KITE Report Biogas Ghana 2008
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Transcript of KITE Report Biogas Ghana 2008
FEASIBILITY STUDY REPORT ON DOMESTIC BIOGAS IN GHANA –REVISED DRAFT
Submitted by KITE to the
Shell Foundation
March, 2008
KITEKITE....innovating clean energy solutions….
i
Table of Content
Table of Content ..................................................................................................................................... i List of Tables ........................................................................................................................................ iii List of Figures ....................................................................................................................................... iv List of Acronyms and Abbreviations ...................................................................................................... v Executive Summary ..............................................................................................................................vii
1 INTRODUCTION............................................................................................................................... 1
1.1 BACKGROUND TO THE STUDY ...................................................................................................... 1 1.2 OBJECTIVES ................................................................................................................................. 3 1.3 RESEARCH METHODOLOGY ......................................................................................................... 4 1.4 THE SCOPE OF THE STUDY ........................................................................................................... 4 1.5 BRIEF PROFILE OF HOUSEHOLDS .................................................................................................. 5
2 COUNTRY CONTEXT ...................................................................................................................... 7
2.1 GEOGRAPHIC AND DEMOGRAPHIC CHARACTERISTICS ................................................................. 7 2.2 AGRICULTURE SECTOR OVERVIEW .............................................................................................. 9 2.3 ENERGY SECTOR OVERVIEW .......................................................................................................10
3 BIOGAS TECHNOLOGIES IN GHANA .......................................................................................15
3.1 HISTORICAL OVERVIEW ..............................................................................................................15 3.2 TYPES OF BIOGAS DIGESTERS IN GHANA ....................................................................................16
3.2.1 The Floating Drum Digester .................................................................................................16 3.2.2 The Fixed Dome Digester ......................................................................................................17 3.2.3 The Puxin Biogas Digester ....................................................................................................19 3.2.4 Conclusion .............................................................................................................................20
3.3 BIOGAS SERVICE PROVIDERS ......................................................................................................20 3.4 THE COST OF BIOGAS DIGESTERS ...............................................................................................21 3.5 LIKELY CHALLENGES TO BE FACED BY THE BIOGAS INDUSTRY ..................................................23
4 MARKET POTENTIAL OF BIOGAS IN GHANA .......................................................................24
4.1 TECHNICAL POTENTIAL OF BIOGAS .............................................................................................24 4.1.1 Resource Availability .............................................................................................................24 4.1.2 Access to Water .....................................................................................................................27
4.2 WILLINGNESS AND ABILITY TO PAY ...........................................................................................28 4.2.1 Willingness to Adopt and Pay for Biogas ..............................................................................28
4.3 ABILITY TO PAY FOR BIOGAS PLANT ..........................................................................................30 4.4 FINANCIAL ANALYSIS ..................................................................................................................34 4.5 ECONOMIC ANALYSIS .................................................................................................................37
5 STAKEHOLDERS ANALYSIS .......................................................................................................38
5.1 PUBLIC SECTOR INSTITUTIONS ....................................................................................................38 5.1.1 Ministries, Departments and Agencies ..................................................................................38 5.1.2 Research Institutions .............................................................................................................40
5.2 CIVIL SOCIETY ORGANISATION (CSO) ........................................................................................40 5.2.1 Non-Governmental Organisations (NGOs) ...........................................................................40
5.3 THE PRIVATE SECTOR .................................................................................................................42 5.3.1 Micro Finance Institutions ....................................................................................................42 5.3.2 Bio-digester Construction Companies ...................................................................................42 5.3.3 End Users ..............................................................................................................................43
6 ASSESSMENT OF THE SUPPLY CHAIN.....................................................................................44
6.1 RESEARCH AND DEVELOPMENT ..................................................................................................44 6.2 DESIGN AND CONSTRUCTION ......................................................................................................45
ii
6.2.1 Technical Experts ..................................................................................................................45 6.2.2 Availability of construction materials ....................................................................................45 6.2.3 End-use Appliance .................................................................................................................46
6.3 MONITORING AND MAINTENANCE ..............................................................................................46 6.4 FINANCING DOMESTIC BIOGAS SYSTEMS ....................................................................................47
7 BUSINESS MODEL FOR PROMOTING DOMESTIC BIOGAS IN GHANA ..........................49
7.1 INTRODUCTION............................................................................................................................49 7.2 PROPOSED BUSINESS MODEL FOR GHANA ..................................................................................50
8 CONCLUSIONS AND RECOMMENDATIONS ...........................................................................54
8.1 CONCLUSIONS .............................................................................................................................54 8.2 RECOMMENDATIONS ...................................................................................................................56 REFERENCE ...............................................................................................................................................58 ANNEXURE ................................................................................................................................................60
Annex 1: Study Methodology ...............................................................................................................60 Annex 2: Biogas Initiatives in Ghana ..................................................................................................64 Annex 3a: Cost Breakdown of Fixed Dome Digesters .........................................................................68 Annex 3b: Cost Breakdown of Fixed Dome Digester...........................................................................69 Annex 3c: Cost Breakdown of 10m3 Fixed Dome Digester .................................................................70
iii
List of Tables
Table 1-1: Regional Distribution of Respondents .................................................................................... 5 Table 2-1: Contribution of Agriculture to GDP (2000-2006) .................................................................. 9 Table 2-2: Livestock Production in Ghana (Values in 1,000s) ................................................................ 9 Table 2-3: Percentage Contribution of Biomass to Total Energy Consumption by Selected Sector 10 Table 3-1: Profile of Selected Biogas Service Providers .........................................................................21 Table 3-2: Cost Breakdown of 6m³ Fixed-dome Biogas Digester .........................................................22 Table 4-1: Distribution of Cattle Population in Survey Regions ..........................................................24 Table 4-2: Household Use of Cow Dung .................................................................................................26 Table 4-3: Willingness to Release Dung for Biogas Production ...........................................................27 Table 4-4: Household Access to Water in the Survey Regions .............................................................27 Table 4-5: Household Knowledge about Biogas Technology ...............................................................28 Table 4-6: Household Willingness to Pay for Bio-digesters ..................................................................29 Table 4-7: Reasons for Indecision .............................................................................................................30 Table 4-8: Purchase of durable household product in the past year ...................................................33 Table 5-1: Potential NGOs and Possible Roles........................................................................................42 Table 6-1: List of Micro-Finance Institutions in Surveyed Regions .....................................................47
iv
List of Figures
Figure 2-1: Map of Ghana Showing Administrative Regions................................................................ 7 Figure 2-3: Electrification Trends in Ghana ............................................................................................14 Figure 3-2: Schematic Drawing of Chinese Fixed Dome (Left) & Completed CFD Digester in Accra .............................................................................................................................................................18
Figure 3-3: CFD Digester under Construction (left) and CFD Being Repaired (Right) (Courtesy
REES) ............................................................................................................................................................19
Figure 3-4: Set up of Puxin Digester (left) Schematic Description of Puxin Slurry-based Digester
(right) ............................................................................................................................................................19 Figure 3-5: Construction of 10m3 Puxin Digester at Private Residence in Accra (Courtesy Beta Construction Ltd) .......................................................................................................................................20 Figure 4-2: Sensitivity of FIRR to Price of Biomass ................................................................................36 Figure 4-3: Sensitivity of FIRR to Subsidy ...............................................................................................37
Figure 7-1: Business Model for Promoting Domestic Biogas in Ghana ..............................................50
v
List of Acronyms and Abbreviations
ADB African Development Bank
AIF Agriculture Investment Fund
AREED African Rural Energy Enterprise Development
ARI Animal Research Institutes
CSIR Council for Scientific and Industrial Research
CWSA Community Water and Sanitation Agency
CSO Civil Sector Organisation
DANIDA Danish International Development Agency
DfID Department for International Development
FGD Focus Group Discussion
EC Energy Commission
EIRR Economic Internal Rate of Returns
EPA Environmental Protection Agency
FAO Food and Agriculture Organisation
FIRR Financial Internal Rate of Returns
GAMA Greater Accra Metropolitan Authority
GCSS Garden City Special School
CDM Clean Development Mechanisms
GDP Gross Domestic Product
GHG Green House Gasses
GIMPA Ghana Institute of Management & Public Administration
GNADO Gia/Nabio Agro Forestry Development Organisation
GPOBA Global Partnership on Output Based Aid
GPRS Growth and Poverty Reduction Strategy
GLSS Ghana Living Standard Survey
GNA Ghana News Agency
GoG Government of Ghana
GRATIS Ghana Regional Appropriate Technology Industrial Service
GSS Ghana Statistical Service
GTZ German Technical Cooperation
HIPC Highly Indebted Poor Countries
IAP Indoor Air Pollution
ICT Information & Communications Technology
IDA International Development Agency
IIR Institute of Industrial Research
ITTU Intermediate Technology Transfer Units
KfW German Bank for Reconstruction
KITE Kumasi Institute of Technology, Energy and Environment
KNUST Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology
KVIP Kumasi Ventilated Improved Project
LPG Liquefied Petroleum Gas
vi
MASLOC Micro Finance and Small Loans Centre
MDG Millenium Development Goals
MFI Micro Finance Institutions
MLGRDE Ministry of Local Government, Rural Development and Environment
MoE Ministries of Energy
MOFA Ministry of Food and Agriculture
MOFEP Ministry of Finance and Economic Planning
NDPC National Development Planning Commission
NGO Non Governmental Organisation
NPO Non Profit Organisation
RTIP Roots and Tuber Improvement Program
RTTC Regional Technology Transfer Centres
SARD Sustainable Agriculture and Rural Development
SEND Social Enterprise Development
SMIDO Suame Magazine Industrial Development Organisation
SNV Netherlands Development Organisation
SPSS Statisitical Package for Social Scientist
UDS University for Development Studies
UER Upper East Region
UNDP United Nations Development Programme
UN-ESCAP United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific
US United States
UWR Upper West Region
VALCO Volta Aluminium Company
WFP World Food Programme
vii
Executive Summary
Harmful environmental, health and social effects associated with the use of traditional
biomass as cooking fuel within poor households have led to the search for alternative
cleaner burning fuels. Domestic biogas is one such technology that has been
successfully promoted as substitute for woodfuels in several developing countries in
Asia. This report presents the finding of a study conducted by the Kumasi Institute of
Technology and Environment (KITE) to assess the feasibility of pursuing a market-
based, enterprise-centred approach to the large scale deployment of domestic biogas
plants in rural Ghana with emphasis on the three northern regions, and the Ashanti
Region. These four regions were selected after a pre-feasibility study conducted in
April 2007 by KITE puts them on top as the regions with the highest potential for
domestic biogas systems.
A combination of quantitative (household surveys and new analysis of nationally
representative data) and qualitative survey techniques (focus groups discussions and
key informant interviews) were employed to gather and analyse the information used
in preparing this report.
The main conclusions of the study are as follows:
It is technically possible for about 80,000 households in the four regions to
install at least one 6m3 fixed dome digesters in their homes to take care of their
daily cooking energy needs. The market potential (estimated based on the
ability and willingness to pay) is however lower representing about 10%
(8,000) of the theoretical potential. However, this market potential does not
currently exist and will have to be developed and grown.
The price of the 6m3 fixed dome digester in Ghana ranges between US$1,200
and US$2,600 according to quotations given by 4 biogas service providers. The
investment cost is several times higher than in several Asian and Eastern
African countries where the technology has been commercialised.
A customer investing US$2,600 in a 6m3 domestic digester and making an
annual savings of US$245 will earn a FIRR of -2% over the 15 years lifespan of
the digester assuming an interest of 10% compared to a FIRR of 21% to be
earned by his counterpart investing US$1,200 in a digester of the same
capacity. This means that there is an inverse relationship between the
investment cost of biogas digesters and the profitability (defined by the FIRR)
viii
of the investment. The FIRR is more sensitive to variations in the cost of the
plant than it is to the variations in the expected benefits of the investment.
There is very little or limited in-country experience with regards to domestic
biogas plants as majority of existing biogas plants are bio-sanitation projects
located in urban centres.
The current supply chain for biogas digester is weak and characterised by few
entrepreneurs located in two major cities. The manpower base (the number of
trained technicians/artisans) is also weak and appears inadequate to handle
huge volumes of demand for the digesters.
On the basis of current lack of existing demand for biogas digesters, the high
digester costs and weak supply chain, it can be concluded that
commercialisation of domestic biogas systems in the survey area in particular
and Ghana in general is not feasible at the moment. However, the decision to
invest in the biogas technology should not only be based on the profitability or
otherwise of the investment since the non-direct financial benefit to the
household and the overall benefits to the society at large provide the economic
justification for public intervention that will create the necessary enabling
environment to kick-start the development of the domestic biogas market.
A social business model focusing on technical training, business development,
financing and market facilitation as its main components and based on the
concept of private-public partnership (PPP) is recommended as the way
forward for Ghana towards harnessing and commercialising its biogas
potential.
In addition to the above recommendation regarding the adoption of PPP, the
following recommendations are also worthy of consideration:
There is the need for comparative research study to be conducted as a matter
of urgency to assess the relative costs and benefits associated with the
promotion of LPG as a cooking fuel in the rural areas vis a vis those of biogas
systems. The findings of this evidenced-based study should be used as a policy
advocacy tool to lobby government to assign the promotion of domestic biogas
in rural areas as a substitute for woodfuels a central role in the country‟s rural
household energy programme.
We recommend that research should be carried out by the Institute of
Industrial Research (IIR) and other research institutions to come up with a
ix
standardised digester type suitable for adoption in a national domestic biogas
programme. If it is established that the fixed dome digester is the cost effective
model as the study has shown, then further research and development work
would have to be carried out to help reduce the investment cost without
compromising on output, reliability and durability.
( I can see why this is important for a programme based approach, however in a
consumer led, market based economy the consumer often wants choice and variety
and therefore one biogas digester wouldn‟t meet everyone‟s needs)
There is also the need for the design and institutionalisation of a
comprehensive tailor-made training programme for technicians, artisans and
owner operators who are going to be involved in the design, construction,
operation and maintenance of the biogas digesters once constructed. This is
intended to produce a critical mass of manpower resources that will be
required to support large scale roll out of domestic biogas digesters in Ghana.
