The project “Building Energy Efficient Biogas Cellars for Families in Phu Tho Province” was very successful. It was launched by the Phu Tho Center for Industry Promotion, Consultation and Energy Conservation, within the framework of the National Targeted Program on Energy Efficiency and Conservation.
After the project was completed, it has helped local people solve fuel problems, save power and protect the environment in rural areas.
Nguyen Viet Dung, the director of the Phu Tho Center for Industry Promotion, Consultation and Energy Conservation, said: “In just a short period of time from the last quarter of 2009 to the end of the second quarter of 2010, the center built biogas cellars for 240 households in four communes in Thanh Thuy District. With the success for the project, we will continue to expand the model throughout the province contributing importantly to improving livelihoods in rural areas.”
The project generated 4.8 TJ annually, which could substitute 420 tonnes of agricultural waste for cooking, 600 tonnes of firewood, 60 tonnes of coal dust, 11.3 tonnes of kerosene, 67.5 MWh and 8 tonnes of liquefied petroleum gas (LPG).
With 240 biogas cellars in operation, the district saved almost VND2 billion worth of fuel for cooking and lighting annually.
Apart from the State Budget, most funds for the project came from different sources including the public.
An 8cu.m biogas cellar costs about VND8 million generating 400cu.m of biogas annually thus meeting the need for cooking and lighting in a family with 4-5 members. This means that people can save VND300-400,000 worth of gas monthly, or more than two tonnes of firewood collected from more than 800sq.m of forest. Biogas cellars made it possible for rural people to save power reduce expenses and protect the environment.
Nguyen Van Dien from Residential Area 1 in Bao Yen Commune,
Thanh Thuy District, said that the biogas cellar has helped improve the living The project “Building Energy
Efficient Biogas Cellars for Families in Phu Tho Province” was very successful.
It was launched by the Phu Tho Center for Industry Promotion, Consultation and
Energy Conservation, within the framework of the National Targeted Program on
Energy Efficiency and Conservation.
After the
project was completed, it has helped local people solve fuel problems, save
power and protect the environment in rural areas. Nguyen Viet Dung, the
director of the Phu Tho Center for Industry Promotion, Consultation and Energy
Conservation, said: “In just a short period of time from the last quarter of
2009 to the end of the second quarter of 2010, the center built biogas cellars
for 240 households in four communes in Thanh Thuy District. With the success
for the project, we will continue to expand the model throughout the province
contributing importantly to improving livelihoods in rural areas.”
The project
generated 4.8 TJ annually, which could substitute 420 tonnes of agricultural
waste for cooking, 600 tonnes of firewood, 60 tonnes of coal dust, 11.3 tonnes
of kerosene, 67.5 MWh and 8 tonnes of liquefied petroleum gas (LPG).
Phuong Hoang Kim, the deputy chief of the Office for Energy Efficiency
and Conservation of the Ministry of Industry and Trade: The family biogas cellar project in Phu Tho Province has achieved the
goals and brought about great economic benefits for farmers. It is possible
to learn experiences in Phu Tho and develop the project in the rest of the
country. The Phu Tho Center for Industry Promotion, Consultation and Energy
Conservation is required to continue the project, raise finance to expand the
project in the short run. In particular, the project must target poor
families that are in a dire need of support from the project. |
With 240
biogas cellars in operation, the district saved almost VND2 billion worth of
fuel for cooking and lighting annually. Apart from the State Budget, most
funds for the project came from different sources including the public.
Nguyen Van
Dien from Residential Area 1 in Bao Yen Commune, Thanh Thuy District, said that
the biogas cellar has helped improve the living standard in her family. Now,
with the biogas cellar, one cannot smell animal excretes; rice is cooked using
gas, rather than firewood; and my family can save a little more than VND100,000
worth of power monthly.
Like many families benefiting from the project, Ms Nguyen Thi Son and her family in Residential Area 6 in Xuan Loc Commune, Thanh Thuy District, has built a biogas cellar for cooking and lighting. She said that with more than 20 kg of excretes daily from which biogas is made; her family has saved about VND200,000 monthly. This amount of money is significant for rural families like hers.
In
particular, Mr. Tran Xuan My’s farm in
Dung said that
the success stems from the great support of the National Targeted Program on
Energy Efficiency and Conservation, the Office for Energy Efficiency and
Conservation of the Ministry of Industry and Trade. It is also the result of
the great efforts made by the Phu Tho Center for Industry Promotion,
Consultation and Energy Conservation that has propagandized and trained people
in order for them to have a better understanding of the benefits from biogas
cellars. Three-hundred leaflets and guidebooks have been given to families in
the project site.
The center
has launched four workshops in four project-site communes to help people choose
the best cellar model for them. Experts have also instructed biogas usage and
ways to best use energy for domestic use and farming.
Concurrently,
regular builder training courses have been held to ensure that each and every
commune has at least two building teams and three experienced builders in each
team.
Despite the
success, the Project Authority said that difficulties are many that hinder the
development of biogas cellars in families across the province. Many families
need biogas cellars whereas funds for the project are not much. Moreover, the
cost of a small biogas cellar is still high meaning that many poor families
cannot afford to build it.
By Tran Lieu