With the goal of reducing the reliance on imported fossil fuels, converting waste to wealth, and revolutionising the biofuel sector with alternative green resources by processing various types of waste and converting them to green diesel, compressed biogas (CBG) and biofertiliser, Dr Piyush Dwivedi founded NexGen Energia Limited. He is currently founder and chairman of the company and is also known as the “CBG Man” for his contribution to reducing the consumption of fossil fuels.
On the current state of the power sector, Dwivedi remarks, “India will require 9 per cent of global energy to sustain its growth by 2035. This expansion will be accompanied by waste generation, pollution and an increase in vehicle production, oil imports, currency losses and global warming. Thus, there is growing interest in clean energy and measures to increase access to energy sources such as biofuel and CBG to address the energy cost, energy security and global warming concerns linked with fossil fuels.”
Dwivedi believes that the main unresolved issue in the power sector is adaptation and unawareness of alternative fuels among people. The country must continue to reassure businesses and encourage more players to enter this space. While government initiatives such as the Swachh Bharat Abhiyan, the Paris Climate Agreement, and the Sustainable Alternative Towards Affordable Transportation (SATAT) scheme are aimed at creating a clean, healthy and empowered environment and community, there is scant knowledge about how waste management can lead to clean energy. “We are producing energy from waste and providing an innovative entrepreneurship opportunity for business aspirants to explore and begin to believe in biofuels and other alternative fuels,” he says.
Dwivedi believes that the monumental task ahead for them at NexGen Energia is to sync their efforts to help the government meet its goals and turn the clean energy dream into reality. With this goal in mind, NexGen Energia is looking to expand in the western part of the country. It plans to set up 1,000 CNG units in which bio-waste will be converted to CBG. It also plans to open over 10,000 CNG (CBG) pumps at different locations.
Dwivedi received a doctorate in business management for his contribution to the renewable energy sector. He was a part of a group of entrepreneurs in biofuel manufacturing and distribution who worked together to create a green energy revolution in India.