ABSTRACT

Importance of ethanol as a fuel has ever been increasing owing to its contribution to energy security, and carbon footprint reduction. India launched its ethanol fuel blending program in 2003 but the progress has lagged the targets despite various efforts. This study analyses the demand-supply gap in ethanol industry along with Government’s initiatives such as tax reforms, import policies and expansion of ethanol production in Indian context. The study evaluates viable ethanol prices in different scenarios and economic feasibility of second generation ethanol projects including and excluding social cost of carbon. To promote ethanol fuel blending, favorable taxation policies are helpful while ethanol import can only be a short term measure. Government’s initiatives and reforms are aligned in the right direction to promote ethanol fuel blending program. Further, growing value of social cost of carbon indicates importance of second generation ethanol production in India.

摘要

由于乙醇对能源安全和减少碳足迹的贡献，乙醇作为燃料的重要性一直在增加。印度于 2003 年启动了乙醇燃料混合计划，但尽管做出了各种努力，但进展仍落后于目标。本研究分析了乙醇行业的供需缺口以及印度政府的税收改革、进口政策和扩大乙醇生产等举措。该研究评估了不同情景下可行的乙醇价格和第二代乙醇项目的经济可行性，包括和不包括碳的社会成本。为促进乙醇燃料混合，有利的税收政策是有益的，而乙醇进口只能是短期措施。政府的举措和改革朝着正确的方向发展，以促进乙醇燃料混合计划。此外，碳社会成本的不断增长表明印度第二代乙醇生产的重要性。