In the medium to long term, a short course on biogas technology should be
included in the curriculum of engineering and technical students in the
Polytechnics and Technical institutes to help train middle level technicians to
become supervisors.
The national biogas programme should be packaged as a CDM project to help
attract carbon funding, which could be used, inter alia, as seed capital for
micro-financing and/or other loans and credit schemes to be instituted under a
biogas promotion programme.
Finally it is highly recommended that a „champion‟ should be identified and
designated to play the role a of a market facilitation organisation tasked with
the responsibility of initiating and coordinating the implementation of the
recommendation s from this feasibility report.
1
1 INTRODUCTION
1.1 Background to the Study
An estimated 2.4 billion people, representing more than a third of the world‟s
population, rely on biomass (wood, charcoal, crop residue and dung) for cooking and
heating. Current trend suggests that another 200 million people will be dependent on
biomass to meet their thermal energy needs by 2030 (Warwick and Doig, 2004). The
heavy dependence of a large segment of the population on biomass fuels has been
recognized as a major obstacle to their socio-economic development. One major
problem associated with the excessive reliance of woodfuels is indoor air pollution
(IAP) caused by smoke generated as a result of incomplete combustion of woodfuels.
The thick acrid smoke from stoves and fires inside homes is one of the four leading
causes of death and disease in the world‟s poorest countries. The main victims of
death from exposure to IAP are women and children. Smoke from cooking is
estimated to cause 10 million premature deaths among women and children in
African by 2030 (Science, 2005).
Apart from the health hazards the traditional use of woodfuels inflict on women and
children, rural women and their families are known to pay a high economic price for
keeping the “fire burning” in their homes. It is estimated that a minimum of two to
three mornings a week is spent by many rural women collecting wood fuel. The
situation is getting worse with stock of woodfuel resources, including agricultural
waste and residue rapidly declining. Although the time spent collecting wood fuel
may not cost them money in real terms, it has been established that this perpetual toil
casts a long shadow over their lives. It denies poor rural women the chance to be
more productive through paid work that would raise their family‟s income, improve
the standard of living and enhance their nutritional and health status.
The over-dependence and utilization of woodfuels is also known to have contributed
partly to deforestation and emission of some greenhouse gases. According to a study
by the University of California, Berkeley and the Harvard School of Public Health1,
smoke from cooking fires will release about 7 billion tons of carbon in the form of
greenhouse gases to the environment by 2050 in Africa alone. That is about 6% of the
total expected greenhouse gases from the continent.
1 See April 1 issue of the Journal “Science”
2
There are a number of options for ameliorating the myriad of harmful effects
associated with traditional uses of wood fuels, including behavioural change,
improved kitchen ventilation, sustainable production of biomass, efficient
wood/charcoal stoves and the use of cleaner fuels. However, the most effective way of
dealing with the problems, especially that of IAP, is to switch to cleaner burning
fuels, such as Liquefied Petroleum Gas (LPG) and kerosene that produces significantly
lower emissions. And although switching to cleaner fuels offer the first-best solution,
current economic conditions and energy infrastructure in developing countries, such
as Ghana, make petroleum-based fossil fuels an unlikely option; commercial fuels,
such as LPG, are in most cases deemed more expensive and not always available.
Consequently, affordable alternatives that are cleaner and more sustainable, and also
reduce women's workload are needed.
Biogas digesters, which convert animal dung, human excrement and other organic
materials into combustible biogas, offer one such technically feasible alternative, since
the gas generated can be used in simple gas cooking appliances. Substituting
conventional cooking material such as woodfuel, briquettes or dung cake, with biogas
not only saves money, but also reduces the workload of mostly women and girls
involved in collection or preparation of these traditional energy sources. Equally
important is the virtual elimination of the IAP associated with the use of traditional
cooking fuels and appliances. Furthermore, the bio-slurry discharged from the biogas
installation retains all nutrients as originally present in the feeding material, and is an
excellent organic fertilizer. The bio-slurry can either be used directly or composted
with other organic farm residue. Thus a biogas plant can improve the health and
living conditions of women and children, reduce the use of firewood, enhance soil
fertility and agricultural production, reduce the emission of greenhouse gases and
creates new jobs and a new business sector.
It is the fascinating prospects of these multiple benefits accruing to households and
communities (mainly in rural areas) that inspired the development and launching of
the “Biogas for Better Life: the African Initiative” in October 2006. The vision of the
initiative is to succeed in African countries, as a market oriented partnership with
governments, private sectors, civil society agents and international development
partners. It aims to provide 2 million households by 2020 with biogas digesters,
business opportunities, improved household livelihood (good health, sanitation, food
security, environment and new jobs). It offers households opportunity to own,
control and operate sustainable energy for their own kitchens at affordable costs. The
very essence of the initiative consists of companies selling biogas plants to households
who are willing to buy. The initiative will support the supply chain as well as
stimulation of demand.
3
The Biogas for Better Life initiative will focus on programmes in countries / provinces
in Africa that provide the best market opportunities, in “pockets of opportunity” with
an ultimate aim of developing a sustainable, commercial biogas sector so as to enable
households to have a better life. One important criterion for selecting countries to
benefit from the initiative is the existence of a short-term technical potential for the
establishment of between 10,000 and 20,000 biogas plants over a period of 5 years.
Preliminary analysis by the Netherlands Development Organisation (SNV) has shown
that 24 countries in Africa, including Ghana, have the technical potential for building
a minimum of 100,000 biogas plants; total technical potential for all 24 countries is
estimated at 17.5 million biogas digesters. Based on availability of domestic cattle,
presence of water, scarcity of woodfuel, population density and temperature, the SNV
study estimates that Ghana has a technical potential for establishing 278,000 biogas
digesters (Biogas for Better Life: an African Initiative, Business Plan 2006-2020, May
2007).
A pre-feasibility study conducted by KITE in April 2007 revealed that the three
Savannah regions – Northern, Upper East and Upper West – by virtue of the fact that
they are the leading producers of cattle in Ghana, have the greatest potential for
promoting domestic biogas systems. The pre-feasibility consequently recommended
that full feasibility study should be conducted in these areas to ascertain the full
market potential in these regions as well as in the Ashanti Region. Although the
Ashanti region did not have a lot of cattle, it was included mainly because of its large
commercial poultry production and the relatively high income levels of households.
1.2 Objectives
The purpose of the study is to evaluate the feasibility of pursuing a market-based,
enterprise-centred approach to the promotion of biogas plants in Ghana with
emphasis on the three northern regions, and the Ashanti Region. The study will also
help to assess the macro environment factors that would impact the biogas business.
The study has the following specific objectives:
i. To understand who the target market are, what their profiles – gender, current
fuel usage, geographic location, income, product usage, demographics, buying
behaviours and needs of this customer segments – are in order to develop an
appropriate market segmentation strategy;
ii. To assess competing sources/supply chains of other energy sources for the
target market;
iii. To calculate both the Financial and Economic Internal Rate of Return
(FIRR/EIRR) on the biogas plant;
4
iv. To analyse current supply chain capacity and propose a number of potential
business model options that would best meet the target consumer demands
and needs that have been identified;
v. To appraise the support mechanisms and systems required to foster the biogas
market. These mechanisms/systems could include appropriate financing
options (such as credit and subsidy schemes, where necessary), business
development assistance for supply chain partners, fiscal incentives such as tax
breaks/concessions, and an enabling policy and regulatory environment that
ensure a level playing field.
vi. To design a marketing and financial strategy for pursuing an enterprise-
centred approach to the promotion of biogas in the four regions, with a view
to expanding the market throughout Ghana wherever market opportunities
exist if the outcomes of the feasibility study is a win-win situation.
1.3 Research Methodology
The study combined both quantitative and qualitative methods of research and
analysis. Due to resource and time constraints, limited household surveys were
conducted in the regions. The results of the household surveys were augmented with
findings from key informant interviews and focus group discussions with specific
stakeholder groups. New analysis of existing nationally representative data was also
conducted to validate the information collected through the limited household
surveys. Detailed description of the methodological approach used to conduct the
feasibility study can be found in Annex 1 in the Annexure.
1.4 The Scope of the Study
The feasibility study covered 206 households drawn from 26 predominantly rural
communities in 18 districts in the four study regions. Table 1-1 gives the regional
breakdown of the survey communities. In addition to the household surveys, a total
of 6 focus group discussions (2 discussion groups per community) involving a total of
45 livestock holding households were held in three additional communities selected
at random in the three northern regions. These communities, which were not
covered in the household surveys, are Sang in the Yendi District in the Northern
Region, Wiaga in the Builsa District in the Upper East Region, Sabuli in the Jirapa
District in the Upper West Region. Key informant interviews involving over 25
individual experts and representatives of NGO‟s such SNV, NewEnergy, etc and
technical institutions such as GRATIS Foundation, IIR, Endurance Works, etc were
5
also conducted as part of the study. The list of institutions and individuals
interviewed is presented in Table A-1 in the Annexure. Table 1-1: Regional Distribution of Respondents
Region District Communities No. of Respondents
Upper West Wa East Bulenga 14
Nadowli Bussie 11
Fian 4
Sissala West Jeffisi 11
Sissala East Kong 6
Wallembele 15
Upper East Garu-Tempane Kugzua 11
Builsa Batuisa 2
Buadam 5
Fumbisi 9
Kassena-Nankana Doba 6
Chiana 12
Chuchuliliga 8
Bawku West Tilli 13
Northern West Gonja Kapilbe 4
Bussunu 8
Monpani 5
Zabzugu Kandin 5
West Mamprusi Nasia 10
Central Gonja Fufulso 9
Tolon-Kungbugu Lungbunga 7
Ashanti Atwima Nwabiagya Akropong 4
Kumasi Metropolitan
Assembly
Nsenie 6
Ejisu-Juaben Onwe 13
Ahafo Ano North Mabang 5
Bosomtwe- Kwanwoma Twindurase 3
Total 18 26 206
Source: KITE Survey 2007
1.5 Brief Profile of Households
Majority (90%) of the household heads were male with the rest being females. Fifty
percent (50%) of the household heads were stark illiterates, 44% were educated up to
the secondary level, with 4% having acquired tertiary education. About 96% of the
household heads were engaged in one form of agriculture related activity or the other
as the main occupation; only 4% indicated that there were civil servants or private
6
entrepreneurs. Agriculture is the main source of income for about 86% of the
household heads. The remaining 14% are engaged in other income earning activities
such as petty trading, artisans (masonry, hairdressing, etc) and bar operators in
addition to farming or animal husbandry. Majority (83%) of the household heads
lived in their own houses majority (64%) of which had mud/earth as the main
flooring material with 30% having concrete floors. Sixty-two percent of the houses
are roofed with corrugated iron sheets while 29% had thatch roofing.
In keeping with nationally representative statistics, groundwater (exploited through
boreholes and hand-dug wells), followed by water from natural sources (rainwater,
rivers and streams) and pipe-borne water are the three main sources of water supply
among the households. Similarly the energy consumption pattern of the households
was consistent with national data with 98% of households relying on woodfuels –
firewood (79%) and charcoal (19%) as their main cooking fuel. In the case of lighting,
60% of the households rely on kerosene for lighting with 38% relying on grid
electricity.
7
2 COUNTRY CONTEXT
2.1 Geographic and Demographic Characteristics
Ghana (formerly known as the Gold Coast) is located near the equator and on the
Greenwich meridian between latitude 40 and 120N and longitude 300W and 10E. It is
bounded by the Atlantic Ocean to the south, Cote d‟Ivoire to the west, Burkina Faso
to the north and Togo to the east. Ghana has a total land area of 238,540km which is
demarcated into ten administrative regions with Accra as the capital as shown in
Figure 2-1.
Figure 2-1: Map of Ghana Showing Administrative Regions
The country is divided into six agro-ecological zones on the basis of their climate,
reflected by the natural vegetation and influenced by the soils. These agro-ecological
zones from north to south are: Sudan Savannah Zone, Guinea Savannah Zone,
Transition Zone, Semi-deciduous Forest zone, Rain Forest Zone and the Coastal
8
Savannah Zone. The four regions covered in the feasibility study are located in
savannah (Northern Region – Guinea Savannah; Upper East and West – Sudan
Savannah) and semi-deciduous (Ashanti) zones.
Climatic conditions differ for each of
the different agro-ecological zones. The
Tropical Eastern Coastal Belt is warm
and comparatively dry, the southwest is
hot and humid and the north is
relatively hot and dry, compared with
the other parts of the country. Mean
annual temperature in Ghana rarely falls
below 25°C, which is very ideal for the
production of biogas.
Rainfall in Ghana generally decreases
from South to North with mean annual
rainfall ranging from 800 mm in the
Coastal Savannah to 2,200 mm in the
Rain Forest. The rainfall pattern is uni-
modal in the Sudan and Guinea
Savannah Zones and bi-modal in all the
other zones.
The 2000 Population and Housing Census, puts Ghana‟s population at 18.9m, an
increase of 53.8% over the 1984 population of 12.3m, which translates into an
intercensal growth rate 2.7% (GSS, 2002). Ghana has a population density of 79.3
persons per sq/km. While the figure suggests no great pressure of population on land,
it obscures regional and district differences in concentration of the population and a
different picture emerges when regional figures are considered. For example, the
population densities of the three most densely populated regions are as follows:
Greater Accra Region (895.5), Central Region (162.2) and Ashanti (148.1) persons per
square kilometre respectively. The population densities for the three other study
regions are Upper East – 104.1, Upper West – 31.2 and Northern – 25.9. Majority of
the population of Ghana (56%) live in rural areas with the remaining 44% living in
urban areas. Apart from Greater Accra (87.7%) and Ashanti (51.3%), the rest of the
country remains predominantly rural, in spite of the substantial increase in the level
of urbanization since 1984 (43.8% compared to 32% in 1984)2 (GSS, 2000).
