PANAJI
The Goa government has decided in principle to ensure that biodiesel produced from used cooking oil (UCO) is sold exclusively to the Kadamba Transport Corporation Limited (KTCL), at a price Rs 10 per litre lower than the prevailing retail price of diesel in the State.
The decision was taken at a meeting convened by the Goa Energy Development Agency (GEDA) during a recently held meeting to finalise the procurement and pricing mechanism for used cooking oil and its conversion into biodiesel.
As per the minutes of the meeting, the refinery will process used cooking oil collected from individual generators and supply the biodiesel exclusively to KTCL. The selling price will be linked to the price notified by the Indian Oil Corporation or the Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas, with a discount of Rs 10 per litre against the prevailing diesel price in Goa.
Under the proposed supply chain mechanism, aggregators will be permitted to store used cooking oil and supply it only to refiners established in Goa with permission from the Directorate of New and Renewable Energy (DNRE) or GEDA. The refiners, in turn, will test the oil for quality and sell the biodiesel exclusively to KTCL.
As reported earlier, GEDA led committee has unanimously recommended fixing the procurement price of used cooking oil at Rs 40 per litre for an initial period of six months, in a move aimed at regulating its collection, preventing unauthorised trade and ensuring that the discarded oil is channelled towards biodiesel production.
The recommendation, if approved by the State government, will significantly bring down the prevailing market price of used cooking oil, which is currently being procured at approximately Rs 80 per litre.
