Biogas Program Research Articles

The impact of German biogas production on European and global agricultural markets, land use and the environment

As part of its climate policy, Germany promotes the production of biogas via its so-called Renewable-Energy-Act (EEG). The resulting boost in biogas output went along with a significant increase in production of green maize, the dominant feedstock. Existing studies of the EEG have analysed its impacts on German agriculture without considering market feedback. We thus expand existing quantitative analysis by also considering impacts on European and global agricultural markets, land use and the environment by combining a detailed location model for biogas plants, the Regionalised Location Information System-Maize (ReSi-M2012), with a global Partial Equilibrium model for agriculture, the Common Agricultural Policy Regional Impact (CAPRI) model. Our results indicate that the German biogas production is large enough to have sizeable impacts on global agricultural markets in prices and quantities, causing significant land use change outside of Germany. While profits in the agricultural sector increase, food consumer face higher prices, and subsidies for biogas production are passed on to electricity consumers. The German biogas program, as long as it is almost entirely based on non-waste feedstocks, is probably not a promising avenue towards a GHG-saving renewable energy production, but a rather expensive one.

Cooking with gas: Policy lessons from Rwanda's National Domestic Biogas Program (NDBP)

The Rwandan government, in partnership with international donors, began its National Domestic Biogas Program (NDBP) in 2007. The NDBP, with an initial budget of $14.1million, was to develop a commercially viable Rwandan biogas sector and build 15,000 family sized biogas plants throughout the country by 2011. As of August, 2012, however, the NDBP had installed only 2600 units. This study explores what happened. It introduces readers to the rural energy situation in Rwanda, describes the history and benefits of the NDBP, and then discusses the barriers that explain its limited success. These barriers include lack of familiarity with biogas technology, and minimal institutional capacity following the Rwandan genocide. Other challenges include inadequate suppliers and maintenance personnel, limited financing and the bulk of biogas digester costs befalling households, and an inadequate marketing and awareness campaign. The study concludes by noting that government support and collaboration with all relevant stakeholders and the development of private sector capacity is vital to the successful implementation of renewable energy technology. It also notes that market-oriented approaches to renewable energy sector development require consistent and sustained efforts on behalf of the international community and the public sector, and that promoting and extolling the benefits of a new technology can be essential to overcoming societal resistance.

Potential of Organic Waste for Biogas and Biofertilizer Production in Nigeria

With the growing demerits of fossil fuels - its finitude and its negative impact on the environment and public health - renewable energy is becoming a favored emerging alternative. For over a millennium, anaerobic digestion (AD) has been employed in treating organic waste (biomass). The two main products of anaerobic digestion, biogas and biofertilizer, are very important resources. Since organic wastes are always available and unavoidable, too, anaerobic digestion provides an efficient means of converting organic waste to profitable resources. This paper elucidates the potential benefits of organic waste generated in Nigeria as a renewable source of biofuel and biofertilizer. The selected organic wastes studied in this work are livestock wastes (cattle manure, sheep and goat manure, pig manure, poultry manure; and abattoir waste), human manure, crop residue, and municipal solid waste (MSW). Using mathematical computation based on the standard measurements, Nigeria generates about 542.5 million tons of the above selected organic waste per annum. This, in turn, has the potential of yielding about 25.53 billion m 3 of biogas (about 169, 541.66 MWh) and 88.19 million tons of biofertilizer per annum. Both have a combined estimated value of about N 4.54 trillion ($ 29.29 billion). This potential biogas yield will be able to completely replace the use of kerosene and coal for domestic cooking, and reduce the consumption of wood fuel by 66%. An effective biogas program in Nigeria will also remarkably reduce environmental and public health concerns, deforestation, and greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.5755/j01.erem.63.1.2912

Energy Recovery from Sludge and Sustainable Development: A Tanzanian Case Study

The paper retraces the implementation of a biogas energy programme within the Best Ray project run in Tanzania 2008–2011. The objective of the Best Ray project was to empower rural communities by providing them with modern and renewable energy technologies to better tackle Millennium Development Goals. An important activity of the project was the construction of a biogas system in secondary school solve a sanitation problem and provide the school with a free and reliable energy supply. After a field assessment, the project directed the resources to small domestic biogas installation rather than large institutional ones as future sustainability seemed to be better granted. Best Ray merged the Tanzanian Domestic Biogas Programme. Trainings were organized and 25 biogas plants constructed. The technology is simple and the design effective, but still the cost seems high for a rural context. Final beneficiaries are appreciating the technologies for reasons that were not predictable by those who ideated the project.