2 Indeed, none of the remaining 8 regions has a level of urbanization that is above the national average.
Figure 2-2: Agro-Ecological Zones in Ghana
9
2.2 Agriculture Sector Overview
Agriculture is the mainstay of the Ghanaian economy, accounting for an average of
36% of GDP and 35% of export earnings since 2000. The sector is also a major source
of livelihood for up to 60% of the country's labour force who are predominantly
engaged in subsistence agriculture. Crops and livestock, followed by the cocoa sub-
sector have consistently accounted for the bulk of the share of agriculture to GDP as
shown in Table 2-1.
Table 2-1: Contribution of Agriculture to GDP (2000-2006)
2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006
Crops And
Livestock 22.01 22.25 22.43 22.35 22.12
23.8 23.8
Cocoa Sub-sector 4.81 4.58 4.36 5.77 7.60 4.6 4.7
Forestry &
Logging 3.89 3.92 3.94 3.95 3.98
3.6 3.4
Fishing 4.57 4.49 4.42 4.30 4.24 4.1 4.0
Total 35.27 35.24 35.15 36.38 37.94 36.0 35.8
Source: GSS/MoFEP, 2007
Ghana is the second leading producer of cocoa globally and until recently when cocoa
was displaced by gold, the commodity had been the major foreign exchange earner
for the country. The livestock industry is a major sub-sector in the agricultural sector
contributing an estimated 7% (in direct product) to the agricultural GDP (FAO,
2006). Cattle, sheep, goat, pigs and poultry are the main livestock produced in Ghana,
with the poultry industry being the largest and most successful. Although both large
and small-scale livestock production exists in Ghana, the latter dominates animal
husbandry in Ghana. Large farms are more prevalent in the country‟s middle and
coastal belts as well as near large urban centers. Table 2-2 shows the total livestock
population in Ghana from 1980 to 2006.
Table 2-2: Livestock Production in Ghana (Values in 1,000s)
Species Year
1980 1990 2000 2002 2006
Cattle 804 1,145 1,302 1,330 2,750
Sheep & Goat 3,875 4,242 5,820 6,150 13,297
Pigs 379 474 324 310 1,463
Poultry 11,500 9,686 20,474 24,251 22,984
Total 16,558 15,547 27,920 32.041 40,494
Source: FAO, 2005a and GSS, 2008
10
The table shows that total livestock in Ghana as at 2006 is a little over 40 million and
that poultry, sheep and goat, and cattle are the three most dominant species. The table
is also a pointer to the availability of feedstock for the generation of biogas through
anaerobic digestion.
2.3 Energy Sector Overview
Ghana‟s energy sector is characterized by huge dominance of traditional biomass
resources. In terms of endowment and utilization, biomass (mainly woodfuels –
firewood and charcoal – and to a lesser extent crop residues) is the most important
primary energy resource in Ghana accounting for an average of 69% of total primary
energy and 63% of final energy consumed in Ghana between 2000 and 2003 (Energy
Commission, 2005).3 The dominance of biomass in Ghana‟s energy balance is also
evident in all key sectors of the economy as shown in Table 2-3.
Table 2-3: Percentage Contribution of Biomass to Total Energy Consumption by Selected Sector
Sector
Year
2000 2001 2002 2003
Residential 90.4 90.5 90.3 90.0
Commercial & Service 77.4 78.5 79.2 78.9
Industrial 66 62 61 61
Agriculture and Fisheries 3.6 3.9 4.0 4.2
Source: Energy Commission, 2005
Biomass is used almost exclusively for food processing in all the sectors with
unprocessed firewood being the most dominant fuel followed by charcoal and to a
limited extent crop residue. The bulk of woodfuels (90%) used in Ghana is obtained
from the natural forest with the remaining 10% coming from wood waste
(logging/sawmill residue and planted forest).
The woodfuel industry is also a major source of employment for most rural and the
urban poor people. It has been estimated that about 0.45 million people are directly
involved in the production, transportation and marketing of fuels in the country as a
primary occupation, while over 2 million people engage in the trade as secondary
occupation. Although usually unrecognised in the national income accounts, the
3 It is important to note that the percentage contribution of biomass to Ghana‟s energy balance has
averaged approximately 71% between 1974 and 2001.
11
woodfuels help conserve an estimated US$560 million in foreign exchange annually,
which would have been used to import other forms of energy (MoEN, 2002)
However, Ghana‟s woodfuel resources are depleting at an alarming rate (3% per
annum) owing to the unsustainable exploitation and management of the resources.
Annual woodfuel supply is estimated to be 18 million tonnes and growing, with
demand expected to outstrip supply by the end of 2008 when annual demand is
estimated to top 21 million tonnes. A total supply shortfall of 13 million tonnes is
projected to occur by 2020 in a business-as-usual scenario. The projected shortfall in
supply will create significant access constraints for households using woodfuels for
cooking. Switching over to cleaner burning fuels such as biogas can, inter alia, help
stem the depletion of the biomass energy resource.
Petroleum is the second most widely used form of energy in Ghana accounting for
27% of total final energy consumed in 2003 (Energy Commission, 2005). Ghana
imports all its crude oil needs and finished petroleum products. The crude oil
imported is refined at the Tema Oil Refinery (TOR), which is wholly owned by the
Government of Ghana, with capacity of 45,000 Barrels per Stream Day (BPSD).4
Currently, there are 26 licensed Oil Marketing Companies (OMCs) who until recently
were primarily responsible for retailing of petroleum products. However following
the ongoing deregulation of the petroleum sub-sector, these OMCs are allowed to
import refined and unrefined petroleum products into the country. The prices of
petroleum products, which are supposed to be uniform throughout the country, are
fixed by the National Petroleum Authority (NPA). The final retail price for the
various products is a build-up of the ex-refinery prices, margins for the various
portions of the supply chain – primary distributors, dealers and marketers – and
several other taxes/levies.5
Electricity is the third most important energy source in Ghana accounting for 7% of
the estimated 6.1 million tonnes of oil equivalent (MTOE) of total final energy
consumed in Ghana in 2004. The electricity sector in Ghana is a public monopoly,
with generation and transmission vertically integrated in the Volta River Authority
(VRA) while the Electricity Corporation of Ghana (ECG), a fully state-owned
enterprise, and Northern Electricity Department (NED), a subsidiary of VRA, handle
distribution. Electricity is produced from two main sources: hydro and thermal. Two
hydro power plants, located at Akosombo and Kpong, with a total installed capacity
4 The GoG has however dropped the hint in June 2006 of its intention of privatising the TOR through
the public flotation of shares on the Ghana Stock Exchange 5 i. e. excise duty specific, debt recovery fund levy, social impact mitigation levy, road fund levy,
energy fund levy, exploration levy and strategic stock levy
12
of 1,180 MW provide the bulk of electricity produced in the country. Thermal power
generation sources comprise two plants of 330MW and 220 MW. To meet total
system demand, these power plants are supplemented with imports (up to 250 MW
when available) from neighbouring La Cote D‟Ivoire. Total generation capacity in
Ghana was 1,895 MW in 2005, of which 1,140 MW was from hydropower, and 570
MW from thermal plants. In addition, 185 MW was contracted from Côte d‟Ivoire
through imports.
Although, Ghana is endowed with a lot of renewable energy resources, especially
solar, virtually all these resources remain untapped. The development of the
renewable energy resources, including biogas, is therefore a key policy objective of
the government of Ghana. The development of Ghana‟s bioenergy resources comes
under three main energy policy objectives of the government, which are as follows:
Secure and increase future energy security by diversifying sources of energy
supply;
Accelerate the development and utilisation of renewable energy and energy
efficiency technologies; and,
Minimise the environmental impacts of energy production, supply and usage.
The government long-term policy objective for renewable energy is to achieve 10%
penetration of renewables in the national energy mix by 2020. Biogas, mainly from
municipal solid waste, has been mentioned as one of the technologies being
considered to achieve this ambition target. The Ministry of Energy has oversight
responsibility over the energy sector. The Energy Commission, the Public Utilities
Regulatory Commission and the National Petroleum Authority are the other public
sector bodies regulating the energy sector operations.
As mentioned earlier, biomass is the predominant cooking fuel among Ghanaian
households. The use of modern cooking fuels such as LPG and kerosene combined is
less than 10% and this is after nearly two decades of promoting LPG as substitute for
woodfuel. Table 2-4 shows the main sources of cooking fuels for households in
Ghana. The table confirms the heavy dependence of households on traditional
cooking fuels, revealing that an average of 87% of households in Ghana use firewood
(56.6%) and charcoal (32%) as their main cooking fuels. It is important to flag that
more than 90% of households in each of the four study regions rely on traditional
cooking fuels with as high as 98% of households in Northern and Upper West regions
using woodfuels as the main cooking fuel. Although only 65% of households in the
Upper East region are reported to depend on woodfuels, 32% of the remaining
households use agricultural residue as their main cooking fuel bringing the regional
13
dependence on biomass to 98%. Obviously, the successful deployment of biogas
systems in the survey regions will go a long way to change the cooking energy mix of
households in the regions.
Table 22-4: Household Source of Cooking Fuel in the Region
Region
Fuel Type (%)
Non-Woodfuels Woodfuels
Electricity LPG Kerosene Agric
residue
Others Firewood Charcoal
Ashanti 0.6 7.5 0.7 0.1 0.7 50.6 39.9
Northern 0.1 1.3 0.2 0.2 0.1 81.8 16.4
Upper East 0.4 1.2 0.0 32.8 0.2 55.0 10.4
Upper West 0.0 1.1 0.2 - 0.3 80.2 18.2
Western 0.2 6.3 0.3 0.0 0.6 65.2 27.3
Central 0.1 4.6 0.9 0.1 0.2 63.1 31.1
Gt. Accra 0.3 29.4 2.1 - - 7.2 59.8
Volta 0.1 2.3 0.4 0.2 0.1 73.2 23.7
Eastern 0.3 4.6 0.5 0.4 - 71.2 22.9
Brong-Ahafo 0.1 2.7 0.3 0.2 0.6 77.6 18.5
Ghana 0.3 8.5 0.7 1.3 0.5 56.6 32.0
Source: Ghana Statistical Service, 2005
Table 2-5 on the other hand shows the main source of fuel for lighting in Ghana.
Table 22-5: Main Source of Fuel for Lighting
Region
Fuel Type (%)
Grid
Electricity
Kerosene Gas Genset
Battery Candles Others
Ashanti 58.5 40.9 0.1 0.1 0.0 0.3 0.0
Northern 28.0 71.1 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.1 0.7
Upper East 14.0 84.7 - 0.0 0.6 - 0.7
Upper West 17.0 78.2 - 0.1 0.1 0.2 4.3
Western 49.3 50.2 - 0.2 0.0 0.2 0.0
Central 46.1 53.3 0.1 0.1 0.0 0.3 0.0
Gt. Accra 78.9 18.7 1.3 0.1 0.1 0.7 0.3
Volta 35.4 64.2 0.1 0.1 0.1 0.0 0.1
Eastern 41.0 58.7 0.1 0.0 0.0 0.1 0.1
Brong-Ahafo 41.9 57.6 0.1 0.0 0.0 0.1 0.3
Ghana 48.9 50.1 0.3 0.1 0.1 0.2 0.3
Source: Ghana Statistical Service, 2005
14
The table reveals that although access to grid electricity in Ghana (49%) is relatively
high (compared to access rates in the African region), fuel-based lighting using
kerosene is still the main source of night illumination among Ghanaian households. It
is also evident from that table that access to modern lighting services is lowest in the
three northern regions with the Upper East region having the least number of
households (14%) with access to grid electricity. Access to electricity is even much
lower among rural households (27%) compared to 79% level of access within urban
households.
Fuel-based lighting systems are known to be inefficient solutions to meeting the
lighting energy needs of households and hinder development. Ghana has since the
early 1990 been embarking on an ambitious National Electrification Programme,
which seeks to extend the national grid to all households in Ghana by 2020.
Although significant strides have been made since 1990 as shown in Figure 2-1,
further extension of grid network to remote rural locations has increasingly become
expensive and impossible to be carried out. Off-grid, decentralised power systems
therefore remain the only hope for rural households to gain first-time access to
modern lighting services. Biogas systems can help improve access of rural households
to improved lighting services.
6978 79
9
202730
4149
0
20
40
60
80
100
1991/92 1998/99 2005/06
Year
Le
ve
l o
f A
cce
ss (
%)
Rural Urban Total
Figure 2-2: Electrification Trends in Ghana
15
3 BIOGAS TECHNOLOGIES IN GHANA
3.1 Historical Overview
The conventional use of cow dung as source of fuel for cooking has been a common
practice for many years in Ghana, especially in the northern savannah regions where
there are usually scarcity of firewood and charcoal for household cooking. However,
the development of anaerobic digestion systems for conversion of waste to biogas for
cooking and lighting became popular in Ghana only in the 1980s when the
government and its environmental agencies became alarmed about the rapid
devastation of large tracts of forest land for charcoal and firewood production.
Ghana‟s forest cover has dwindled from 8.13 million hectares at the beginning of the
last century to 1.6 million hectares today at a net annual rate of 3%. The rapid
depletion of the woodfuel resource base coupled with projected increase in the
demand for woodfuels in future with its attendant social and environmental effects
brought into sharp focus the need for alternative cooking fuels sources to be
developed and exploited. The biogas technology was consequently selected as one
such option.
The first biogas demonstration plant – a 10m3 Chinese fixed dome digester - was
constructed in 1986 by the Ministry of Energy at the Shai Hills cattle ranch in the
Greater Accra Region, with the support from the Chinese government. A year later in
1987 the United Nations Children Fund (UNICEF) supported the construction of a
couple of domestic biogas demonstration plants at Jisonayilli and Kurugu in Northern
region. The Ministry of Energy in the same year also established one of the first major
comprehensive biogas demonstration projects in Ghana - the “Integrated Rural
Energy and Environmental Project” at Apollonia, a village located some 46 kilometres
from Accra. The Apollonia Biogas Plant used animal dung and human excreta to
generate 12.5 kilowatts of electric power for street and home lighting as well as
cooking, while the bio-slurry was used for agriculture. The Catholic Mission in Ghana
also constructed 3 biogas plants (2 in the Eastern Region and 1 in the Volta Region) at
as many hospitals between 1994 and 1995.
