Biogas firm targets rural areas, farmers

As the energy crisis bites, right after fuel prices shot through the roof, some Kenyan firms have gone green and are busy developing alternative energy sources.

One such green technology firm, Pioneer Technologies has teamed up with Jomo Kenyatta University of Agriculture and Technology to develop biogas-based systems for cooking and cheap electricity.

The biogas is derived from manure through “anaerobic digestion” — without oxygen — using custom-built biodigesters. The biogas is made up of methane and carbon dioxide.

Pioneer’s managing director Samuel Nene says the biogas is produced through three systems: the plastic tubular digester (the cheapest and not complicated), the fixed dome and the floating drum, which are more versatile and come in varying sizes for different customers. These cost $500-$2,000 a piece.

“The digesters are built to capture the gas from the decomposing waste and transmit it through outlets linked to homes or institutions where it is used by specially-made Pioneer biogas burners. The exhausted waste goes out through another outlet as organic fertilizer which is more refined than the manure meaning nothing is lost in the process,” he said.

The firm has special biogas generators to convert the gas to cheap electricity for use by rural farmers.

He also adds that some potential customers such as schools, hospitals and similar big institutions are in a better position to use these bio-digesters for they use vast amounts of expensive fuels that eats heavily into their budgets.

The firm has partnered with USaid, and Lands ’O’ Lakes to provide technical assistance and training to users especially farmers and rural dwellers.

The growing number of firms such as Pioneer that have entered the green energy field by inventing stoves and electricity systems that are energy-efficient through using green sources is encouraging to the government as it grapples with power shortages.

This is important considering the widespread use of ozone-polluting carbon fuels, the main cause of the worsening climatic changes being witnessed globally, according to scientists.

For Keny, climate change-altered seasonal weather patterns, drastically reduced rainfall, drying lakes and rivers have now been sharply brought home by a ravaging drought that has persisted for two years resulting in the devastating famine now wreaking havoc across the country leaving a third of the population facing starvation.

It has also been the cause of the crippling water and energy shortages that are bound to see Kenya’s growth rates stagnate this year too, say economic analysts.

“The biggest challenge is creating awareness about the use of efficient alternative energy through the use of readily available biomas,” said Mr Nene.