Fund For Biogas Plants

The domestic biogas (DBG) plant that is also known as gobar gas had caught the fancy of Nepali farmers in mid-1980. It was new technology and many people set up the plants that can be run with animal dung, human excreta and the natural materials. With subsidies from government and foreign donors, the construction of biogas plants gained momentum for decades. In view of increasing climate-induced natural disasters, this clean energy should be in priority of both the government and the donors. But a news report published in this daily Sunday discloses that the number of people opting for the biogas plants has vastly declined as the government cut subsidies and donors stopped funding for the construction of biogas plants. Moreover, the people have preferred Liquefied Petroleum Gas (LPG) to the biogas with the urban culture and practice reaching nook and cranny of the country. 

People's migration to cities, rising construction costs and diminishing support has led to the decreased trend in the development of biogas plants, which is sustainable alternative renewable energy and low-carbon technology. At one point about 40,000 biogas plants were constructed annually in the country, but now the number has fallen to below 10,000. For the agricultural country like Nepal, this is indeed a bad news because the biogas plants are viable for the people engaged in livestock farming. Despite this, the government has planned to install 200,000 biogas plants in the fiscal year 2019/20 as per the 15th Periodic Plan. Likewise, 500 large-scale biogas (LBG) plants will be set up to replace about 40,000 tonnes of LPG. The installation of biogas plants is also the part of the government commitment to promoting clean energy as per the Paris Climate Agreement. 

Under the second Nationally Determined Contribution (NDC) 2020, an additional 200,000 household biogas plants and 500 (LBG) plants will be installed by 2025. Currently there are altogether 419,779 domestic biogas plants and 348 large biogas plants. The Alternative Energy Promotion Centre (AEPC) aims to install 10,000 biogas plants this fiscal year 2023/24. It requires about Rs. 300 million to meet the target. But it has the budget of only Rs. 50 million for subsidy. The shortfall in budget is likely to impede the momentum to achieve the stated goal. At a time when the nations are switching to clean alternative energy globally, the donors are showing apathy when it comes to funding the biogas plants which entails a number of benefits, economically and environmentally. The Census of 2021 states that about three-fourth of Nepali households still rely on firewood or bio-fuel to cook their meal, which badly affects the health of women, children and elderly people as well as the environment. 

Several studies have concluded that the use of biogas and improved cook stoves have considerably improved the health of women and children in the rural areas while checking the deforestation. AEPC, which is also a regulatory and implementing agency in the alternative energy sector, even claims that the spread of biogas technology has helped break the stereotypes related to caste, ethnicity and gender, thereby promoting inclusive, participatory, decentralised and balanced development. The biogas plants have replaced about 5 million LPG cylinders, which has saved around Rs. 10 billion. Once the biogas plants had revolutionised the rural areas as they provided clean energy with inexpensive means. The government grants covered more than half of the construction cost. It is imperative for policy makers, the government agencies and political parties to promote biogas plants to enhance clean energy and reduce import of LPG.