Apart from these isolated, largely donor-driven initiatives, there has not been any
systematic attempt at promoting the biogas technology on a large scale in Ghana. In
1996 the Ministry of Energy commissioned a study – the National Biogas Resource
Assessment (NBRA) Project6 to be conducted. The objective of the study was to assess
6 Ampofo, Kwame (RESDEM Ltd.): National Biogas Resources Assessment, (MoEN, 1996)
16
the biogas energy potential of various geographical areas of the country, with the aim
of promoting the dissemination of biogas technology nationwide to suitable rural
communities, as a means to supplement their energy resource base and through that,
help improve their socio-economic well being. This study was intended to be the first
step in the planning and the development of a nationwide biogas programme.
However, after over more than a decade since the study was completed and the report
submitted to the Ministry, there is no sign that a national biogas programme to
promote domestic biogas systems is in the offing. In 2007, the government announced
in the budget statement a plan to increase the production and utilization of biofuels in
the national energy mix. However, this was only targeting the production of jatropha
oil as a substitute to crude oil.
Notwithstanding the absence of a clear-cut strategy for the promotion of the biogas
technologies in Ghana, a number of systems have been built since 1996. Interviews
conducted with the entrepreneurs involved in the construction of biogas plants
during the study indicate that a little over 100 biogas plants have been installed in
Ghana till date. Table A-3 in the annexure contains a profile of selected biogas
installations. The table shows that majority of these plants are bio-sanitation
interventions such as waste/effluent treatment plants and biolatrines, which are
largely, located in educational and health institutions in predominantly urban areas.
It is also evident from the table that there are very limited number of domestic biogas
plants in Ghana and that apart from the few donor-funded systems in Jasonayilli and
Okushibli, none of the domestic biogas plants built so far can be found in rural areas.
3.2 Types of Biogas Digesters in Ghana
Three main types of digesters – the Indian Floating Drum, the Chinese Fixed Dome
and the Puxin Biogas Digesters – have been designed, tested and deployed in Ghana.
3.2.1 The Floating Drum Digester
The floating drum digester (popularly called the Gobar Gas Plant) is believed to be
have been developed by an Indian, Jashu Bhai J Patel, in 1956. In this design, the
digester chamber is usually made of brick masonry in cement mortar. A cylindrical
shaped mild steel drum is placed on top of the digester to collect the biogas (gas
holder) produced from the digester. Thus, there are two separate structures for gas
production and collection. As the biogas is produced in the digester, it rises vertically
and gets accumulated and stored in the gas holder at a constant pressure of 8-10 cm of
17
water column. Figures 3-1 shows cross-sectional schematic diagram of the floating
drum digester and 10m3 digester at Appolonia respectively.
Figure 3-1:Cross-Sectional Schematic of FDD (left) and 10m3 Digester at Apollonia (right)
Although the floating drum technology has some advantages such as ease of
construction, ease of determining the level of gas in the tank and guaranteed gas
pressure, the technology is less preferred because it is relatively more expensive
(because of the steel drum), has a shorter lifespan due to problems with corrosion and
associated with high maintenance cost. The technology has become largely obsolete
with the advent of the Chinese fixed dome with the Appolonia plant being the only
known biogas installation in Ghana where the floating drum technology has been
used so far.
3.2.2 The Fixed Dome Digester
The fixed dome model biogas plant (also called drumless digester) was built in China
as early as 1936. The Chinese fixed dome plant is the archetype of all fixed dome
plants. A fixed-dome plant comprises of a closed, dome-shaped digester with an
immovable, rigid gas-holder and a displacement pit, also named 'compensation tank'.
It basically consists of an underground brick masonry compartment (fermentation
chamber) with a dome on the top for gas storage. In this design, the fermentation
chamber and gas holder are combined as one unit as shown in Figures 3-2. This
design eliminates the use of costlier mild steel gas holder which is susceptible to
corrosion. The life of fixed dome type plant is longer (from 20 to 50 years) compared
to floating drum plant.
18
Figure 3-1: Schematic Drawing of Chinese Fixed Dome (Left) & Completed CFD Digester in
Accra
The CAMARTEC7 fixed dome digester is by far the most popular biogas digester
deployed in Ghana as can be seen from Table A-3 ( or is it 2?). The model, which has
a simplified structure of a hemispherical dome shell based on rigid foundation ring
and a calculated joint of fraction, was developed in the late 1980s in Tanzania. Quite a
number of the CAMARTEC fixed dome digesters are fitted with external balloon gas
holders for storage of gas produced.
The fixed dome plants have a number of advantages, which include low initial costs
and long useful life-span; no moving or rusting parts involved; compact basic design;
saves space and well insulated; and creates local employment during construction.
However, it has its own demerits notable among which is the requirement of high
technical skills to ensure air-tight construction as poor masonry work results in gas
leakages. Similarly, the fluctuating gas pressure tends to complicate gas utilisation and
makes fixed dome unsuitable for many other applications.
7 CAMARTEC is the acronym for Centre for Agricultural Mechanisation and Rural Technology
based in Arusha, Tanzania.
19
Figure 3-2: CFD Digester under Construction (left) and CFD Being Repaired (Right) (Courtesy
REES)
3.2.3 The Puxin Biogas Digester
The Puxin Biogas Digester (PBD) is an innovation of the Shenzhen Puxin Science and
Technology Co. Ltd. of China, and an emerging bio-digester technology in Ghana.
The technology, which is based on the floating dome principle and application of
slurry based feedstock, is reputed to have inherited all the advantages of the fixed
dome and the floating drum digesters while at same time overcoming their main
disadvantages. The PBD is a hydraulic pressure biogas digester, composed of a
fermentation tank built with concrete, a gas holder made with glass fibre reinforced
plastic and a digester outlet cover made with glass fibre reinforced plastic or concrete.
The gasholder is installed within the digester neck, fixed by a component; the
gasholder and digester are sealed up with water.
Figure 3-3: Set up of Puxin Digester (left) Schematic Description of Puxin Slurry-based
Digester (right)
20
More than 10 Puxin plants have been built since 2007 when it was first introduced in
Ghana. Figure 3-5 shows a 10m3 Puxin plant under construction in Accra, Ghana.
Figure 3-4: Construction of 10m3 Puxin Digester at Private Residence in Accra (Courtesy Beta Construction Ltd)
3.2.4 Conclusion
Several stakeholders were asked during the study to indicate which of the various
types of biogas digesters should be recommended for a national domestic biogas
promotion programme. The Chinese fixed dome was picked by the overwhelming
majority of respondents on the basis of its durability and relative cost advantages. It
was also established during the study that a 6m3 fixed dome digester with estimated
daily gas production 1.4 m3 will be able to supply the daily cooking energy needs of a
household of 5-8 individuals.
3.3 Biogas Service Providers
The feasibility study has revealed that there are at least 10 private registered
companies who are actively involved in the design and installation of biogas systems
in Ghana. Some of these companies, in addition, offer consultancy services to other
service providers. Table 3-1 contains a brief profile of a selected number of biogas
service providers who were interviewed during study. As can be seen from the table
some of the service providers have over 10 years experience in the construction of
biogas systems. Although Beta Civil Construction Ltd appears to be the oldest among
the lot, it should be noted that the company only ventured into biogas construction in
2006.
21
Table 3-1: Profile of Selected Biogas Service Providers
Company Date
Established
Workforce
(Full
Time)
Type of Biodigester
Installed
Number of
Digesters
Installed
Biogas Engineering Ltd 2002 6 CAMARTEC fixed dome
type, and effluent
treatment plants
10
Biogas Technologies West
Africa Limited (BTWAL)
1994 148 Fixed dome and effluent
treatment plants
35
RESDEM 1996 Mostly bio-latrine
digesters
25
UNIRECO 2001 5 Mostly bio-latrine
digesters
Global Renewable Energy
Services
1996 4 Traditional Fixed Dome
with external gas holders
20
Beta Civil Construction
Ltd.
1975 25 Puxin Biogas Digesters 12
Renewable Energy and
Environmental Systems
(REES)
2002
Source: KITE Survey, 2007
BTWAL appears to be largest of the companies with current staff strength of about
148 full time employees and 102 casual labourers. The company also has the highest
number of installations to its credit. Almost all the service providers are based in
Accra.
3.4 The Cost of Biogas Digesters
Majority of the service providers interviewed were generally hesitant to provide
typical cost of biogas digesters when the question was posed to them for the simple
reason that cost is location and site specific. In their opinion, standardisation of cost
could be misleading. However, when pushed further to gain a rough idea of the
typical cost of digesters, a figure of between US$200 and US600 per m3 capacity was
given as the rule of thumb cost estimate of digesters in Ghana. Quotations for the
construction of 6m3, 8m3 and 10m3 capacity Chinese fixed dome digesters and 6m3
Puxin digester were collected from four major service providers – UNIRECO, REES,
the IIR and Beta Construction.
Table 3-2 shows the current cost of constructing the listed digesters while Annex 3
shows the cost breakdown of some of the biogas plants. The table indicates that the
22
cost of 6m3 Chinese fixed dome digester ranges between US$1,200 and US$2,600
while that Puxin digester of the same capacity is estimated at approximately
US$2,700. The lower estimate of US$1,200 was quoted by the IIR, which is a division
of the Council for Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR), a public sector institution
charging lower rates for labour and project supervision than the two private sector
service providers. Table 3-3 also shows significantly different estimates being quoted
by REES and UNIRECO, both private sector concerns. As can be seen from Annex 3,
the cost differential is attributable to the fact that UNIRECO proposes to use fewer
blocks and less costly labour in the construction of the digester.
Table 3-2: Cost Breakdown of 6m³ Fixed-dome Biogas Digester
Name of Company
Cost Breakdown (US$)
Digester Size
6m3 8m3 10m3
UNIRECO
Materials 990 1,064 1,190
Labour 496 596 794
Supervision 199 298 298
Other cost 60 99 99
Total cost 1,745 2,056 2,382
Renewable Energy and
Environmental Systems
(REES)
Materials 1,232 1,683
Labour 798 1,137
Supervision 300 500
Others 270 240
Total cost 2,600 3,660
Institute of Industrial
Research (IIR)
Materials 840 1120 1,736
Labour 180 240 300
Supervision 60 80 100
Others 120 160 200
Total cost 1,200 1,600 2,336
BETA Construction Ltd
(Puxin Digesters)
Materials 1,938
Labour 400
Supervision 300
Others 48
Total cost 2,684
Source: Authors‟ Construct based on Key Informant Interviews
Table 3-2 further reveals that the investment cost of biogas systems in Ghana is
higher than in Asia and other parts of Africa. For example, while the investment costs
of an 8m3 fixed dome digester in Ghana range between $1,600 and US$2,000, similar
plants can be procured for US$574 in Kenya (about three times less), US$960 in
Uganda, US$417 in Nepal and US$245 in Vietnam (Source: ETC Group, 2007).
23
3.5 Likely Challenges to be faced by the Biogas Industry
Limited availability of feedstock, poor design quality, lack of technical know-how,
high operating and maintenance cost, and lack of access to financing have been found
to be some of the challenges that have confronted some of the past biogas initiatives
presented above.
a) Raw Material Availability: Lack of adequate quantities of cow dung is reported
to be one of the key problems that led to the collapse of the Apollonia and
Jasonayilli domestic biogas plants. In some cases additional dung had to be found,
collected and transported to the two plants to augment the dung collected overnight
from the kraals. This led to high O&M cost. To address this challenge, future
promotional programmes on biogas should ensure that all targeted households have
enough cattle to produce the daily dung requirements of the digesters to be built.
b) Lack of Technical Expertise: It has been found that the owner-operators of
past biogas systems lacked the basic skills required for everyday operation of the
plants. No training on how to operate and maintain a biogas system was provided for
their domestic and institutional beneficiaries neither were there any operating
manuals for the plants. Technicians who were supposed to provide post-installation
support service lived several kilometres from the location of the plants hence were
not readily available when needed. Training of endusers and/or the preparation of
easy-to-read and user-friendly operating manuals would therefore have to be made a
major component of future biogas programmes.
.
c) High Investment Cost: The initial cost estimate for the acquisition of a 6m3
fixed dome biogas digester (US$1,200-US$2,600) could be a key inhibiting factor for
majority of potential households willing to switch over to biogas. According to the
GEF Small Grant Programme, „brick-lined underground fixed dome is too expensive
for the rural poor and that a cheaper design needs to be developed‟ (GEF, 2006).
Unfortunately, the fixed dome is the preferred digester type as indicated in section
3.2.4. Further investigation should be carried out to understand why the cost of the
technology with the same specifications is cheaper in other countries but so
expensive in Ghana. Service providers think that the cost would be significantly
reduced once there is demand for commercially challenging volumes of domestic
biogas digesters due to economies of scale.
There were some other challenges in the last draft – financing and alternative
energy. Also had key lessons learnt in the last draft
24
4 MARKET POTENTIAL OF BIOGAS IN GHANA
4.1 Technical Potential of Biogas
The technical potential for domestic biogas plants in the surveyed regions has been
estimated based on the number of households that satisfy two basic (but critical)
requirements – sufficient availability of cow dung and water to run a biogas
installation. The assessment of the biogas potential is underpinned by the following
key assumptions:
Cow dung is the main feedstock8;
Rural households with cattle and practicing zero grazing or at least night-
stabling are the initial target market;
Only energy for cooking is being considered
4.1.1 Resource Availability
Provisional results from the fifth round of Ghana Living Standard Survey (GLSS 5)
put the total cattle population in the 4 survey regions at approximately 2.3 million
heads representing 82% of the total cattle reared in Ghana in 2005/06. The cattle are
owned by a total of over 180,000 households, 84% of which (153,000) are agricultural
households yielding an average cattle holding per agricultural household of 14.8% as
shown in Table 4-1.
Table 4-1: Distribution of Cattle Population in Survey Regions
Region Cattle Pop. No. of Cattle
owning
Households
No. of Cattle
Owning Agric.
