Domestic biogas plants in Nepal
This week I’ve been looking at some of the visionary renewable energy projects going on in developing countries. To round off the week I thought I’d highlight the work of the Biogas Sector Partnership in Nepal.
The Biogas Sector Partnership has managed the installation of more than 150,000 domestic biogas plants in Nepal. The plants use cattle manure to provide biogas for cooking and lighting. Households with biogas plants have a greatly reduced need for burning fuelwood, making significant savings on carbon emissions.
The use of cattle dung to generate biogas is well known in the Indian subcontinent, but the Nepal project is the biggest of its kind and has been a great success.
Biogas already serves one million people in Nepal (4% of the population) and the sector provides 11,000 permanent jobs. The project is a great example of how small scale can be transformed onto a much bigger scale!
Find out more about the Biogas Sector Partnership project on the Ashden Awards website - where you can also find lots of other interesting case studies.
Solar power in Himalayan villages
Today’s spotlight on renewable energy in developing countries is on the use of solar power in remote Himalayan villages.
The Barefoot College has introduced solar technology to villages in the Himalayan mountains, where winter temperatures can fall to -40°c.
Villagers are provided with the equipment to generate solar electricity and then trained as ‘Barefoot Solar Engineers’ at the organisation’s base in Rajasthan. After the training, they return to their villages where they install the equipment and provide an ongoing maintenance and repair service.
The project has provided solar electricity to more than 15,000 people in Himalayan villages. Barefoot Solar Engineers have installed solar water heaters and lighting systems in homes and have also built ‘solar passive’ houses which collect heat during the day and maintain a temperature of 20°c at night.
With less reliance on burning wood and using diesel and kerosene as sources of power, the communities have been able to drastically reduce their carbon emissions and levels of atmospheric pollution.
Find out more about the Barefoot College project on the Ashden Awards website.
Micro-hydro power in Peru
Over the last few weeks we’ve looked at some innovative examples of how groups are reducing carbon emissions in communities across the UK. I hope that reading about Baywind, BedZED and SusMo has given you some food for thought about action you could take in your own communities.
There’s plenty of inspiring activity going on overseas too, and this week we’ll be highlighting some of the visionary renewable energy projects going on in developing countries.
First up is Practical Action, which has brought micro-hydro power to the Eastern slopes of the Andes in North Peru. The region’s difficult terrain and scattered population mean that few people have access to grid electricity, but with high rainfall and an extensive network of rivers and streams, micro-hydro power provides an efficient source of renewable electricity.
The project’s 47 micro-hydro schemes provide metered electricity to around 5,000 families, improving the standard of lighting, refrigeration and entertainment in the home, as well as enabling the use of better equipment in schools and healthcare facilities.
Improved access to power is improving the economy of the area too - around 25% of households have started or expanded businesses as a result of having electricity, and many people who left the villages to seek employment in the cities have come back and started local businesses.
You can read a case study about micro-hydro power in Peru on the Ashden Awards website.
