Valley
Govt to promote biogas plants to power institutions
The government is expanding its efforts to encourage public institutions, municipalities and commercial sectors to convert biodegradable wastes into energy by constructing large-scale biogas plants.The government is expanding its efforts to encourage public institutions, municipalities and commercial sectors to convert biodegradable wastes into energy by constructing large-scale biogas plants.
The deepening energy crisis as a result of Indian blockade along the major trade borders has offered an opportunity to become energy-independent as well as to improve solid waste problem by generating electricity from it, officials said.
Alternative Energy Promotion Centre (AEPC), the government body responsible for promotion and development of renewable and alternative energy technologies, is joining hands with the security agencies to build over 500 large-scale biogas plants across the country, said Sushim Man Amatya, programme officer working on Large Biogas and Waste to Energy at the AEPC.
The agreement between the AEPC and the security agencies, including Nepal Army, Nepal Police and Armed Police Force, to build institutional biogas plants is expected to take place within this month, Amatya said.
It is estimated that the use of energy for cooking purpose generated from biogas plants could reduce the country’s security agencies’ demand for LPG cylinders by up to 58,000 per year. Biogas technology is a clean, home-grown energy-generation method that has been in practice in the country for more than six decades. Over 300,000 households in the country have installed biogas plants at their homes which they use for cooking purpose.
Large-scale biogas plants planned for institutions would use biodegradable waste generated from kitchen, toilets and other sources along with municipal wastes to generate energy, unlike the traditional biogas plants that use cow dung, said Amatya.
The AEPC has made provisions of subsidies on various categories to build large-scale biogas plants ranging above 12.5 cubic metres in size.
Krishna Chandra Poudel, secretary at the Ministry of Science, Technology and Environment, said the ministry is already working to create opportunities to promote and use various alternative energy technologies including biogas to mitigate the energy crisis.