Households
Av. Cattle per
household
Northern 982,847 98,090 85,142 11.5
Upper West 787,681 28,250 23,645 33.3
Upper East 454,112 47,577 39,441 11.5
Ashanti 36,355 6,455 4,874 7.5
TOTAL 2,260,995 180,372 153,102 14.8
Source: Ghana Statistical Service, GLSS 5 Provisional Results, 2008
8 Although there are other species of livestock in Ghana, the estimation of the technical potential has
been based only on cow dung because according to Ampofo (1996), cow dung appears to be the only
feedstock in all the regions that has practical utility for the economic production and application of
biogas based on available technology and technical know-how.
25
The table indicates that majority of the cattle holding in the surveyed regions can be
found in the three savannah, with the Northern region alone accounting for at least
44% of them.
For a domestic biogas plant to work properly, the household should typically have a
minimum of 20-30 kg of fresh dung available on a daily basis. This minimum daily
dung production can typically be produced by 2-3 domestic cattle (at least stabled at
night). However, given that the cattle breeds reared in Ghana (just as in many other
West-African countries) are small and undernourished, more cattle heads or days of
night stabling will be needed to produce sufficient dung required for the daily
production of gas to meet cooking energy needs of each household. In an interview
conducted during the surveys with research scientists at the Animal Research
Department at Navrongo Campus of the University for Development Studies (UDS), it
was revealed that 7-10 heads of the Ghana short-horn cattle (the predominant cattle
breed in Ghana) will be needed to produce the required 20kg of dung overnight while
the same number of the Crosses and the Zebus will produce 25kg in an overnight
kraaled situation.
On the basis of this finding and with specific reference to the average number of
cattle per agricultural household given in Table 4-1, it can be concluded that each of
the agricultural households in the regions covered in the study, will have the requisite
number of cattle needed to produce sufficient dung on a daily basis to run a typical
domestic biogas since average cattle holding per household is equal or more than 7 in
all the regions.. Thus, the theoretical potential of biogas in the surveyed regions
could be put at 153,000 biogas digesters.
The actual technical potential of biogas digesters in the four regions is estimated by
multiplying the number of cattle owning agricultural households by a cattle holding
factor (chf), which is determined by the average cattle holding of the country.
According SNV (2006?), a chf of 0.75 is applicable for countries with average domestic
cattle holding of more than three heads per agricultural household; Ghana‟s is 12.7.
The technical potential of domestic biogas in the surveyed region is therefore
estimated at 114,827 (153,000 X 0.75) installations. Given that the target market is
rural households coupled with the fact that 71% of all cattle owned by households are
concentrated in predominantly rural areas (GSS, 2000), the technical potential of
biogas can be downgraded further to 81,5279 installations.
9 This represent 71% of the theoretical potential
26
The estimation of the technical potential for biogas has been based on the assumption
that all the dung to be produced by the cattle will be available and accessible for the
generation of biogas. However, according to Ampofo (1996), „cow dung has a high
opportunity cost and occupies a very important place in some village economies,
particularly those of the Upper East and Upper West regions”. In these areas cow
dung is used, inter alia, as manure, building material (for plastering and binding),
cooking and as bait for termites used to feed poultry. Such is the importance of dung
to some rural households that some women in the Upper East region were reported to
literally follow cattle, to pick up their droppings for use either at home or on the farm
(Ampofo, 1996). This means that there are (and likely to be) competing uses for the
dung, which could further reduce the technical potential for biogas.
The household survey confirms that there are indeed alternative and multiple uses for
dung at the moment as shown in Table 4-2. The table indicates that the predominant
use of cow dung in the households visited is its application as manure on the farms
and that only 8% of the respondents said they did not have any use for the dung,
hence disposing of it.
Table 4-2: Household Use of Cow Dung
Uses of animal waste % respondents
Farm manure 50.5
Manure and binding material 28.4
Dispose off 8.3
Manure and plastering 7.8
Manure, binding and plastering 2.0
Binding material 1.5
Manure, energy, binding and
plastering 1.5
Total 100
Source: KITE Survey, 2007
However, an overwhelming majority (98%) of the household respondents indicated
their willingness to release the dung for the production of biogas as shown in Table 4-
3. Although these are only verbal and non-binding assurances from the sampled
households, the fact that majority of them are mainly using the dung as manure
effectively reduces any potential non-supply risk since the slurry to be produced from
the biogas plants will give the household manure of a better quality.
27
Table 4-3: Willingness to Release Dung for Biogas Production
No. of respondents % respondents
Yes 200 98.0
No 4 2.0
Total 204 100
Source: KITE Survey, 2007
4.1.2 Access to Water
Apart from having adequate collectable feedstock to feed the biogas plants on a daily
basis, access to reliable water supply is also a major prerequisite that has to be met due
to the fact that the dung has to be mixed with roughly equal amounts of water and/or
urine to enable both the installation‟s microbiological process as well as the hydraulic
functioning. Although the process water does not have to be potable, the significant
amount needed daily means that water should be available in the vicinity of the
household; within typical a distance of say 20-30 minutes of the installation(s). Access
to water (defined as the proximity to nearest water source – measured in terms of
time taken to reach the nearest water source) in all the regions covered in the survey
is relatively high as shown in Table 4-4.
Table 4-4: Household Access to Water in the Survey Regions
Region Level of Access (%)
Rural Urban Total
Ashanti 97.4 99.3 98.4
Northern 74.4 92.9 80.2
Upper East 89.6 92.2 90
Upper West 88.1 97.0 87.7
Ghana 83.1 94.9 94
Source: Ghana Statistical Service, 2003
The table indicates that averagely, 94% of households in Ghana take less than 30
minutes to reach their nearest water source. An important aspect of the statistics
presented in Table 4-4 is the high level of access to water (averaging 86%) among
rural households (the targeted market) in all the surveyed regions. This suggests that
access to process water required for the biogas plant might not be a major constraint.
constraint. ThisThis fact notwithstanding, it should be borne in mind that the
introduction of biogas plants on the scale that is being envisaged could put further
strain on the water resources of the regions, especially in the three northern regions,
where the water resources appear to be overstretched already. Evidence of this fact is
28
immediately
67%
in three
months
23%
in six
months
3%
in a year
4%
not sure
3%
the falling groundwater levels being observed in the Upper Regions for example
(FAO, 2007).
4.2 Willingness and Ability to Pay
4.2.1 Willingness to Adopt and Pay for Biogas
Although majority of the household respondents (94%) knew practically nothing
about the biogas technology prior to the household surveys (see Table 4-5), a large
proportion of them became fascinated and excited about the technology after the
research team had taken time to introduce it to them. Consequently, majority of the
respondents (90%) expressed their willingness to switch over from woodfuels to
biogas, with 67% indicating their preparedness to adopt the technology immediately
as shown in Figure 4-1.
Table 4-5: Household Knowledge about Biogas Technology
Knowledge level No. of respondents % respondents
Has some knowledge 12 5.8
Has no knowledge 194 94.2
Total 206 100
Source: KITE Survey, 2007
Figure 4-1: Willingness to Switch to
Biogas
Not only did the households say
they were willing to go in for
the switch, but an
overwhelming majority (99%)
were also willing to pay for the
technology as indicated in Table
4-6. The table also reveals that
about 10% of the households
were willing to pay between one
and a half and three times their
current cooking energy bill10 to
acquire the biogas digesters under one of the scenarios they were presented with; a
10 This works up to between US$432 and 1440 for firewood users and $342 and 1140 for charcoal users.
29
greater majority (89%) however did or could not indicate how much they are willing
to pay for their revealed preference for biogas. It should be noted however that the
findings of this qualitative analysis can at best be described as indicative since the
sample size does not allow for generalisaton of the regional household populations.
Majority (87%) of respondents who were unable to indicate their preferences for
either of the scenarios attributed their “indecision” to the fact that they are not
currently spending on cooking fuels (hence had no basis of comparison) as shown in
Table 4-7. It came out strongly during a number of interviews with such households
that they will be more willing to pay for the biogas plant if it were to provide lighting
as well since their expenditure on lighting was significant. Although a 10m3 digester
will be able to provide lighting, its investment costs is higher than that of the 6m3
digester (see Table 3-3) which will most likely be unaffordable by the household. It is
also evident from Table 4-7 that another 12% of the respondents did not pick any of
the scenarios because in their view the technology was too expensive.
Table 4-6: Household Willingness to Pay for Bio-digesters
Willingness to pay
No. of
respondents %
Yes 204 99
No 2 1
Total 206 100
Scenario 1
twice current energy bill for maximum of 5 years 8 4.1
thrice current energy bill for 5 years 9 4.6
1.5 times more 3 1.5
none of the above 175 89.7
Total 195 100
Scenario 2
same price as septic tank (equivalent of US$
2550) 3 33.3
half the price of septic tank 1 11.1
one-third the price of septic tank 4 44.4
none of the above 1 11.1
Total 9 100
Scenarios 1 and 2
One of the available options 28 13.7
None of the above 176 86.3
Total 204 100
Source: KITE Survey, 2007
30
Table 4-7: Reasons for Indecision
Reasons %
Expensive 11.9
may move away 0.6
more than 3times 0.6
no cooking fuel expense 87.0
Total 100.0
Source: KITE Survey, 2007
Meanwhile, the fact that 87% of the households interviewed indicated that they do
not pay for the use of firewood raises questions about their declared willingness to
switch to biogas since they will have very little economic incentive to doso. However,
available national statistics show that the stock of woodfuel resources in Ghana has
dwindled considerable thereby restricting household access to high quality woodfuel.
This situation has been projected to worsen. Information from the household survey
and the FGDs points to an acute situation in the three northern regions resulting in
the illegal felling of economic trees such as shea butter for firewood. “The forest is
gone”, they remarked. With no or very little non-woodfuel based alternative available
within reasonable distances (see Table 4-8), these households are compelled to travel
an average distance of over 5 kilometres to collect firewood as shown in Table 4-9.
Table 4-8: Alternative Sources of Cooking Fuels
Energy source No. of respondents % respondents
Electricity 1 1.5
Wood 26 40.0
Charcoal 27 41.5
crop residue 11 16.9
Total 65 100
Source: KITE Survey, 2007
Table 4-9: Average Distance to Fuel Source (km)
Energy source Gas Wood Charcoal Dung
Average distance 34.7 5.2 0.5 0.009
Source: KITE Survey 2007
The evidencefrom the above suggest that traditional cooking fuels are becoming
scarcer and scarcer in the Northern Regions and this is going to continue unless
alternative and more sustainable cooking fuels are found or made available.
4.3 Ability to Pay for Biogas Plant
31
Mere expression of willingness to pay does not in anyway guarantee an effective
demand for the technology; willingness to pay must be backed by ability to pay in
order for the biogas marketplace to exist. The study thus assessed the financial ability
of households in the survey region to afford the investment cost of a biogas plant,
estimated be in the region of US$ 1200 and US$2,600 for a typical 6m3 fixed dome
biogas digester.
To gain a rough idea of income and expenditure levels and patterns in the surveyed
regions as proxies for households‟ ability to pay, households were asked during the
structured questionnaire interviews to indicate their average annual incomes and
expenditures. Table 4-10 shows, inter alia, the mean annual income and expenditure
of the respondents. As evident from the table mean annual expenditure and income of
households interviewed are US$2,145 and US$3,695 respectively, implying excess
income over expenditure of US$1,500 plus. Mean household income is surprisingly
highest in the Upper East Region (the poorest region in Ghana) and lowest in the
Ashanti region; this is mainly because the Upper East Region accounted for the largest
number of household interviewees coupled with the fact that majority of household
members in that region earned incomes in addition to the household heads. The
income and expenditure figures suggest that the survey households should in
principle be able to afford the upfront cost of any biogas digester selling for US$1,500
or less based on the assumption (albeit unrealistic) that they (households) will be
willing to spend all of their excess income on the technology.
Table 4-10: Annual Income and Expenditure Levels of Surveyed Households
Region Household Expenditure (US$)
Min Max Mean Std. Deviation
Ashanti 544 7,789 2,485 1,565
Upper West 590 7,252 1,807 1,010
Upper East 487 10,293 2,337 1,524
Northern 487 6,727 2,089 1,425
Total 487 10,293 2,145 1,386
Household Income (US$)
Ashanti 725 8,219 3,072 1,622
Upper West 1,088 8,461 3,158 1,888
Upper East 1,450 12,087 4,580 2,227
Northern 967 9670 3,565 2,370
Total 725 12,087 3,695 2,275
Source: KITE Survey, 2007
However, these income and expenditure figures cannot be considered as
representative of the population at the district, regional or national level because of
32
the smallness of the sample size. In fact much lower mean annual household income
levels are recorded among livestock owning households in the four regions in
nationally representative statistics as shown in Table 4-11 below.
Table 4-11: Average Annual Income of Livestock Owning Households (2005-26)
Region Mean Annual Household Income (US$) Total
Male Female
Ashanti 1,148 1,110 1,135
Northern 1,853 1,254 1,692
Upper East 634 583 620
Upper West 736 421 626
Ghana 1,410 1,140 1,320
Source: GSS 2008, Provisional GLSS 5 Results
The statistics in Table 4-11 shows that perhaps with the exception of the Northern
region, no households in the other regions will be able to afford a down-payment
(outright purchase) for the minimum upfront cost of US$1,200 for a 6m3 fixed dome
digester even in the event that the household decides to spend all of their annual
income to acquire the technology. However, it is implausible and unrealistic to expect
households to make full payment for biogas plant since the investment costs appears
to exceed the means at the disposal of the targeted investors and cannot be covered
from their regular incomes or savings. Clearly, a financing mechanism has to be
devised to facilitate the uptake of the technology considering the fact that service
providers usually demand down-payment before construction works will commence.
As a general rule of thumb, access to financial incentives has been singled-out as a
prerequisite for the success of any large scale biogas initiative (See ISAT-GTZ, Biogas
Digest, Volume III)
Results from the KITE survey confirm the need for outside (perhaps borrowed) capital
to help households cover the investment cost associated with the acquisition of the
biogas digesters. Using an investment cost of US$ 86011 and assuming that 50% of the
cost would be absorbed through subsidy and/or unpaid labour, the households were
asked to indicate how much they will be able to pay on a monthly basis to defray the
remaining investment cost given several scenarios. Table 4-12 captures the responses
of the households. About 45% of households indicated that they have the ability to
pay the equivalent of between US$10 and US$17/per month (US$120-US$170 per
year) for 3-5 years to acquire a 6m3 fixed dome digester.
