Quick answer
There is no honest "one price" for a CBG plant. Published Indian industry estimates range from about ₹15 crore to over ₹100 crore depending on capacity, feedstock and technology. Eligible greenfield projects can now get up to ₹2 crore per TPD of capital assistance under GOBARdhan (2026). The right number for your project comes from a feedstock-specific DPR.
7 factors that decide CBG plant cost
- Capacity (TPD of CBG). This sets digester volume, upgrading size and compressor rating.
- Feedstock type. Cattle dung needs simple handling. Paddy straw and Napier grass need shredding, milling and shearing lines plus large storage.
- Digester technology. CSTR, plug-flow or dry digestion, plus material of construction and agitators.
- Upgrading route. Water scrubbing, PSA or membrane, and the target gas specification.
- Offtake mode. Cascade dispensing at an OMC outlet, cylinder transport, or pipeline injection.
- Land, civil works and utilities. Soil conditions, roads, power connection, water and drainage.
- Digestate value addition. FOM/LFOM plant, drying, bagging, and optional biochar or pelletisation.
CBG plant cost breakdown
Indicative share of capital cost in a typical agri-residue CBG plant. Actual shares vary by project.
| Cost head | What's included | Relative weight |
|---|---|---|
| Digesters & agitation | Digester tanks, roofs/gas holders, agitators, heating, insulation | High |
| Purification, upgrading & compression | H₂S/moisture removal, CO₂ separation, compressors, cascades, analysers | High |
| Feedstock handling & pretreatment | Storage shed, bale shredder, hammer mill, shearing machine, conveyors, feeders | Medium–High (agri-residue) |
| Civil & structural works | Foundations, sheds, roads, drainage, boundary | Medium |
| Electrical, PLC/SCADA & safety | Substation, MCC, automation, fire & gas detection | Medium |
| Digestate & FOM plant | Separators, dewatering, FOM processing, LFOM tanks | Low–Medium |
| Pre-operative costs | DPR, approvals, land conversion, interest during construction, start-up | Low–Medium |
Cost considerations by capacity
| Capacity | Who it suits | Cost notes |
|---|---|---|
| 3 TPD | First-time entrepreneurs, gaushalas, dairy clusters, FPOs | Lowest absolute investment; fixed costs (upgrading, compression, approvals) weigh more per kg |
| 5–6 TPD | Agri-residue or Napier projects with a local supply belt | Popular entry size for SATAT/GOBARdhan projects; pretreatment line is a key cost |
| 9–12 TPD | Developers with assured feedstock aggregation | Better economies of scale; feedstock logistics radius grows |
| 15–20+ TPD | Corporate and institutional investors, pipeline-connected projects | Lowest cost per TPD; needs large land, storage and a robust supply chain |
Why we don't publish a price list: two 5 TPD plants, one on cattle dung and one on paddy straw, can differ significantly in cost. Any quote without feedstock data is a guess. Share your feedstock and location for a project-specific estimate.
Indicative 2026 budget ranges: Napier / agri-residue plants
| Capacity | Indicative project budget* | Per TPD | GOBARdhan capital assistance (up to) |
|---|---|---|---|
| 5 TPD | ≈ ₹25–40 crore | ≈ ₹5–8 crore | ₹10 crore |
| 10 TPD | ≈ ₹50–80 crore | ≈ ₹5–8 crore | ₹20 crore |
*Excluding GST, land and working capital. The upper end includes full civil works, utilities, cascades, firefighting and laboratory. Capital assistance is subject to eligibility and per-project caps in the notified GOBARdhan guidelines.
See detailed sizing and economics for the 5 TPD CBG plant and the 10 TPD CBG plant.
Typical split of a full-scope budget: plant & machinery about 55–65%, civil works about 30–40%, and pre-operative and commissioning costs about 3–5%. Offers that look much cheaper usually leave out civil works, utilities or cascades. Use our quotation checklist to compare like with like.
How a CBG plant earns revenue
1. CBG sales
Sale to oil marketing companies, CGD networks or industrial buyers under offtake agreements. GOBARdhan introduces assured offtake and a stable pricing framework.
2. FOM / LFOM sales
Digestate sold as Fermented Organic Manure or Liquid FOM. Eligible products receive Market Development Assistance of ₹1,500 per tonne.
3. Carbon & green credits
Avoided methane emissions and fossil-fuel displacement may qualify for carbon-market or green-credit programmes, subject to methodology.
4. Value-added products
Biochar, pellets or briquettes from suitable fractions, plus tipping fees where municipal or market waste is processed.
Subsidy impact on CBG project cost
The GOBARdhan National Unified Scheme for CBG (₹23,731 crore, FY 2026-27 to FY 2035-36) provides capital assistance of up to ₹2 crore per TPD of installed CBG capacity for eligible greenfield projects. As an illustration, a 10 TPD plant could be eligible for up to ₹20 crore, subject to per-project caps and the conditions in the notified guidelines. The scheme also covers assured offtake, pricing, pipeline connectivity, credit guarantees and support for feedstock aggregation and organic manure.
Read our full GOBARdhan scheme & CBG subsidy guide.
How to reduce CBG plant cost without hurting performance
- Size to secure feedstock, not to ambition. An under-fed plant is the most expensive plant.
- Invest in pretreatment for fibrous biomass. It protects digester performance and gas yield.
- Localise equipment. In-house and Indian-manufactured agitators, shearing machines and components cut cost and spares lead-time.
- Plan digestate revenue from day one, including FOM/LFOM machinery and market linkage.
- Use one EPC partner to avoid interface gaps between digestion, purification and compression vendors.
- Compare quotations on full scope, not headline price. Use our 15-point CBG quotation checklist.
Frequently asked questions
A 3 TPD CBG plant's cost depends mainly on feedstock (cattle dung plants need less pretreatment than paddy-straw plants), digester technology, upgrading route, land and civil scope. Supplier listings and published estimates vary widely, so get a feedstock-specific estimate in a DPR rather than relying on a catalogue price.
Cost does not scale linearly with capacity. Larger plants gain economies of scale in upgrading and compression, but need more digester volume, feedstock storage and land. For Napier or agri-residue plants in 2026, indicative full-scope budgets are roughly ₹25–40 crore for 5 TPD and ₹50–80 crore for 10 TPD, excluding GST, land and working capital. That is about ₹5–8 crore per TPD.
It can be, when feedstock supply is secured at a predictable delivered cost, gas offtake is assured, digestate is sold as FOM/LFOM, and gas-yield assumptions are realistic. GOBARdhan's assured offtake, pricing framework and up to ₹2 crore/TPD capital assistance improve bankability for eligible projects.
Digesters and the gas upgrading and compression systems are typically the largest capex items. For agri-residue plants, biomass handling, pretreatment and feedstock storage are also major costs.
Yes. Under the GOBARdhan National Unified Scheme (approved August 2026), eligible greenfield CBG projects can receive capital assistance of up to ₹2 crore per TPD of installed CBG capacity, subject to the notified guidelines and caps. State policies may add further incentives.
Published industry estimates commonly cite paybacks of around 4–7 years, but actual payback depends on plant uptime, feedstock cost, CBG and FOM realisation and subsidy received. Your DPR should model conservative and base cases.