News / National
REA set to build 50 biogas digesters this year
14 May 2013 at 22:41hrs | Views
THE RURAL Electrification Agency says it will build 50 biogas digesters this year at rural institutions throughout the country to reduce costs on electricity and dependency on firewood.
Speaking at the commissioning of a biogas digester at Harare Central Hospital yesterday, REA deputy board chairperson Ms Leticia Dhlamini said this followed the success of a pilot project done at five centres in the country.
She said to date, REA had electrified more than 7 000 rural institutions countrywide through the grid electricity but had faced hurdles, including lack of generation capacity.
"It is for this reason that REA has not wasted time in embarking on biogas and other renewable energy programmes, following the launch of the energy policy in Zimbabwe," she said.
Biogas is a low-cost clean energy produced through any waste such as cow dung, human excreta and industrial waste. This waste is fed into a biogas digester where it is decomposed by bacteria in the absence of air to produce biogas.
This gas can then be burned as fuel for lighting, cooking and heating and on a large scale it can be used for electricity generation. The sludge that remains after the production of gas is rich in nitrogen and can be used as organic fertiliser.
Energy and Power Development Minister Elton Mangoma said considering all these benefits Government was promoting its use in schools, hospitals, farms as a renewable alternative to fossil fuels and fuel wood.
He said Government had developed a national biogas programme which would be implemented through REA. The biogas digester project, he said, was allocated US$1 million from the fiscus, a sign of Government's commitment.
"The electricity replaced or saved by using biogas can then be redirected to other essential sectors of the economy," Minister Mangoma said.
He said during the implementation programme, training of biogas digester builders, gas equipment manufacturers and engineers would be conducted to make the programme sustainable.
Speaking at the commissioning of a biogas digester at Harare Central Hospital yesterday, REA deputy board chairperson Ms Leticia Dhlamini said this followed the success of a pilot project done at five centres in the country.
She said to date, REA had electrified more than 7 000 rural institutions countrywide through the grid electricity but had faced hurdles, including lack of generation capacity.
"It is for this reason that REA has not wasted time in embarking on biogas and other renewable energy programmes, following the launch of the energy policy in Zimbabwe," she said.
This gas can then be burned as fuel for lighting, cooking and heating and on a large scale it can be used for electricity generation. The sludge that remains after the production of gas is rich in nitrogen and can be used as organic fertiliser.
Energy and Power Development Minister Elton Mangoma said considering all these benefits Government was promoting its use in schools, hospitals, farms as a renewable alternative to fossil fuels and fuel wood.
He said Government had developed a national biogas programme which would be implemented through REA. The biogas digester project, he said, was allocated US$1 million from the fiscus, a sign of Government's commitment.
"The electricity replaced or saved by using biogas can then be redirected to other essential sectors of the economy," Minister Mangoma said.
He said during the implementation programme, training of biogas digester builders, gas equipment manufacturers and engineers would be conducted to make the programme sustainable.
Source - Herald
