Indian Oil signs MOU with Haryana for $124 million paddy straw ethanol plant

In India, the Press Trust of India reports that the state of Haryana has signed a Memorandum of Understanding with Indian Oil Corp. to build a 100,000 liter per day ethanol plant using rice straw as feedstock. The $124 million plant is hoped to provide a market for rice straw for local farmers to reduce the burning that plague’s the region’s air every year. The facility can also use sugarcane bagasse as feedstock during the months when paddy straw is not easily available.