A promising niche: waste to energy project in the Indian dairy sector

The dairy sector is known to have significant local and global environmental impacts; but it also has proven renewable-energy generation potential. This paper analyzes a specific niche experiment in the Indian dairy industry, wherein cattle waste management is carried out by a multitude of stakeholders. These include the waste collectors, local technology adopters, research institutions, multilateral donor agencies, the Indian government, technology suppliers and operation and maintenance teams who have managed an uninterrupted 1 MWe energy production over the past 4 years. This analysis uses the sociotechnical regime framework to study the interaction of social, technological, economic and policy-related aspects relevant to the niche experiment. The analysis shows a potential to contribute to the development of two complementing regimes—one related to cooperative waste management and the other related to grid-connected renewable-energy-based electricity generation. Key factors for a successful development are not only a long-term financing protection through government subsidies to cover higher capital cost and a preferential tariff related to energy throughput, but also the adaptation of technology, the embedding in the local cooperative structure and the removal of regulatory barriers.