Table 4-12: Household Preferred Repayment Schedule
11 Based on estimates provided by SNV during the survey
33
Options No. %
GH¢ 17 for 3 years 8 4.3
GH¢ 12.5 for 4 years 8 4.3
GH¢ 10 for 5 years 65 36.0
Others 105 55.4
Total 186 100
Source: KITE Survey, 2007
Among the 55% of households indicating repayment modes other than the 3
scenarios presented them, 71% indicated the ability to pay less than GH¢10 each
month to defray moneys borrowed to finance the investment cost, 8% were willing to
pay between GH¢10 and GH¢20 per month, with 20% willing to pay between GH¢20
and GH¢50 as depicted in Table 4-13.
Table 4-13: Other Preferred Repayment Mode
Monthly Payment No. %
1-9 GH¢ 75 71
10-20 GH¢ 8 8
20-50 GH¢ 21 20
Above 50 GH¢ 1 1
Total 105 100
Source: KITE Survey, 2007
To further establish whether or not the households have the wherewithal to acquire
the biogas digester, they were asked whether they had bought any household durable
product over the past 12 months. Table 4-14 shows their responses. As can be seen
from the table, 36% of households indicated that they had bought things such as
television sets, motorbikes, bicycles, refrigerators and mobile phones spending the
equivalent of US$290 on average per household as indicated in Table 4-15.
Table 4-8: Purchase of durable household product in the past year
Response
No. of
respondents
%
respondents
Yes 75 36.4
No 131 63.6
Total 206 100
Source: KITE Survey 2007
34
Table 4-15: Cost of durable household product
Statistics cost of product (GH ¢)
Mean 288.6
Minimum 12.0
Maximum 2400.0
Source: KITE Survey 2007
Majority (47%) of the items procured by households in the last year were motorbikes
and bicycles. The amount expended on motorbikes range between approximately
US$200 and US$1,400. The highest household expenditure of US$2,400 was made on
building materials, which was paid for in instalments. Majority of the items bought
(73%) were purchased through outright cash payment, with the rest either being paid
for in instalment or through the barter system.
Although the statistics point to high indicative ability to pay among households
reporting purchase of some household durables, little can be made of it in terms of its
implication for the market for biogas digesters since they represent only 36% of the
limited sample of 206 household. Perhaps a more important statistics will be the fact
that 64% of all the household respondents had not purchased any durables over the
past year, suggesting a lack of ability of make such investments.
4.4 Financial Analysis
Financial analysis evaluates the profitability of biogas plant from the point of view of
the users. Individual households judge the profitability of biogas plants primarily from
the monetary surplus gained (profit) from utilizing biogas and bio-fertilizer in relation
to the cost of the plants.
The financial analysis has been conducted with reference to a 6m3 biogas plant with a
daily gas production potential of 1.4m3, sufficient enough to meet the daily thermal
energy needs of a household of 5-8 people. As indicated in section 3.4 the investment
cost of this type of digester ranges between US$1,200 and 2,600. The benefits derived
from the use of the technology has been estimated primarily from savings in
expenditures on biomass12; other known benefits such as saved labour and recovered
nutrients in the slurry have not been considered in this analysis. The base price for
biomass is estimated at US$0.12 per/kg. The basic data and assumption for the
financial analysis is presented in Table 4-16.
12 Although majority of the households do not purchase firewood used, its value has been calculated based on the prices of woodfuel on the market. Theoretically, the firewood collector of the family could sell the amount that will be displaced by biogas to the firewood market.
35
The financial analyses yield a financial internal rate of return (FIRR) of 21% and -2%
respectively for the two investment cost scenarios of US$1,200 and US$2,600. This
means that in the lower case scenario (US$1,200) a household with access to credit,
and can make say a 10% down payment of (US$120), can borrow the rest of the
investment funds of (US$1,080) at a yearly interest rate 10% payable in 4 years and
still earn 21% return on the investment in the biogas plant. Such a household will
have a financial incentive to invest in the biogas technology since the FIRR is higher
than the minimum acceptable rate of 10% (which is the cost of capital), provided such
benefits are well explained and understood.13 There is no such incentive for the
household in the higher investment cost scenario (US$2,600) unless and until there is
significant reduction in the investment cost. A minimum of 45% reduction in
investment cost will be required under this scenario for the investment to return a
yield of 11%, which will still not be attractive to low income households.
Table 4-16: Data for Financial Analysis
Parameters Amount US$
Remarks Scenario 1 Scenario 2
Investment Cost 1,200 2,600
Annual Maintenance
Cost
24 52 2% of Investment Cost
Subsidy - -
Net Cost 1,200 2,600
Down Payment 120 260 10% of Investment
Cost
Loan Amount 1,080 2,340
Annual Loan
Repayment
341 738 10% interest, 4 year
term
Lifetime of Plant 15years 15years
Benefits
Annual Savings Unit (kg)/hh/yr Unit Cost ($) Total Annual Benefits
(US$)
Biomass 2,108 0.12 245
Figure 4-2 shows the degree of responsiveness of the FIRR to variations in project
benefits occasioned by changes in the price of biomass.
13 A FIRR of 21% may still not be attractive to households since experiences from agricultural farming have shown that low income farms/households become interested at FIRR of 30% (See Biogas for Better Life: an African Initiative - Business Plan, 2006-2020).
36
FIRR Vs Price of Biomass
0
12 14 1620
25 27 29
45
-14
-6 -4 -3 -1 1 2 38
-20
-10
0
10
20
30
40
50
122 196 209 220 245 269 281 293 369
Benefits
FIR
R (
%)
Scenario 1:IC=1200 Scenario 2:IC=2600
Figure 4-1: Sensitivity of FIRR to Price of Biomass
The figure reveals that the FIRR is less sensitive to changes in the price of biomass.
For example, not even a 50% increase in the price of biomass (from US$245 to
US$369) can make the investment worth the while of the household in Scenario 2
since it will only give a FIRR of 8%, which is still less than the cost of capital.
Similarly, a 40% reduction in the estimated investment benefits only reduces the
FIRR obtainable under Scenario 1 from 20% to 12%, which is still higher than the
cost of capital thus providing some marginal justification for the household to make
the investment.
Figure 4-3 on the other hand presents the sensitivity analysis of changes in the price
of biogas digester (possibly caused by provision of subsidy, development of cheaper
models, and economies of scale) on FIRR for the 6m3 digester. The figure shows that
the FIRR is relatively more sensitive to variations in the investment cost; a 50%
reduction in investment cost will increase the FIRR from 20% to 56% in Scenario 1
and from -1 to 13% in Scenario 2. Even a 30% increase in subsidy (or reduction in
investment cost) will yield the „magical‟ 30% plus14 FIRR that will attract investor
interest.
14 Experiences from other countries indicate that a FIRR of 30% plus is needed to trigger the interest of low income agricultural households (See Biogas for Better Life: An Initiative for Africa Business Plan, pg 23) .
37
FIRR Vrs Subsidy
2025
32
42
56
0 15
813
0
10
20
30
40
50
60
10% 20% 30% 40% 50%
Level of Subsidy
FIR
R(%
)
Scenario 1:IC=1200
Scenario 2:IC=2600
Figure 4-2: Sensitivity of FIRR to Subsidy
4.5 Economic Analysis
Unlike financial analysis, economic analysis attempts to assess a project in the context
of the national economy rather than that of the individual investor. Due mainly to
dearth of reliable data on key parameters such as shadow prices (shadow wage rates
and exchange rates, the determination of which is often complicated and contains a
great deal of uncertainty) and the amount of transfer payments (taxes, duties, interest
rates, subsidy, etc) embedded in input costs, the Economic Internal Rate of Return
(EIRR) for the 6m3 biogas unit has not been estimated in this feasibility study. This
notwithstanding the economic justification for widespread dissemination of biogas
plants has never been in doubt. There are documented evidence from countries such
as Nepal and Bangladesh that the EIRR of domestic biogas programme could go up to
as high 68% when all other accruable project benefits, such as domestic labour
savings, expenditure saved by the substitution of mineral fertilizers with bio-
fertilizer, reduction in CO2 emissions and deforestation, are captured and included in
the analysis. It is plausible to conclude that similar high EIRRs will be obtained for
Ghana once all project benefits are captured in an economic analysis.
38
5 STAKEHOLDERS ANALYSIS
This section assesses all individuals, institutions and organisations (both public and
private) that have a stake in or will impact on the development of the market for
biogas systems in Ghana. The stakeholder categories profiled in this section include
public and private sector organizations as well as civil society organisations.
5.1 Public Sector Institutions
5.1.1 Ministries, Departments and Agencies
The involvement of state institutions is essential to guarantee government
commitment (political will) toward creating the enabling environment required to
stimulate the market for biogas digesters in Ghana. Governments will be expected to
play the public role that corresponds to a market-oriented approach by creating an
enabling environment for the market, providing grants and tax breaks, drawing up
standards and legitimising the programme. The following are the list of identified
public sector stakeholder institutions:
The Ministries of Energy (MoE)
The Ministry of Energy is the sector ministry responsible for the formulation of
energy policies as well as the coordination of all organizations operating in the energy
sector for the achievement of the government‟s energy objectives. The Ministry of
Energy will be expected to formulate policies that will promote the commercialisation
of biogas systems and provide enabling environment rife with incentives to stimulate
private sector involvement in the biogas sector. A broad national policy on biogas will
provide, among other things, the institutional and regulatory framework for the
development of the market. It is worth mentioning at this point that the MoE already
have some pro-renewable policy objectives (though not explicitly on biogas – see
section 2.5) that could be drawn upon to underpin the proposed biogas project.
Energy Commission (EC),
The Energy Commission (EC) was established in 1997 by the Energy Commission Act
(Act 541). The EC is tasked with the responsibility of licensing, regulating and
monitoring energy services providers; developing national energy plans; and
providing advice to the Minister of Energy on energy policy issues. Basically the EC is
in charge of technical regulations of the energy sector. The EC will be instrumental in
39
supporting the development and enforcement of agreed technical standards and
licensing of service providers.
Ministry of Local Government, Rural Development and Environment (MLGRDE)
The Ministry of Local Government, Rural Development and Environment exists to
promote the establishment and development of a vibrant and well resourced
decentralized system of local governance for the people of Ghana and ensure balanced
rural development. Among other things the MLGRDE facilitates horticultural
development, good sanitation and orderly human settlement development. As the
umbrella Ministry for all the Districts, Municipal and Metropolitan Assemblies in the
country, the MLGRDE and its allied Districts, Municipalities and Metropolitan
Assemblies could serve as useful conduits for commercialisation of biogas systems in
the respective assemblies. Stringent and enforceable standards for the disposal of
animal waste in the districts for example would provide a huge economic impetus for
the private sector to consider the biogas technology.
The Ministry of Food and Agriculture (MOFA)
The Ministry of Food and Agriculture (MOFA) is the Ministry charged with the
development and growth of agriculture in the country. Its primary roles are the
formulation of appropriate agricultural policies, planning & co-ordination, and
monitoring and evaluation. The vision of the ministry is to accelerate growth in
agricultural productivity through modernization of the sector to enhance rural
development. With agencies and units throughout the country, the animal
production units of MOFA could be a vital role in the identification and scoping of
households. In addition, MOFA through its extension officers could recommend to
farmers the adoption of husbandry practices that will ensure adequate production and
easy collection of dung. Furthermore, implementation of a fertilizer extension
program to maximize the benefits of bio-slurry, will also benefit MOFA in its effort to
improve agricultural productivity. MoFA also have already demonstrated their
interest in the biogas technology through the construction of the biogas plant at Sege
(See Table A-2 in Annex 2).
The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA)
Established in 1994 by an Act of Parliament (Act 490), the EPA is the key agency in
Ghana responsible for the control of air pollution and the protection of the
environment. The EPA ensures compliance with laid down environmental impact
assessment procedures in the planning and execution of development projects. The
EPA may have the ability to influence the biogas initiative through the enforcement
40
of environmental standards that could legislate against or outlaw the dependence on
woodfuels as the main household cooking fuel, and thus influencing the adoption of
biogas as a clean alternative cooking fuel for the rural communities.
Community Water and Sanitation Agency (CWSA)
The primary responsibility of the CWSA is to provide clean and potable water to rural
communities as well as promote environmental sanitation. The CWSA has presence
in all the surveyed regions providing improved access to safe water and sanitation
facilities, especially in rural communities. It will be useful for the biogas service
providers to work in tandem with CWSA and the District/Metropolitan Assemblies to
improve upon the water supply situations in rural communities with significant
amount of feedstock but have limited assess to water resources. The CWSA will also
have a huge role to play as and when the dissemination of biolatrines becomes a part
of any national biogas programme in Ghana.
5.1.2 Research Institutions
Science and energy research institutions have critical roles to play in the form of
designing models of digesters suitable for the Ghanaian context as well as improving
the quality of the products. Other important roles that can be played by the research
institutions include assisting the development and commercialisation of end-use
appliances such as stoves, gas lamps, gas valves, slurry mixers and water drains. In
addition, the research institutions can also assist in the training of construction
artisans. Collaborating research institutes may include the Industrial Research
Institute (IRI) and the Animal Research Institutes (ARI) both of the Council for
Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR), and the Agricultural Engineering
Department of the KNUST. Most of these institutions have conducted extensive
research into the biogas technology and thus have immense experience and capability
to provide technical support to the programme.
5.2 Civil Society Organisation (CSO)
5.2.1 Non-Governmental Organisations (NGOs)
The inclusion of civil society organisations (CSOs) such as Non Governmental
Organisations (NGOs) and Community-Based Organizations (CBOs) at the national
and community level is necessary for the successful implementation of any biogas
initiative in Ghana. NGOs and CBOs involvement will be required in areas of
41
coordination, public awareness creation and education and mobilisation of the end
users to create sustainable market for the product. Specifically, the CSOs will be
involved in market development and scoping/training of entrepreneurs. Some
identified NGOs and CBOs who can play roles in future biogas promotion programme
at the national and community level are profiled below.