Learning from previous failures: scaling up biogas production in the Chinese countryside

This article is part of a special issue with the aim of assessing the potential for Sustainable Development – Policies and Measures (SD-PAM) to stimulate developing country commitments in a future climate regime. In China, agricultural waste products, particularly manure from animal husbandry, represent a local source of rural energy, which can possibly be utilised through simple biogas digesters, thereby promoting rural development. For at least 50 years China has promoted this among farmers’ not only with the goal of providing local clean energy for rural development, but also to improve health and reduce pressure on fuelwood. Until the early 2000s these policies failed or had limited impact, although substantial subsidy-based programmes in the past decade have led to considerable growth. However, our field trip interviews suggest that this growth hides deep-rooted problems. For biogas to fulfil its potential, it is crucial that the policy adapts to the changing realities of Chinese livestock production. Arguably, policies to promote rural biogas combine development goals with mitigation of greenhouse gas emissions in a way that matches well with an SD-PAM mechanism. There are two main ways in which China could benefit from submitting its rural biogas policies to an SD-PAM-based regime. Such a biogas programme could get access to technology and funding for large-scale biogas systems and/or opportunities to sell credits. However, it would need to adapt to the international requirements and to accept international monitoring, reporting and verification (MRV). Alternatively, China could register its rural biogas programme as a unilateral SD-PAM, with less strict MRV requirements. This may win China recognition for its domestic policies, but would then not provide a mechanism for bringing international knowhow or possible financing to China.

Household energy economics in rural Ethiopia: A cost-benefit analysis of biogas energy

Limited success in promoting improved energy sources, such as biogas, in rural areas of developing countries has been partly blamed on insufficient understanding of household energy use patterns. In this study, we assess the costs of energy generation from major energy sources (firewood and dung) in rural Ethiopia, as well as the economic potential of biogas as an alternative in addressing both energy and food security challenges. Results show that households in rural areas largely collect their own fuel, with female household members being mainly responsible for the chore. By investing in biogas plants, households could save time and energy, and have a supply of slurry that can be used as fertilizer in agricultural production. A cost-benefit analysis of biogas plants yields positive net present values for households collecting their own energy sources. Even higher net present values are obtained for households purchasing all of their energy needs; these households stand to gain significantly from the financial benefits of energy cost savings with biogas technology. Results are highly dependent on slurry being effectively used as a source of fertilizer and on the price of the replaced energy source. Thus the promotion of slurry use as fertilizer must be an integral part of a successful biogas programme. Another important issue is that at present, biogas plants are highly subsidized and thus the above conditions hold under the assumptions of subsidies. When analysed without subsidies, indicators are still positive, yet amortisation periods are significantly longer and close to the depreciation point, so that investment risks increase.

SNV supported domestic biogas programmes in Asia and Africa

Abstract SNV 1 is supporting the implementation of market-based domestic biogas programmes in different countries in Asia and Africa with a view to establish a commercially viable biogas sector. Till the end of 2009, some 300,000 fixed-dome biogas plants of sizes ranging from 4 m3 to 15 m3 have been installed. These plants produce about 600,000 m3 of biogas each day which supplements more than 3000 tonnes of fuel wood. Benefits of biogas plants have positive impacts on basic livelihood indicators as well as rural economic development. The key to success has been the multi-stakeholder sector development approach in optimising organisational and institutional capacities within national contexts. This paper highlights approaches, achievements, lessons learnt and other relevant aspects of domestic biogas programmes in developing countries.

Renewable energy in India: Historical developments and prospects

Promoting renewable energy in India has assumed great importance in recent years in view of high growth rate of energy consumption, high share of coal in domestic energy demand, heavy dependence on imports for meeting demands for petroleum fuels and volatility of world oil market. A number of renewable energy technologies (RETs) are now well established in the country. The technology that has achieved the most dramatic growth rate and success is wind energy; India ranks fourth in the world in terms of total installed capacity. India hosts the world's largest small gasifier programme and second largest biogas programme. After many years of slow growth, demand for solar water heaters appears to be gaining momentum. Small hydro has been growing in India at a slow but steady pace. Installation of some of the technologies appears to have slowed down in recent years; these include improved cooking stoves (ICSs) and solar photovoltaic (PV) systems. In spite of many successes, the overall growth of renewable energy in India has remained rather slow. A number of factors are likely to boost the future prospects of renewable energy in the country; these include global pressure and voluntary targets for greenhouse gas emission reduction, a possible future oil crisis, intensification of rural electrification program, and import of hydropower from neighbouring countries.

Geographical Information System Approach for Regional Biogas Potential Assessment

The economic prosperity and quality of life in a region are closely linked to the level of its per capita energy consumption. In India more than 70% of the total population inhabits rural areas and 85-90% of energy requirement is being met by bioresources. With dwindling resources, attention of planners is diverted to viable energy alternatives to meet the rural energy demand. Biogas as fuel is one such alternative, which can be obtained by anaerobic digestion of animal residues and domestic and farm wastes, abundantly available in the countryside. Study presents the techniques to assess biogas potential spatially using GIS in Kolar district, Karnataka State, India. This would help decision makers in selecting villages for implementing biogas programmes based on resource availability. Analyses reveal that the domestic energy requirement of more than 60% population can be met by biogas option. This is based on the estimation of the per capita requirement of gas for domestic purposes and availability of livestock residues.

