our readers. By this, we reiterate our dedication to the promotion of renewable energy in India. The time has also come to make this newsletter self-sufficient in monetary terms. So we look forward to your support in every way subscriptions, advertisements or sponsorships.

Thank you.