The Energy Foundation
The Energy Foundation is a non-profit, public-private partnership institution
established in 1997 to promote sustainable development and efficient utilisation of
energy in all of its forms in Ghana. The Foundation is the implementing agency for
the Energy Demand-Side Management Programme of Ghana and has gained
international recognition for its innovative and effective energy efficiency
interventions. The Energy Foundation has in the past facilitated the construction of
biogas plants in the University College of Education, Winneba (UCEW). The Energy
Foundation‟s social marketing approach of influencing behavioural change in energy
consumers could be adapted to facilitate the extensive promotion and public
education on biogas in Ghana.
Kumasi Institute of Technology, Energy and Environment (KITE)
KITE is a wholly Ghanaian Not-for-Profit organisation and a leading actor in the
Energy, Technology and Environment sectors. Since its inception eleven years ago,
KITE has built a unique capacity in the development and implementation of public
benefit enhancing projects in the Energy, Technology and Environment sectors.
KITE's capacity has been built through a broad range of project and program
experiences, partnerships with key national and international actors and the
development of sound internal management and reporting capabilities. KITE‟s key
strength has been its ability to identify projects be they policy or infrastructural that
address the energy needs of the underserved populace. KITE is also a major proponent
of the enterprise centred approach to the provision of access to reliable modern
services, having benefited from over year eight (8) of involvement with the African
Rural Energy Enterprise Development (AREED) Programme.
Table 5-1 contains the list of other potential NGO and CBO partners identified in the
surveyed areas based on their energy and rural development orientation/inclination.
42
Table 5-1: Potential NGOs and Possible Roles
Potential NGOs Region Suggested Function
New Energy Northern Supervision and
implementation
TRAX Upper East Promotion, liaison
between communities
and partners – MFIs,
technical experts
SEND Foundation Upper East Region Supervision and
implementation
Source: KITE Survey 2007
It is worth noting that the potential NGO and CBO partners provided above is not
exhaustive and the formation of coalition of NGOs/CBOs will be critical to facilitate
the commercialisation of biogas in Ghana.
5.3 The Private Sector
5.3.1 Micro Finance Institutions
The participation of financial institutions particularly the Micro-Finance Institutions
and the Rural Banks will be crucial to the successful commercialisation of the biogas
technology. The MFI will be expected to design innovative and tailor-made financing
products to provide loans/micro-credit to end-users who cannot afford outright
purchase of the biogas systems. Identified Micro Finance Institutions (MFI) who
could be partnered includes Rural Banks in the targeted markets, the SINAPI ABA
Trust, the Women World Banking, and the Micro-Finance and Small Loans Centre
(MASLOC).
5.3.2 Bio-digester Construction Companies
The bio-digester construction companies represented mainly by the private sector are
considered to be key “driver” of the commercialisation of the technology and will be
required to provide products of the highest quality and also ensure that routine
maintenance is provided to end-users on demand. There are currently few private
firms involved in the biogas business in Ghana as shown in Table 3-2. The identified
biogas construction firms include, RESDEM (Consulting) Limited; Environment
Technology Limited, Biotech Engineering Limited, and Biogas Technologies West
43
Africa Limited. The rest are Beta Construction Limited, UNIRECO and Global
Renewable Energy Services. Capacity building for existing firms and
unearthing/training of new biogas service providers is necessary to ensure that the
project has adequate supply-side actors to support the large scale deployment of
quality biogas products in Ghana.
5.3.3 End Users
Rural agricultural households in the Ashanti, Northern, Upper East and Upper regions
with adequate number of cattle and have the means to make some financial
commitment towards the acquisition of the digesters will constitute the targeted
market to be provided with biogas digesters on demand. The success of any biogas
programme will depend on the willingness and readiness of the cattle owning
households to buy the digesters. With current knowledge about the technology so
low at the moment among these households, a vigorous educational and promotional
campaign will have to be embarked upon to help stimulate the demand for the
products.
44
6 ASSESSMENT OF THE SUPPLY CHAIN
This section assesses the ability and the capacity of the existing and potential supply
side actors and stakeholders to serve the potential market for biogas digesters and
allied services.
The biogas supply chain is defined to include all activities, resources and skill set
required to facilitate the smooth delivery of biogas systems to the final consumer.
Findings from the study emphasize the need for an institutional framework that will
enhance linkages for diffusion/supply of biogas in Ghana. The identified elements of
the supply chain for Ghana include research and development, design and
construction, maintenance and monitoring and, financing.
6.1 Research and Development
Research and Development (R & D) is an important component of the biogas supply
chain. R&D which seeks to identify suitable design models for the Ghanaian context,
improve the quality of the product and reduce production cost is vital to the creation
of a profitable and sustainable domestic biogas market. Although stakeholders were
unanimous in their choice of the Chinese fixed dome biogas digesters over the other
types of digester, the study has shown that the cost of the fixed dome digester, which
is even cheaper than the alternatives, appears to be too high and unaffordable to
households in the target market. This calls for intensification of R&D activities to
either bring the cost down or come up with a cheaper but durable alternative that
will be affordable without compromising on its quality.
However, the study has revealed that none of the existing science/energy research
institutions identified in section 5.1.2 has an on going research and development
programme on biogas technologies. In view of the fact that the private sector will not
be willing to fund such research programme, public resources will have to be relied
upon to support R&D in established research institutions. Technology transfers from
countries like China, India, Tanzania, etc where prices of the products are lower than
Ghana can also be pragmatically pursued in lieu of new research that could be more
expensive.
45
6.2 Design and Construction
6.2.1 Technical Experts
The market diffusion of biogas systems on a large scale will require a pool of technical
experts and/or institutions capacitated to deliver quality installations and post
installation services on demand. As evident from section 5.3.2, there exist limited
number of private companies involved in the design and construction of biogas plants
in Ghana. Majority of these companies when interviewed were of the view that they
have enough technical capacity to handle any increases in demand for the biogas
digesters. They argue that they have trained enough technicians to supervise the
skilled artisans (masons, carpenters, etc) who will be and are being used in the
construction of the digesters and since masons and carpenters abound through out the
country, they do not think availability of manpower could be a constraint to large
scale commercialisation of the biogas technology.
Experience from countries like Nepal and Kenya has shown that slightly more
number of private firms than we do have at the moment need to be established to
ensure constant product and service availability as well as quick turnaround time.
Therefore more biogas-related businesses will have to be assisted to be set up while at
the same time providing support to existing companies to expand their capacity to
become significant players capable of producing several hundreds of biogas systems
within a year. In addition comprehensive training programmes for artisans and
technicians should be designed and organised to ensure the availability and readiness
of skilled labour as and when needed.
6.2.2 Availability of construction materials
Interviews with stakeholders confirms that with the exception of gas metres and gas
balloons, the rest of the materials used in the construction of biogas such as cement,
blocks, bricks and pipes are generally available on the Ghanaian market. However,
about 95% of these materials are produced in the southern industrial cities like Accra,
Tema and Takoradi. This means that construction materials becomes expensive the
farther one moves from the major production centres. For example, the cost of a bag
of cement in the Northern or Upper Regions could be about three times higher than
the price pertaining in Accra. In view of the fact that the price differential is due to
transportation charges (usually road haulage), there appears to be very little one can
46
do about increasing project cost as one moves further up north the country from the
south. Having said that, it should be noted that the transportation charges could be
reduced significantly if more construction materials are to be hauled per trip to any
installation site, and. bulk haulage makes economic sense only when there is bigger
demand for the digesters.
6.2.3 End-use Appliance
Most Ghanaian homes and commercial restaurants use round-base pots and large pots
that are usually not compatible with the western type of stoves. Customized stoves
(biogas cookers in this case) for the Ghanaian household will therefore be useful for
the successful promotion of biogas digesters. The local manufacture of other enduse
appliances and accessories such as gas lamps, gas valves, slurry mixers and water
drains will also be crucial for commercialisation of biogas in Ghana. The survey
identified GRATIS Foundation15,Endurance Metal Works and a network of local
metal artisans involved in the fabrication of stoves and other equipments in the
surveyed regions as potential institutions that could be relied on to fabricate and build
the above listed component parts and appliances.
6.3 Monitoring and Maintenance
Guaranteed after sales service by service providers is key to the success of the biogas
technology. The study has indicated that although there exists a handful of
construction companies in Ghana, these companies are mainly located in Accra the
national capital and normally do not provide after-sales support. This makes it
expensive for service providers to undertake routine maintenance and repairs away
from Accra leading to the break down of most systems. To ensure the successful
market diffusion of biogas in Ghana the construction firms will need to have a
presence close to the beneficiaries to facilitate regular visits when complaints are
lodged by end-users. In addition, the construction companies will have to offer
routine maintenance programmes and guarantees spanning a reasonable number of
years on the plant, pipes, fittings and appliances.
15 GRATIS Foundation – GRATIS Foundation is a government supported institution that trains technicians, adept in
technical construction and also provide service. To accomplish its mandate, GRATIS established the Regional Technology
Transfer Centres (RTTCs) in nine regions of Ghana to transfer appropriate technologies to small-scale industrialists.
47
6.4 Financing Domestic Biogas Systems
Loan and credit schemes for supporting potential end-users who cannot afford to
make upfront payment for the biogas system is important for the successful
commercialisation of biogas in Ghana. Results of the assessment of households‟ ability
to pay vis-à-vis their incomes and expenditure indicate that most potential users may
not be able to make upfront payment for the system. This situation calls for measures
such as investment subsidies and credits to facilitate access to the systems by end-
users who can not afford to make upfront purchase. A number of micro-credit
schemes currently operate in Ghana. However most of these micro credit schemes are
special purpose funds skewed towards livelihood (income generation), agriculture and
food security programmes. There is currently no credit/loan scheme for bio digesters
(or for any renewable energy technology for that matter) in the country. The project
will thus have to consider developing a financing facility in collaboration with the
existing micro-finance institutions in the catchments area of the project to enable low
income households overcome the high upfront cost barrier.
Table 6-1 shows the list of Micro Finance Institutions (MFIs) identified in the various
districts and regions covered by the study and a brief summary of the terms and
condition for granting credit to eligible applicants.
Table 6-1: List of Micro-Finance Institutions in Surveyed Regions
Region Rural banks Interest rate Credit institutions Interest rate
Ashanti
Juaben Rural Bank 10-28%pa SINAPI ABA Trust 30-35%pa
Ahafo-Ano
Premier Rural
Bank
20-30%pa Garden City Savings
and Loans Limited
15-30%pa
Atwima Mponua
Rural Bank
36%pa Women‟s World
Banking
3-3.2% flat per
month
Bosomtwe Rural
Bank
26%pa
Northern
MASLOC ≤200GH¢ - 10%
(200‹x‹600) GH¢
- 14.5%
(600‹x‹2000)
GH¢ – 14.5%
(2000‹x‹15000)
GH¢ – 17%
Upper East TRAX/SINAPI ABA 30-35%
48
Gia/Nabio Agro
Forestry Development
Organisation
(GNADO)
30%
Upper West SUSSEC
Source: KITE Survey, 2007
49
7 BUSINESS MODEL FOR PROMOTING DOMESTIC BIOGAS IN GHANA
7.1 Introduction
As mentioned earlier on, the market for domestic biogas digesters in the potential
rural market segment is virtually non-existent at the moment in Ghana. The potential
customers – rural cattle holding agriculture household are not currently demanding
the product because almost all of them do not know or have not seen the technology
before. Even if the lack of awareness barrier to the technology were to be addressed,
the households are likely to be confronted with another major barrier – the price of
the digesters – which has been found to be on the high side compared to their current
expenditure on cooking fuels and the price of comparable digesters in other countries.
It is inconclusive at the moment whether the supply side of the market has the
capacity to meet the demand for the products as and when it arises. Although private
entrepreneurs active in the sector insist that they have the capacity to respond to any
upsurge in the demand for the products, this assertion has not been tested yet. Thus
from purely business perspective, a market-based approach to the promotion of
domestic biogas in Ghana will be feasible. Do you mean the opposite?
However, the benefits associated with the technology are so enormous that market
forces alone should not be allowed to determine whether and when these benefits are
delivered to household beneficiaries and the nation as a whole. Left to business
entrepreneurs alone, who typically measures performance in profit and return, the
“better life” that the adoption of biogas promises rural household can never be
delivered. Experiences from several Asian countries have shown that widespread
adoption of domestic biogas can best be achieved through the concept of “social
entrepreneurship”. A social enterprise has been defined as „any business venture
created for a social purpose – mitigating/reducing a social problem or a market failure
– and to generate social value while operating with the financial discipline,
innovation and determination of a private sector business” (Alter, 2006). It is against
this background that we recommend the following business model as the way
forward for promoting domestic biogas systems in Ghana.
50
7.2 Proposed Business Model for Ghana
Based on the findings of the feasibility study and experiences from early mover
countries, we recommend the adoption of public-private partnership (PPP)16 as the
strategy for promoting the uptake of domestic biogas plants in Ghana. At the centre of
this model is the private entrepreneur (both business and social), seen as the vehicle
for promoting domestic biogas plants in Ghana. The activities of the private enterprise
in the Ghana biogas market are expected to be conducted on a commercial basis. The
private entrepreneurs will be expected to install biogas plant on demand for an
outright payment or instalment payment (credit sales) depending on the financial
circumstances of the households. The rationale for the proposed model is that the
biogas market in Ghana is at its nascent stage hence requiring pragmatic and well-
targeted public sector interventions to nurture and grow the market. Figure 7-1 gives
a diagrammatic representation of the proposed model showing the linkages between
the various market actors and stakeholders.
