Publicationes

The objective was to define effective demand for biogas installations and to know the socioeconomic variables that influence the potential demand for biogas plants and an effective promotional and marketing strategy. Of the total 800 households that were interviewed, 335 represented semi-urban and 67 percent rural VDCs. The proportions of households installing biogas plants increased with the increase in the amount of land and there was positive relationship between size of the cultivated land and size of the plants installed.

Majority of the large farmers (92%) and medium farmers (65%) were from the Terai belt. Most of medium and small farmers installing plants were from rural areas and approximately 50% had electricity facility. About 72 percent had taken loans from banks and 59.7 percent received loans
by the co-operation of GGC. Most of the loans were repaid back. Among households with plants, 8 percent had received various kinds of support from the local NGOs. Of them 50 percent got some financial support. The manpower status of the surveyed biogas companies seemed inadequate, as well as the after-sale-services. Further, the promotional strategies adopted by companies were inadequate.

Of the total 526 households who knew about biogas, 59.9% were willing to install plants. Not all were aware who to contact for plant installation and the cost of it. Radio was the source of information to the largest proportion of the respondents. Both illiterate and those having many years of schooling were almost equally aware of the biogas technology.

A feasibility study conducted in Bhutan in 2008 concluded that a small scale domestic biogas program is possible with a technical potential of about 20,000 biogas plants especially in the southern belt and inner mountain valleys. The key question for the development of a substantial biogas program was whether the households having enough number of cattle to install biogas plant are willing and able to invest in it and to feed the plant with the required amount of manure on a daily basis. Hence this market study was conducted to analyze the technical and socio-economic feasibility of biogas program, which assessed the willingness and affordability of livestock keeping households to invest in biogas technology.

Half the population depended on agriculture and is therefore based in the village implying that the biogas plants (home-based) can be managed. Farmers have sufficient land to install biogas plants and slurry pits although location of the cowsheds may not always be near the houses and kitchens in some of the households. There were substantial differences in income among sampled households. Some implied living under poverty while some did not earn any income. Those at the lower rung of the income ladder may not be able to afford to invest in biogas plants unless some financing incentives are provided.

In general, farmers owned cattle and other smaller livestock. Most farmers qualify to install biogas since the majority own more than 3 cattle with the average cattle holding being 6 cattle, most of which are night stalled cattle.

This intern thesis assesses the economic effect on a household level of using bio-slurry for tea production. In total, one hundred farmers have been asked about current and previous data on the quantity of tea, the price obtained per kilogram of processed tea and the expenditures on both pesticides and chemical fertiliser.

It was concluded that using bio-slurry results in a higher quantity of tea production per sao throughout the whole year. After bringing in the inflation effect the tea cultivated with bio-slurry still obtained a higher price per kilogram of processed tea. The difference in the summer period however was not statistically significant.

Farmers saved money on chemical fertiliser and pesticides. The total average savings (2007) amounted to 2 631 986 VND in total: 2 100 277 VND was saved on chemical fertilizer and 531 619 VND was saved on pesticides.

The increased yields and prices resulted together in an income generating effect of 3 751 509 VND. The income saving and generating effect together result in a total economic impact of 6 383 495 VND per year on a household level. The income effect is larger than the total average investment costs of the biogas installation. After this research it has become clear that from an economic point of view, the bio-slurry is more valuable than the biogas alone.

An agreement was signed between Biogas Support Programme (BSP) and Centre for Energy Studies, Institute of Engineering (CES/IOE) on 6th July 2001 to evaluate the efficiency of biogas stove. For comparison, efficiency of Liquefied Petroleum Gas (LPG) and kerosene stove (pressure
type and wick type) was also studied. The biogas stove under test was manufactured by Nepal Metal Cast of Butwal, Nepal.