Continuous Process anaerobic biogas production from poultry wastes

SYNOPSIS Energy demand in rural areas of developing countries has driven researchers towards harnessing energy sources available to them. One of those recognised sources available in rural areas is waste organic materials. This paper examines the continous process method of biogas production from poultry wastes at various conditions under anaerobic digestion. Biogas technology enables rural dwellers to obtain cheap, high-grade fuel as well as organic fertiliser through the resources available to them locally. A biogas programme helps to solve environmental problems arising from the disposal of organic waste materials. The treatment of sewage protects water supply. Biogas technology helps to conserve foreign exchange for energy importing countries. The test results show that gas production rates were higher at controlled elevated temperature compared to the production rates at ambient conditions. It indicates that bacteria are more active at high temperatures. The digested effluent sludge is a high quality organic fertiliser, which is richer than inorganic manure, and it fixes well in the soil.

The Gendered Politics of Fuel in India

Indian energy planning is still driven by the traditional supply-oriented mentality emphasiz ing the development of power, coal and hydrocarbons, without adequate regard to specific end-uses that determine the demand as well as the social and environment costs of provid ing these services. Despite the increase in the quantum of energy supplied, a vast section of the population has not benefitted, particularly as far as energy for cooking is concerned.This paper, while focusing on the rural sector, also examines the kind of interventions that have been made thus far ostensibly to address the issue of domestic energy. In the first place, what comes out quite starkly is that resources going into the Biogas Program and the Improved Chulha (cookstove) Program, the two most important programs directly aimed at the rural poor and women in particular, have been declining quite sharply. Second, the indicators chosen to monitor performance are defined in terms of number of plants installed and/or facilities provide...

The Gendered Politics of Fuel in India

Indian energy planning is still driven by the traditional supply-oriented mentality emphasizing the development of power, coal and hydrocarbons, without adequate regard to specific end-uses that determine the demand as well as the social and environment costs of providing these services. Despite the increase in the quantum of energy supplied, a vast section of the population has not benefitted, particularly as far as energy for cooking is concerned.This paper, while focusing on the rural sector, also examines the kind of interventions that have been made thus far ostensibly to address the issue of domestic energy. In the first place, what comes out quite starkly is that resources going into the Biogas Program and the Improved Chulha (cookstove) Program, the two most important programs directly aimed at the rural poor and women in particular, have been declining quite sharply. Second, the indicators chosen to monitor performance are defined in terms of number of plants installed and/or facilities provided, with no consideration for the quality of the construction and/or its periodic maintenance and repair. Third, and more important, even the limited evaluations of these programs immediately show up the hiatus between official perception of a functioning plant and women’s perceptions of a functioning but not very useful plant.

Anaerobic biotechnology and developing countries—I. Technical status

A survey of biogas programmes in different countries (based on available data) reveals that biogas digesters have become quite popular during the past 15 yr. The present study analyses their development in industrialized countries (IC) and examines possibilities for transferring the most appropriate ones to the majority of developing countries (DC). It is possible to conclude from the present study that collaboration with IC to evaluate the technical-economic aspects of various plant designs and to optimize their process parameters can play an important role in the establishment and successful implementation of biogas technology programmes in the long run.

Diffusion and innovation in the Chinese biogas program

The history of biogas developments in China is described and a contrast drawn between the early phases (particularly in 1958 and 1970) which emphasized the construction of large numbers of plants, and the current phase in which high quality plants are built by professionals. The paper reports the results of a microeconomic analysis of 58 biogas plants in Tongliang and compares this with data produced by other researchers in 242 plants in Hubei. The analysis shows high rates of return on investments in biogas and short pay back periods of between one and four years. The current developments in the biogas program are greatly affected by the major institutional reforms in China. These reforms are described together with the major consequences. In particular, the number of plants built each year has fallen dramatically as a result of the reduction in subsidies, the emphasis on quality rather than quantity and the growth of rural incomes (with a consequent switching from biogas to coal as a fuel). 1. (i) “The Diffusion of Rural Energy Technology in China,” Mimeo (Beijing: ITESA, Tsinghua University, September 1986), 41 pages. 2. (ii) “A Survey Report for Rural Energy and Its Technologies in Tongliang County: Report of Retain Project,” Mimeo (Beijing: ITESA, Tsinghua University, October 1986), 29 pages. Every care has been taken to reflect the style and content of the original papers and the resulting text was approved by the Chinese authors.

An Approach for Evaluation of Bio-gas Programme Development in Nepal

An Approach for Evaluation of Bio-gas Programme Development in Nepal

Toward the diffusion of rural energy technologies: Some lessons from the Indian biogas program

India has committed substantial resources to construct several hundred thousand biogas plants. This program is reviewed within the context of the current status of biogas systems including technical, economic, manpower and training, and organizational issues. Experience with a dozen “village-scale” systems is analyzed in detail. Problems with the Indian biogas program show the importance of basing technology diffusion efforts on an intimate understanding of rural resource flows and the local political economy. The biogas experience illustrates a broader problem in development: an imbalance between “technology-focused” and “people-focused” development assistance. Some of the causes and implications of this imbalance are discussed and some suggestions are offered to help both developing countries and various donors increase the effectiveness of development efforts by stimulating the growth of local organizations.