Small scale biomass gasification plants for electricity generation in India: Resources, installation, technical aspects, sustainability criteria & policy

India is an agriculture based economy, and also has a forest cover that comprises roughly 24% of its total geographic area. Thus, an abundance of biomass, in the form of waste material is readily available throughout the country annually. The forest biomass, which consists of deadwood and residues, and the agricultural biomass in the form of crop residues, are presently disposed of by burning, which causes air pollution and damage to the local ecology. This waste biomass can be better used for electricity generation using gasification technology. The total installed capacity for electricity generation in India is 344 GW as of March 2018. Renewable energy makes up 20% of this total, and bioenergy, in turn, makes up 14% of renewable energy. Bioenergy makes up 2.8% of total energy installations in India at present. However, the power being generated through bioenergy sources is about 9.5 GW. In this paper, the most recent statistical data regarding energy generation through bioenergy resources has been presented using currently available sources. Brief descriptions of gasification conversion routes have also been included, with their sustainability conditions, as well as the government policies necessary for implementation in the Indian context.