Assessment of Bioenergy Potential in Vindhya Plateau, Madhya Pradesh

Evaluating agricultural residue availability is crucial for assessing sustainable biomass energy production. Crop waste, a byproduct of agricultural production, can be used for soil amendment, animal feed, and energy generation. A survey in seven districts of central India (Bhopal, Damoh, Guna, Raisen, Sagar, Sehore, and Vidisha) was conducted to assess the availability of agricultural residue in the Vindhya Plateau, which comprises about 16% of Madhya Pradesh's geographical area. Agricultural residue availability was determined by selecting a crop, gathering data on yield and generated biomass (including surplus), and estimating the bioenergy potential. The cultivable areas in the selected districts have bioenergy potentials of 19.91, 15.19, 7.88, 21.89, 13.71, 15.09, and 17.21 kJ ha-1 for crops like soybean, rice, wheat, gram, and maize, respectively. The total residue potential, surplus residue potential, and bioenergy potential of the Vindhya Plateau were assessed as 6.08 MT, 2.42 MT, and 40 GJ, respectively. Vindhya Plateau's Raisen district offers the highest biomass potential, making it ideal for bioenergy development and fuel production from biomass.