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Use of biomass energy, friendly to environment
2006-02-08 08:13:05
By Michael Haonga
A workshop pointing at Tanzania’s richness in natural endowments and how to use them in a friendly environment, recently ended in Dar es Salaam.
It was organised by the United Nations Industrial Development Organization (UNIDO). In this article, Michael Haonga, spotlights the recommendations of the vast biomass energy resource utilization by the workshop.
Having started with an outcry of how Tanzania has been suffocating in its development endeavours as a result of reliable and sustained energy source, the workshop ended by hammering out three groups of recommendations aimed at alleviating the problem both in urban and rural areas.
The first group of 78 participants focused on technologies to be applied by Tanzania and her stakeholders within and outside the country to harness the great potential it has in biomass energy resources.
As it were, to set the ball rolling, the participants identified the types of biomass and technologies to be applied stressing at the very outset that whatever and however useful the technologies to be applied may be, they must be environmentally friendly and on sustainable source type.
The vast biomass identified originate from agro-industrial waste -(sisal, coffee, cashew etc). Others were from agricultural waste such as manure, energy, farming and agro-forest types, municipal solid waste and those originating from household waste. As of suitable technologies which must also be environmentally friendly and sustainable in nature, the workshop participants cited four types namely gasification, biofuels, biogas and briquetting.
The four types of cited technologies were also grouped in terms of sizes from small to medium projects. Recommendations were: gasification types, for industrial and community level and biofuels and for biogas for small and large projects.
The recommendations stressed on the need for prioritization of pilot plants, needs assessment, feasibility studies, dissemination, seminars and workshops as well as training.
As for hands-on-experience, the participants recommended intervention to be at three levels, namely on-job training in pilot plants, local capacity training (research, production and manufacturing) in the presence of institutional support.
Along with that, the participants noted that for replication, there was need for the government’s piloting and financial support.
The second group of recommendations hinged on policies and strategies for the country to timely and systematically start harnessing the abounding richness in biomass energy resource.
On this aspect, the participants’ recommendation was at five levels namely incentives/ subsidies, bankable projects, third party sale of electricity, access to technologies/tech-transfer and lastly sensitization.
The aspect of sensitization was seen to be indispensable for all stakeholders in the use of biomass energy. This also includes sensitizing the Africa Development Bank to finance biomass/renewable energy .
Others to be sensitized included biomass energy consumers to enable them learn advantages and adapt to use biomass energy.
Along with that, is the need to facilitate and create an enabling environment for technology access and transfer while at the same time ensuring that local institutions to provide the technologies which are available.
On the sale of electricity, it was underlined that the government should allow existence of a private grid and liberalize the energy sector while at the same time revising the energy act to specifically accommodate biomass technology.
For bankable projects to take off, it was recommended that interest rates should be reduced to loans given to investors in renewable energy harnessing drive as well as for the donor support in the preparation of feasibility studies on renewable energy application.
As for incentives and subsidies, the participants suggested the government to have a policy on taxation on biomass projects - giving tax holiday on biomass energy production, exception on capital goods/equipment, giving direct subsidies to farmers entrepreneurs engaged in biomass energy and establishing renewable energy fund.
As on the aspect of financing as recommended by the workshop’s group three, it underscored need to network banks, government incentives facilitation, renewable energy fund, Bank of Tanzania’s guarantee, provision of soft loans as it is done in India, availability of carbon credits, and existence of a resource centre.
The environment should be enabling presence of a body working on industrial issues, advocating, lobbying and availing assistance whenever needed in the biomass energy tapping.
The group also recommended that UNIDO initiatives were needed in facilitating the tapping of biomass energy resources in the country in a number of aspects such as on matters pertaining to source of finance, promotion, database, demand and studies as well as in conducting investment forums and in capacity building.
The workshop also unanimously agreed that the tapping of biomass energy resources should be initiated sooner than later as it would play a significant role in the country’s drive in the implementation of its National Strategy for Growth and Reduction of Poverty (NSGRP -MKUKUTA).
The workshop which was attended by stakeholders from public and private sectors including resource persons from Vienna Austria, Engineer Walter Danner and Professor V.K. Damodara started with this remark: ’’Of late hardly a day passes without certain sections of the city of Dar es Salaam experiencing power interruption.’’
The remark was from no other stakeholder but the United Nations Industrial Development Organization’s Country Representative for Tanzania and Malawi, Felix Ugbor.
The UN Agency Resident Representative exposed the UN Industrial Development Agency’s rationale for initiating the country’s brain-storming workshop which among other things it reminded on a number of salient features of speeding up development.
The concern did not only rejuvenate the vigour, strength and speedy action to tap the biomass energy resource but also for formation of an information centre in the country to serve as referral point where stakeholders in that endeavour can frequently visit.
He said Dar es Salaam’s intermittent power interruptions did not affect only the city as other parts of the country could too be equally having difficult times. ’’Indeed, last night one television station reported that the situation warranted a surprise visit by Mr President to the power station where he issued some directives,’’ said Mr Ugbor.
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