LET THERE BE BIOGAS

Energy is the primary and commonly shared issue of the developing countries. There has been talk on alternate energy options for the larger part of the world without electricity and other energy driven amenities, utilities or comforts. We hear a lot about solar and wind, which again is an expensive prescription for the poor countries. But on the other side, almost all developing or undeveloped countries have agriculture and cattle farming as the major sectors in the large rural areas they comprise of. The farm waste can be used for a renewable energy source – biogas.

What is biogas – it is a gas produced from organic matter, it can be produced from recycled waste and is environment friendly. There is hardly any huge investments attached to this mode of energy generation and it is effective in a way that it also takes care of all the farm waste, which would have needed extra cost for its disposal.   

There are few developing countries which have already started working on this idea, and the province Punjab in Pakistan is one such example. In the recent four to five years there has been a noticeable growth in biogas plants in the rural areas of Punjab. Local communities, non-profit organizations and the government – venturing for this new product, are creating awareness among villagers, training them and helping setting up biogas plants. Energy from these plants is being used to run tube wells, operate rice mills, backing power for food processing plants and electrifying villages. Thus, biogas is supporting both economy and community, resulting in sustainable social development that could be further replicated and subsidized by all developing countries. This economical renewable energy option will help developing countries ear carbon credits in addition to responding to their major development issue of energy-shortage.

References:

Definition of biogas:       

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Biogas

Supportive reading with reference to Pakistan:     

http://tribune.com.pk/story/575813/bio-gas-programme-makes-life-easier-for-rural-punjab/