Efficiency of cook stoves could be calculated by several methods. In this study efficiency of cook stoves was determined by calculating the heat gained by the water subjected for heating and amount of fuel consumed during this process. The efficiency of biogas stove calculated as per adopted methodology mentioned above is found to be 49.44 percent, 43.8 percent and 32.26 percent for perfectly controlled, semi-controlled and uncontrolled conditions respectively. The efficiency of a given stove is not constant. It could vary on the basis of surrounding conditions and quality of fuel used. A high value of efficiency could be obtained under controlled conditions. But in practice this value is normally lower than the value found in the controlled laboratory condition.

The efficiency of stove depends upon different conditions:
• Environmental conditions, such as wind, temperature, pressure.
• Shape, specific heat capacity and weight of vessel.
• Burner size of stove and size of bottom face of cooking vessel.
• Energy content of fuel and quality of fuel.

Finally the report comes with recommendations.

Based on the successful experience of implementing biogas programmes in a number of other Asian countries, where tens of thousands of biogas plants are being installed annually, UNDP Pakistan, Winrock International and SNV (Netherlands Development Organisation) carried out a feasibility study for establishing a large-scale household biogas programme in Pakistan in early 2007.

This report examines the potential for household scale biogas in Pakistan for cooking and lighting in rural areas. This is based on the availability of sufficient numbers of stall-fed livestock and other enabling conditions such as availability of water and warm temperature. After establishing that there is a sufficient market for biogas plants, the report then examines how a program might be set up in Pakistan to supply large numbers of high quality biogas digesters in the country. The report ends with conclusions focused on the main barriers to large scale adoption of biogas, the IRR, social acceptability of biogas, credit mechanisms, activity of private sector companies, the market and energy needs, and potential subsidy.

Lastly, the report recommends that concrete steps be taken towards development of a national scale program to promote household biogas digesters through a market mechanism, keeping in view the excellent potential for this technology in Pakistan.

The overall objective of the study was to thoroughly assess the level of feasibility to set-up and implement a national domestic biogas programme in the Republic of Sri Lanka. The main instruments of the study were open-ended unstructured interview checklists with respondents from selected institutions. Additional investigation methods included observations of biogas plants and open ended interviews with the users on various aspects of biogas plants, more specifically on the physical status and performance.

The finding of the field survey indicated that biomass is the most important source of energy in Sri Lanka accounting for more than half of total primary energy consumption. The majority of the existing biogas plants were not functioning due to lack of organised delivery services. The biogas practice in Sri Lanka so far lacks proper standardisation and documentation. Different actors operate in isolation, without effective coordination. The outcome of the financial analysis indicates that biogas plants are financially viable even without subsidy. The technical potential of biogas plants in the country has been calculated to be 109,621 biogas plants.

A modest biogas programme is, therefore, realised to be feasible in Sri Lanka because the country fulfils following conditions (wholly or partly): ambient temperature for biogas production is warm; quality construction materials are available; unskilled labour for biogas plant construction is locally available; other household energy sources are becoming expensive; bio-slurry is appreciated as an organic fertiliser;  and the potential stakeholders have expressed willingness to participate and own the programme.

The study accesses the feasibility of introducing biogas program in Timor Leste (meetings with government officials, potential stakeholders, households and field observations). But fuel wood is the only available energy and the rural households are in strong need of alternative energy. The study suggests the possibility of small scale biogas programme for domestic use. Initiations in biogas promotion (50 units installed throughout the country) have already started.

Technical potential of biogas in the country is estimated to be around 12,000 units with some challenges on cattle dung collection, availability of water and farmers ability to invest. Due to low income of the rural household and free access to fuel wood, biogas is not the first priority of the households. Lack of micro credit facility also acts as a hindrance in introducing the program. So, a flat rate subsidy of about 350 USD at least for the beginning, until the micro credit system gets established is suggested. The cost of plant is higher than other countries but household labor contribution on collecting local construction materials together with subsidy may reduce the need of cash. Moreover, savings on kerosene use is the highest one that alone can recover the cost of biogas plant within 5-6 years.

Government is willing to set aside subsidy funds for the biogas however; knowledge on technical aspects is rather limited. But there are numerous NGOS and INGOs involved in different sectors which indicates strong possibility of resource mobilization and promoting renewable energy technologies through these organizations.

