$10.7m biogas plants to be constructed in two regions
Mr Elinariki Kishia, a dairy farmer at Boza Village in Pangani District, Tanga Region, who purchased his biogas plant in 2011, unlocks a cork to allow biogas to flow into the kitchen so that his wife can cook. PHOTO|FILE
What you need to know:
It will be financed by Norway and will be implemented by the Arusha-based Tanzania Biogas Development Programme (TBDP).
Arusha. Kilimanjaro and Arusha regions will account for over a third of 10,000 biogas plants, which will be constructed under a $ 10.7 million three-year project.
It will be financed by Norway and will be implemented by the Arusha-based Tanzania Biogas Development Programme (TBDP).
A total of 3,300 bio-digesters will be installed in the two regions under a programme developed through the Rural Energy Agency (REA), which aims at reducing dependency on firewood and fossil fuels and promoting clean energy. Some 1,800 and 1,500 units are planned for the two regions respectively.
Norway alone has contributed $ 1.6m (over Sh3 billion) through its development cooperation agency, Norad, for the project launched at Pangani in Tanga Region in January this year. Its implementation will continue until the end of 2017 or early 2018.
“Besides providing clean energy, installation of 10,000 biogas plants in Tanzania Mainland will improve the livelihoods of the people, environmental sustainability and create employment,” said a report released during a recent visit to the project by Norwegian deputy minister for Foreign Affairs Tone Skogen.
A biogas digester, a simple concrete structure with channels and chamber, costs about Sh1.2 million ($600) to install. Villagers, who are mostly targeted by the programme, will have to look for Sh1 million and the Norad will top up the rest, amounting to nearly 25 per cent discount.
Mbeya Region comes third with about 1,400 units planned for installation, while Tanga, Manyara, Dodoma, Iringa/Njombe and Mwanza/Geita will have 900,800,600, 700 and 600 biogas plants constructed and installed respectively during the period.
More bio-digesters will be constructed either in the regions with a large population of livestock or those leading in zero-grazing since biogas energy for cooking and lighting is extracted from cow dung, which energy experts say, is cost effective compared to firewood.
Bio-slurry is used as an organic fertiliser.
