As India sets out to achieve its 2025 target of 20 per cent ethanol blending in petrol, it would require a large increase in ethanol output from sugar and grains. According to a new report, solar recharge of electric vehicles is more efficient use of land than producing ethanol for blended fuel in India. The Russia-Ukraine war has already disrupted the global grain supply as well as oil, making wiser use of arable land an imperative for India.
The Institute for Energy Economics and Financial Analysis (IEEFA), in a new report, shows that the distance driven by EVs recharged from one hectare of solar generation would require ethanol derived from up to 251 hectares of sugar cane or 187 hectares of maize. This is after accounting for losses from electricity transmission, battery charging and grid storage.
According to the report, enhancing EV uptake could help meet many of the goals set out in ‘India’s roadmap for ethanol blending’. This includes cutting emissions and air pollution, supporting domestic agricultural demand, and reducing the drain on India’s foreign exchange by limiting oil imports. All this can be achieved using a fraction of the land required for ethanol production.
The ethanol-blending target, also known as E20, will require a doubling of ethanol from sugar and quadrupling of ethanol from grains in just four years, with significant land-use implications. While surpluses may be sufficient for new ethanol earmarked from sugar, up to 30,000 sq km of land may be needed for the additional ethanol planned from grains (maize).
Notes the report’s author Dr Charles Worringham: “While the government’s promotion of ethanol blending in petrol may seem like a way to ease the burden of soaring crude oil prices, it further increases the pressure on agricultural land just as the war in Ukraine threatens the world’s grain supply. This intensifies the competition between energy and food and raises the stakes for wise land use in India significantly.”
According to him, the large-scale diversion of agricultural land for ethanol blending conflicts with other key priorities for food production, water use and renewable energy adoption. “Although Russia has an 11 per cent share of global oil exports, 26 per cent of wheat exports come from Russia and Ukraine, and 16 per cent of corn exports. In the end, food trumps energy for claims on arable land if the food supply comes under pressure.”
The IEEFA report makes three key recommendations: Exploring the option of enhancing India’s EV adoption as an alternative to blended fuel; undertaking a critical review of ethanol-blending plans with efficient land use as an important consideration; and pausing measures to further implement the ethanol-blending policy while the review is on.