The main objective of this assignment is to select the most suitable and appropriate digester type for the proposed Biogas Pilot Project in Lao PDR, to prepare quantity and cost estimation of the selected model, to develop training materials, and to formulate a training programme.

Based on the above mentioned criteria, the following models have been selected for in-depth analysis:
• Chinese fix-dome model being installed in Laos under Chinese grant aid
• Vietnam Model (KT2A) being disseminated by Biogas Programme supported by SNV
• Cambodian Farmer's Friend Model (Modification of Indian Farmer's Friend Model) being
disseminated by National Biodigester Programme, Cambodia supported by SNV
• Nepalese GGC Model being installed under the framework of BSP-Nepal supported by SNV
• Model constructed in Laos under the framework of Canada-Thailand Trilateral Environment Subproject popularly known as Lao-GTZ model.

The following factors have been considered for evaluating the biodigesters under the study, assuming that the suitability of any biodigester in a given context depends mainly upon these factors:
• Climatic and geo-physical parameters
• Technological Parameters
• Affordability of potential farmers to install biodigester
• Purpose of the use of the biodigester products
• Performance of existing models, if any, in the local and/or regional conditions
• Quality and quantity of available feeding materials.

The report contains an evaluation matrix, and concludes that the GGC model being disseminated under the Biogas Programme in Nepal is the most suitable plant model for mass dissemination in Lao PDR.

The report presents the finding of the Initial Environment Examination (IEE) conducted for the Pakistan Domestic Biogas Program, proposed to be implemented by the Rural Support Program Network (RSPN), Pakistan. The program envisions setting up 300,000 domestic biogas plants across Pakistan within 10 years of time.

Potential impacts likely to arise from the construction and subsequent operation of the domestic biogas digester units on physical and socio economic and environment was assessed and the mitigation measured identified to reduce the possible impact likely to cause its operation. An Environmental checklist has also been developed to implement the recommendation of IEE.

On the basis of the assessment, the report concludes that since Pakistan is an energy deficient country, whose major supply is imported, there is an urgent need to provide an alternative source of energy and the proposed domestic biogas program seems to help fulfil this objective without resulting in any potential environmental impact. No adverse effect on the environment was identified because of this program.

Detailed findings and conclusions can be found in the report along with the adopted IEE methodology, identified potential impacts and the mitigation measures and the environmental checklist developed to overcome the impacts.

Over the past two decades Vietnam has achieved remarkable advances in its economic development, progressing from least developed country status to lower middle income, thus becoming one of Southeast Asia’s most rapidly industrializing countries. Vietnam’s geographical position, bordering with China, Laos and Cambodia on the West and the South China Sea on the East, has enabled larger trade of goods throughout the region. However, these results at the national level conceal significant geographical disparities and inequalities between the rural and urban inhabitants. Data indicates that poor people’s access to quality services in the areas of health, water, sanitation and education is still a concern.

This research proposed to analyze the impact of the Biogas Division Project in Vietnam, created in 2003 in collaboration with MARD and SNV. The study aimed at evaluating quantitative figures of biogas masons activity levels. Construction levels indicated that masons are extremely busy despite the seasonal effects of the job. Digester demand is on the high rise. 97% of masons said that they would continue construction levels if the program ceased from existing, confirming and ensuring the self-sufficiency of the biogas sector, something which SNV and BPD aimed to establish. Conclusively, BPD is recommended to upscale and sub-group mason business training programs to better adhere with their mason profiles. Improving training and educational programs will allow for the possibility of concrete SME development within a economically sound Biogas sector.

This biogas programme will utilise the Asian biogas experience in an adapted way in Indonesia, starting with four provinces in 2009 and to be extended to two more provinces outside Java from 2010. The programme targets small-scale livestock owners in areas where wood fuel is becoming scarce and aims to support the construction of some 8,000 domestic biogas digesters, of which 2,000 of Java. The Government of Indonesia’s effort to offer substitutes for kerosene as cooking fuel is another main driver of the programme.

