SNV Showcases Medium Scale Biogas Program in Central Kalimantan
On 26 February 2014 in Pulang Pisau, Central Kalimantan, SNV held a workshop to disseminate the results of the project Market Introduction of Medium Scale Biogas Digesters.
The project, implemented by SNV Netherlands Development Organisation with the support of EEP, constructed ten 30 m3 digesters in Pulang Pisau with each digester producing about 8,000 liters of gas every day or sufficient for cooking daily meals for ten house-holds. The digester design developed by SNV and vetted by national and international experts is strong enough to withstand earthquakes.
SNV Country Director Phil Harman said that while Indonesia has over 15 million head of cattle and 1.4 billion chickens, the potential to harness energy in the form of biogas has been largely untapped despite energy shortages and a heavy reliance on wood burning stoves in many areas of Indonesia.
“The purpose of the project was to promote the development of a robust and cost effective medium scale biogas sector that improves access to clean and sustainable energy. This included developing a design for reliable medium scale biogas digesters appropriate for the Indonesian context and developing and testing a management system for community digesters”, Mr Harman said.
SNV’s Renewable Energy expert, Sundar Bajgain said the local community, especially livestock groups, have actively participated in the construction and operation of the digesters.
“The local Government agriculture office also helped mobilise the project and identify the potential sites for the digesters.
“A sustainable management system for these community digesters has also been developed as it is important that users feed the digester regularly and check the stoves and pipes periodically for any leakages.
“We are very pleased with the results of the project including 84 households are now able to access biogas from this project and an estimated 183 tonnes of fuel wood and 6 tons of LPG saved on an annual basis” said Mr Bajgain.