BY SEMIRA BERHE
In various parts of the world biogas is being developed to realize various purposes including institutional, technical, economic and environmental protection. However developing countries are still struggling to access sustainable energy to all community. For this end biogas is a reliable energy source in the transition to green, low carbon energy and electricity mix. It has its own contribution to carbon emission reduction.
It is available and generally sustainable energy resource due to the abundant supply of cheap feedstock. It is important to benefit the community in the off grid area that cannot access electricity. The technology also contributes for the environmental protection purpose as a reliable source of green and low carbon energy. Access to modern energy service is a challenge for most developing countries, continents like Africa basically they are based on the agriculture sector.
A High numbers of people still live in rural areas with absence of many infrastructural services including modern energy or electricity that simplifies their life and ensures safety of their health. In the same way Ethiopia also shares those circumstances as many Ethiopians still live in the rural areas leading life based agriculture. In this case it is advisable to use the new energy source biogas technology. The bio gas technology is available and generally sustainable energy resource due to abundant supply of cheap feedstock. It known since 19th century and know in the other countries use as heavy – duty transport sector to become more sustainable. The Ministry of Water and Energy working with specially attention on facilitating clean energy and enhancing those activities on environmental protection and fighting climate change.
Having stay with The Ethiopian Herald Temesgen Tefera, bio gas program manager with the ministry stated that the technology started in Ethiopia in 2009 G.C with the support of the Netherland government, then made feasibility study for one year on the capability of using the biogas technology to the community that cannot access electricity. Researches shows 5 million households can use the biogas technology. The program started its demonstration phase system in four Ethiopian regions: Amhara, Oromia, Tigray and south nations, nationalities and peoples region.
The manager says after observing the promising outcome of the project, it was replicated to the other regions of Ethiopia. The ministry is now able to address some 40 thousand households that cannot access electricity or people who live in the off grid areas. The most common feedstock used to produce biogas is any organic wastes like animal waste, food wastes like vegetables and fruits left over, wastes from café and restaurant, biological wastes from industries having high moisture content and high degradability use for this technology.
The manager explained that mostly in Ethiopia inputs used for biogas production and widely available in many rural areas is animal waste. The technology requires a minimum of four cattle, adequate water access and the person because the technology is labor intensive. The person can operate it easily making biogas system more diversified and sustainable. After installed this technology in one house hold they collect animals waste, insert to the stage tanker prepared with bricks for this purpose, also water locked until it process combined heat and power.
By nature the cow dung produce methane gas and it is harmful to the environment four times than Co2 thanks to this technology the animals waste, the cow dung collect immediately and insert to the storage tank. The ministry gets advantage for the initiative of methane gas missionary reduction activity if they address the technology for 40,000 household get 9.5 million USD as reward. The Program Manager says the Ministry provides the households for this technology with finance, technical and professional guidance. Accordingly the ministry covers 20,000 Ethiopian birr to install the technology for a household out of the 30,000 birr required to build a 6 m3 bio digester.
The main point of this technology is addressing sustainable energy to the community as he stated now there are 40,000 bio digesters actively in use. The report says that it reduces the work load for some 25 thousand women and children as they can access clean energy. The technology has also saved forest that rests over 96 thousand hectares of land from deforestation while supplying manure that can develop 240 thousand hectares of land.
Those families who use the bio methane technology are able to apply it for clean cooking and lighting purposes. This has enabled to decrease women’s and children work load. Students can now go to school and participate effectively in the school thereby decreasing the number of students’ school dropout. The family can also save their time taken for cooking as well as a monthly sum of money up to birr 640 if they were to use electricity for cooking and lighting purposes.
Comparing to the house holds use this technology the others don`t use there is a difference in their quality of life. The technology can solve the hygiene and sewerage problems in the community, the program manager underlined. It creates job opportunity in the process of installing the technology; trainers give orientation for house hold how to use it, The manager also pointed out that the other advantage of biogas is that it is connected to agricultural activities. After producing the gas the final waste or bio-slurry can be consumed as organic fertilizer that can substitute chemical fertilizer.
Temesgen further noted that the procedure of installing the technology starts with signing of an agreement between three actors: the household confirms its interest to use the technology, the eligible professionals installs the bio digester, and the representative in the district approves the certified person or technician. As he said the experts take the training by the ministry in all part of the country. The senior professionals work under the institution in different districts of the country while others work privately. In the recent data the ministry assigned 5 experts in each region who are capable to give training for the private sector and give technical support related with the technology.
Hand in hand the ministry works in coordination with international development organization through technical support, financial support from the European Union, which is 23 million for five years. Beside this the ministry aims to reach out to 160,000 householders in this technology and achieving the clean energy to the community.
THE ETHIOPIAN HERALD WEDNESDAY 22 FEBRUARY 2023