The programme will be funded by the Royal Netherlands Embassy and implemented by two civil society organisations. Overall programme and fund management as well as technical assistance will be carried out by Hivos, while SNV will provide knowledge transfer and back-up of technical assistance. The programme will be implemented by Biogas Programme Offices in each province, selected in consultation with relevant stakeholders.

The proposed programme focuses on implementation through a multi-stakeholder sector development approach, creating a market-based biogas sector, involving locally trained contractors and masons who are supported by vocational training institutions. Biogas digesters do not come cheap, so to reduce the cost barrier, banks and micro-finance institutions will provide loans to the end users. An investment incentive of approximately 25% will be offered by the programme.2 End users are protected against construction errors through a guaranty system. The role of rural development NGOs, dairy cooperatives as well as governmental and private agricultural and live-stock extension services are integrated in the programme.

Biogas Project Division has conducted this research, which aims at assessing actual effect of available products potentially influence methane production and to give advice of how to utilise the products best to users. 

There are biogas digesters that do not produce gas or gas production is little or it takes long time for gas production with low gas quality. This happens more frequently in winter and in areas with low temperature. An explanation from scientific point of view is that fermentation and methane production are affected by different elements like anaerobic environment, temperature, pH degree, input contents (ratio of C/N, powder substance), toxics and retention time. The change of one or all of these factors somehow will make a significant impact on fermentation and methane production of biogas digester. On the other hand the incorrect operation of households also influences the process of gas production. 

Being faced with such situation, scientists, organisations and individual have studied and promoted products that can strengthen fermentation for organic digestion and methane production in biogas digester. All these products are promoted and advertised with highest efficiency in facilitating methane production. Nevertheless, no comprehensive evaluation of these products was conducted so that users can rely on and further promote them. 

The research products: Penac G, Microphot, and Bicat were used for testing the effect on digestion, fermentation and methane generation. Specific tests were aims at CH4, H2S, CO2, pH, COD, BOD5 and SS. Research and sampling methods are explained and a brief conclusion is provided.

The objectives of this study were:
• To obtain reliable data regarding the actual savings on conventional fuel for an average biogas household in the hills and Terai;
• To obtain reliable data regarding the replacement value of biogas vs. conventional creating fuels;
• To determine which plant volume is the most efficient (cost effective) given average annual temperature and daily feeding;
• To collect accurate data regarding the daily consumption patterns for different family consumption, climatic zones and seasons.

DevPart Consult Pvt. Ltd. carried out the study in 80 biogas and 40 non-biogas households for complete one-year cycle in Syangja, Nuwakot, Chitwan and Morang districts that represented Highhills, Mid-hills and Terai regions of the country.

The study describes the characteristics of Biogas Households like ethnicity, family size, source of income, landholding size, cattle-holding size, literacy rate, livestock ownership and production and consumption pattern. Further, it describes the Feeding of the Bio-digester regarding dung, water and latrines. It also describes the efficiency of the gas production, looking at stove ad light burning hours and the meter readings and the use of firewood, dung cake, agricultural residue and kerosene is also important. Lastly it goes into the family size versus plant capacity with analyses of the gas use pattern and an evaluation of the dome and outlet sizes, currently used.

Kalikot, is one of the more remote and poverty stricken districts of Karnali, Nepal. Over 70% of the total district population of 105,580 people have an income level less than $1 a day. This case introduces a detailed account of biogas promotion in Kalikot district. It illustrates the energy situation prior to SNV’s intervention, to the eventual achieved impact. SNV’s intervention in capacity strengthening through the West Portfolio is related to the Micro Fund – one of the components of the Renewable Energy Sector Support (RESS) programme in Nepal, supported by SNV Nepal and Alternative Energy Promotion Centre (AEPC). The main objective of RESS is to increase the living standards of rural people and improve the environment through the promotion of Renewable Energy Technologies (RET’s). To strengthen capacity of clients for piloting and promoting RETs, SNV has engaged with The Human Rights and Environment Development Centre (HURENDEC) since 2007. SNV has offered capacity building support in Kalikot not only to improve the performance of clients, but also to provide support to improve service delivery to rural communities.

