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).

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 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 Phong Chau Town, Phu Ninh District, has saved 50 percent of power cost and 60 percent of diesel oil expenses thanks to the generator using biogas. There are 1,000 super-lean pigs in his farm, and to generate power from animal excretes he has set up a 100cu.m biogas cellar and a 50cu.m biogas cellar in the farm.

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