The document contains the following chapters: Introduction, Challenges, Client: HURENDEC, Involvement and Roles of other Stakeholders, SNV intervention, Outcome, Impact, and Lessons Learned.

The study reviewed the portfolio structure of AEPC/BCU, status of biogas plant installation, energy and subsidy policies, biogas credit fund guidelines and previous evaluation reports. 

The major problems faced by the stakeholders are: (i) low demand of credit for biogas, (ii) low recovery rate of biogas credit portfolio, (iii) lack of fund for credit servicing, (iv) absence of policy priority in financial institutions, and (v) weak monitoring mechanism of AEPC. The reasons behind the low demand of credit for biogas are conceptual misleading of rural people that biogas plants are not for marginalised people, but for high class people and the increase in affordability of people in cash for installation of biogas by the income of remittances. In the meantime, the decreasing trend of livestock holding pattern in the hills and mountains and migration of people towards the Terai, difficulty in access to credit due to limited financial institutions for credit servicing and lengthy procedure for credit delivery and fulfilment of energy needs of people by solar power particularly in hills and mountains poses the low demand of credit for biogas plants.

It recommends setting a credit delivery mechanism mobilising the local level financial institutions for credit servicing. Mapping of potential MFIs is recommended to increase the credit access, as well as a centralised approach of fund mobilisation to channelize the fund through wholesale financing institutions. A decentralized approach is also suggested for proper fund mobilisation through local level independent MFIs to provide support to the financial institutions for credit servicing.

The main barriers in the marketing of biodigesters in Laos are the cost price and the existence of farmers with sufficient collectable manure. Besides, observations at the households learn that often the digesters are under-fed due to laziness and or due to the fact that people just need less gas - as the preferred fuel is partly still charcoal.

In this light a trial with the 3m3 sized digester has been started early 2012 with the objective to reduce the cost and to align actual feeding patterns and cooking needs. A 3m3 sized digester was designed based on the current ‘Lao Netherlands’ (fixed-dome model derived from Nepal) and aimed for households who can only collect dung less than 15 kg/day and can combine the feeding with kitchen craps or with an agriculture residual.

The construction period took 5-6 days, compared to 6-8 for a 4m3. This saves in labour costs and cost of construction materials. The combination among animal’s dung and agriculture residual for daily feeding seemed to improve gas production. Advantage of the mini digester: reduced the workload of the household and mason; reduction in costs; this digester is suitable for (poorer) families with less livestock; no need of a large area to construct. Disadvantage is: not feasible for the household who cook more than 3 hour a day. Suggestions are provided, for example when feeding agriculture residues there’s a need of a larger sized inlet pipe due to the flow of those materials.

This study presents an evaluation of the technical review of existing biogas plants in Bangladesh in order to facilitate the preparation of an implementation plan for the proposed National Domestic Biogas Programme (NDBP).

Study findings revealed that the main motivational factors for farmers to install biogas plants included saving time and money, environmental benefits, availability of subsidy and health benefits, etc. Further study outcomes indicated that only 68% of the required quantity of dung produced was fed into the plant. The main reason for under-feeding was the non-availability of feeding materials mainly due to decreased number of cattle. As for the general quality of construction, only 3% of plants had good condition, 76% were in a fair condition and 21% were in a poor state. The study indicated that despite the number of defects and weaknesses, the functional status of biogas plants was on average satisfactory. Biogas plants in general were reported to have positive impacts on users, where a family saved, on average, 1.21hrs per day. Further, the Financial Internal Rate of Return (FIRR) of biogas plants was calculated to be above 30%.

Based on the study findings, extensive recommendations for implementation of the NDBP were made. They included the connection of the programme with government’s initiatives, the modification of the design of biogas plants to suit the gas use patterns in Bangladesh, the creation of information and knowledge management, and the formulation of effective repair and maintenance mechanisms, among others.