SUPPORT SYSTEMS
Technical training
and business dev't
Financing
Biogas
EnterprisesBiogas
systems
NGOs
Stakeholders
FIs/Banks
Rural clients
Gov‟t agencies
Market facilitation
Figure 7-1: Business Model for Promoting Domestic Biogas in Ghana
The proposed model will combine business development, market facilitation and a
menu of financing mechanisms to help build a self sustaining domestic biogas market
16 Under a PPP, the public sector provides some of or all of the financing for a project or programme while the private sector provide the service on a contractual basis
51
in Ghana. The strategy to be used will be to actively engage the existing biogas
construction firms and provide them with the enabling environment and incentives
that will allow them to focus on delivery of the products and services to rural and
peri-urban customers. Enterprise development services will be provided to potential
entrepreneurs in the medium to long-run to help establish more biogas-related
businesses to meet expected increases in demand.
The outcome of the financial analysis in this report points to the need for subsidy to
make the biogas systems affordable to the target beneficiaries. In view of this the
proposed model envisages that public/donor funds will be attracted to finance
institutional development (enterprise development) and the market facilitation
activities that will be required to enable the existing biogas construction firms to
venture into the targeted markets i.e. the rural areas.
The identification and selection of a „champion‟17 tasked with the responsibility of
ensuring institutional development and coordination among all stakeholders will be
extremely important for operationalising the proposed model for Ghana.
Brief Description of Key Components of the proposed business model
Technical Training: The study results show that there exist limited number of
technical persons involved in the design and construction of biogas plants in Ghana.
Another challenge identified during the survey is the absence of opportunities for the
existing biogas construction firms to update their knowledge in plant design and
construction. To facilitate the dissemination of biogas in Ghana, under the proposed
model, conscious effort would be made to provide refresher courses to existing
technicians and also train a critical mass of technicians and artisans in the beneficiary
communities in areas of designing, construction and maintenance of biogas plants.
This part of the business model will also focus on certification of the technicians and
also encourage uniform technical design of the biogas plants to be deployed in Ghana.
The “champion” will need to work with local and international experts such as the
CSIR, KNUST, GTZ, SNV and key service providers to help build and/or deepen the
capacity of existing and new technicians in the design and construction of the plants.
An aspect of the training programme should also target potential owner-operators of
the biogas plants.
Business Development: Another important component of the proposed model is
business development. Under this component, Enterprise Development Support18 will
17 The champion could be an umbrella body of Biogas Construction Firms or an Energy Institution
52
be provided to the respective businesses that are expected to provide various roles
towards the market development and penetration of the product in the targeted
communities. Potential energy entrepreneurs will be identified and groomed to
improve their business management skills and coached and/or mentored to define and
develop their business ideas into bankable business plans. The biogas entrepreneurs
would be expected to work with private and national business development
institutions such as the National Board for Small Scale Industries (NBSSI) and KITE to
execute the business development component of the model.
Financing: Access to finance by end-users is one of the key challenges identified
under this study. This is largely due to the outright purchase scheme (cash and carry)
currently being operated by the existing biogas construction firms. For the proposed
model to work, a financing scheme (such as micro-finance), will be established to
help low income households acquire the biogas digesters and end-use appliances. The
champion/entrepreneurs will need to engage with microfinance institutions, donors
and local banks such as the Agricultural Development Bank, Stanbic Bank and
SINAPI ABA Trust to facilitate flow of end-user financing to the ultimate
beneficiaries. Prospective entrepreneurs wishing to enter the supply chain of the
product will all need to be provided with some credit. To establish a private biogas
company, entrepreneurs will need money. Money is needed to purchase tools,
building materials and to employ people. The start-up capital should/could come from
loans given by the private sector (banks) or micro credit institutions.
Market Facilitation: Another important element of the proposed business model for
Ghana is market facilitation (market development). The proposed model proposes to
use the social marketing approach19 to whip-up demand through awareness creation
and sensitization within the target market. In addition, market regulator/champion
will be required to establish clear and enforceable quality control measures, which
will include monitoring and evaluation schedules to help ensure that end-users get
“value for their money” as well as reducing incidence of failures. Under the model,
market development is expected to be achieved through the multi-sectoral approach
whereby all relevant government institutions such as the MoE, MoFA and MLGRDE
will be brought together to formulate the appropriate policies and regulation that will
catalyze biogas “market take off”. The market facilitation will be undertaken with the
active involvement of Community-based organisations (CBOs) and Non
Governmental Organisations (NGOs) operating in the beneficiary communities as
well as new biogas user associations expected to be formed. The proposed User
18 Training in business management skills, assessment of business feasibility and development of
business plans 19 That is using behavioural change marketing techniques to generate demand for the product
53
Associations will, inter alia, be the main conduit for engendering behavioural change
within households.
54
8 CONCLUSIONS AND RECOMMENDATIONS
8.1 Conclusions
The following key conclusions can be drawn from the feasibility study:
On the basis of the number of cattle owning households and accessibility to
water resources, the technical potential for biogas digesters in the 4 regions is
estimated at a little over 80,000 installations. However, effective demand for
the domestic digesters is estimated to be 10% of the technical potential based
on current demand for the technology as well as the households‟ willingness
and ability to pay for the technology. This potential market has been estimated
based on the assumption that the initial biogas promotion in Ghana will target
cattle owing households whose incomes fall within the two highest income
quintiles (fourth and fifth).
It is however important to highlight that this market does not currently exist
and has to be developed. There is very little or limited in-country experience
with regards to domestic biogas plants as majority of existing biogas plants are
bio-sanitation projects located in urban centres. Consequently, majority of
potential users in the targeted regions are neither aware of the biogas
technologies nor seen one before. But experiences from other developing
countries have shown that this nascent market can be developed with the
right combinations of incentive-based and policy instruments.
The FIRR, which indicates the profitability of investing in the biogas plant
from the perceptive of households, is very much dependent on the investment
cost of the technology. An investment cost of US$2,600 yields a negative
return of -2%, which appreciates to 21% when the cost of acquiring the
digester reduces to US$1,200. Although a FIRR 21% is higher than the
assumed minimum acceptable rate of return of 10% hence justifying the
investment, experiences from other countries indicate that a FIRR of 30% plus
is needed to trigger the interest of low income agricultural households. This
can only be achieved either through a reduction in the investment costs or an
increase in the benefits accruing under investment.
The sensitivity analysis has shown that the FIRR is less sensitive to the
variations in benefits than it is to the cost of investment; a 30% reduction in
investment cost will be enough to return a FIRR of 32% while 40% plus
increase in project benefits will be required to yield the similar FIRR using the
lower investment cost scenario. The financial analysis thus indicates the need
55
for a subsidy to stimulate the demand for domestic biogas. A capital subsidy of
30% on US$1,200 investment in biogas is deemed sufficient to make the
investment in biogas plant worth the household‟s while.
The supply chain for domestic biogas digesters is very weak and typically
characterised by few service providers over concentrated in two main cities in
Ghana. This is due mainly to the lack of demand for product at the moment.
But a lot more biogas related businesses need to be established and existing
ones expanded to be able to effectively meet the expected growth in demand.
There are a host of institutions, ranging from governmental to private sector
through to civil society organisations, that can be rallied together to provide
the technical, institutional, regulatory and financing support needed to
develop and grow the domestic biogas market. There is therefore no need to
set up new institutions to promote the biogas technology.
A strict business approach to widespread deployment of domestic biogas
systems is a non-starter at the moment due to the absence of essential market
ingredients of demand and supply. However, the benefits associated with the
adoption of the technology by households and the society at large provide
enough economic justification for the introduction of policy and financing
mechanisms to help create and grow the latent market.
A business model based on the public-private-partnership (PPP) concept is
recommended for the promotion of biogas digesters among Ghanaian
households. At the heart of the model the private sector is expected to apply
business principles in designing and selling biogas digesters to households who
have been capacitated (through public interventions in the form of subsidies,
etc) to afford the technology on favourable terms. A market facilitation
organisation, preferably a non-governmental organisation, will be required to
play the coordinating role in the implementation of the various components of
the business model
56
8.2 Recommendations
In addition to the main recommendations on the business model, the following
suggestions should be given serious consideration:
There is the need for vigorous policy advocacy to ensure that the development
and promotion of the biogas technology is brought into mainstream energy
policy. This will help secure the needed political support for the technology.
Although the development of renewable energy resources is a key policy
objective in Ghana, the thrust of the policy is not on biogas – biofuels and solar
energy are the renewables being considered at the moment. Meanwhile, LPG
is still being promoted as a substitute for woodfuels. However, the penetration
rate for the fuel is low and is completely unavailable in rural areas. As prelude
to recommended policy advocacy, a comprehensive comparative study
showing the relative costs and benefits of biogas technology vis a vis those of
LPG should be carried out and the results disseminated through say a national
workshop on biogas. This study will most likely reveal that it will be cost-
effective for the government to promote biogas as substitute for woodfuel in
rural areas due to the many other benefits of the biogas technology.
Government can then limit its LPG promotion campaign to the urban areas
where the level of penetration is still very low.
The Institute of Industrial Research (IIR), working in collaboration with the
KNUST and other private biogas companies, should be commissioned to
conduct research to determine the most appropriate and cost-effective design
for the biogas digesters to be deployed in the targeted market. The general
consensus appears to tilt the scale in favour of the 6m3 Chinese fixed dome as
the cost-effective model to be adopted. However, it has been established that
this type of digester is too expensive to build from the standpoint of the rural
customers. If the suggested research confirms the fixed dome digester to be the
best option, then the technology must be subjected to further research and
development to improve the design so as to lower the cost without
compromising on output, reliability and durability.
Same comments as I made earlier regarding consumer desire for variety and
choice
A comprehensive training programme should be put in place to properly train
those to be responsible for constructing, operating and repairing the plants.
57
The training programme should be centred on the practical skills required for
the construction and everyday operation and should be opened to potential
owner-operators, artisans such as masons and plumbers, among others. A short
course on anaerobic digestion could also be added to the curriculum of
engineering and technical students in the Polytechnics and the Technical
Institutes to help train middle level manpower to support the deployment of
the technology.
A national programme to promote biogas should be packaged as a CDM project
for which Certified Emissions Reductions could be earned. Funds coming
through the CDM window should be used to support any of the financing
mechanisms to be established under the initiatives
All the recommendations made show clearly that there is an urgent need for a
„champion‟ who will, inter alia, engage all stakeholders to ensure that a
concerted national effort on biogas is initiated and implemented.
58
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Agriculture, Ghana
Warwick, H & A. Doig, 2004: Smoke – the Killer in the Kitchen: Indoor Air Pollution in Developing Countries, ITDG Publishing, UK
Winrock International (2007): “Biogas for Better Life, An African Initiative”. A Cost-
Benefit Analysis of National and Regional Integrated Biogas and Sanitation Programs
in Sub-Saharan Africa. A draft/discussion paper. Winrock International, Denmark
60
Annexure
Annex 1: Study Methodology
Selection of Study Areas
Quantitative analysis of the Fourth Round of the Ghana Living Standards Survey
(GLSS4), which covered approximately 6,000 households, was conducted to help
delineate the physical area(s) of high market potential. The information from the
GLSS 4 was supplemented with information from the Veterinary Department of the
Ministry of Food and Agriculture (MOFA) and the Food and Agriculture Organisation
(FAO) to delineate study areas.
Based on the results of the analyses, a number of districts were selected in the Upper
East, Upper West, Northern and Ashanti Regions. A key criterion used in the
selection of districts in the three northern regions was the cattle and piggery holding
per household with emphasis on the holding per rural household.
Sampling Technique
Both probabilistic and non-probabilistic sampling methods were adopted. In the three
northern regions, a combination of simple random and purposive sampling methods
was used. This was due to the scattered nature of the household in the regions.
Household units in the Ashanti Region were selected using purposive sampling.
Key Informant Interviews
A number of key stakeholders (both existing and potential) were identified and
interviewed as shown in Table A-1 below.
Focus Group Discussions (FGDs)
A total of 6 focus group discussions (2 discussion groups per community) involving a
total of 45 livestock holding households were held in three additional communities
selected at random in the three northern regions. These communities, which were
not covered in the household surveys, are Sang in the Yendi District in the Northern
Region, Wiaga in the Builsa District in the Upper East Region, Sabuli in the Jirapa
District in the Upper West Region.
61
Table A- 1: List of Experts and Institutions Interviewed
Key informant Institution Main Areas of Inquiry
Existing NGO German Technical Cooperation The extent of involvement in biogas promotion,
feasibility studies or dissemination
Potential NGOs New Energy, Netherlands
Development Organisation,
KITE, TRAX, SEND
Foundation
Capacities for promoting and supervising biogas
initiatives in the rural communities
Technical experts GRATIS Foundation Technical and man-power capacity in the
installation and provision of after-sales service
Endurance Metal Works “
A pool of small scale licensed
technicians
“
Alternative Energy
Providers
Charcoal sellers Availability and accessibility to consumers, the cost
factor
Firewood sellers “
LPG distributors “
Experts in Biogas
technologies
Hon. Kwame Ampofo History of biogas technologies in Ghana
Wisdom Togobo, MoEN/REES “
BTWAL – Dr. Idun “
Dr. Hagan, IIR “
Hypolyte Pul “
Dr. Ben Ayorelere – UDS The animal husbandry system in the 3 northern
regions
Prof. Abeeku Brew-Hammond,
KNUST
Biogas Technologies
Mr. Ahenkora, BCL
Prof. Coleman, CSIR
Mr. Martinson, UNIRECO
Dr. Aklaku, KNUST
Installation sites Five (5) installation sites in the
4 regions – Appolonia,
Okushibli, Nestle Ghana,
Tamale Regional Hospital,
Tamale West Hospital, Kumasi
Abattoir
Type of model adopted, status of systems, lessons
learnt in the operation and maintenance of the
digesters
Stakeholder Analyses
An analysis of stakeholders in the biogas sub-sector was also carried out to highlight
the interests and influence of various stakeholders as well as the capacity and
effectiveness of established institutions to provide the requisite support for the
creation of the biogas marketplace. Stakeholders identified include technical experts,
62
government institutions, research institutions, financial institutions and civil society
organisations.
Training and Pre-testing
The survey instrument was developed in consultation with the Shell Foundation and
a market research consultant. The questionnaire interviews were used, inter alia, to
elicit the following information:
Demographic profile of selected communities
Socio-economic profile (including income levels) of sample households
Current forms of energy used for cooking and their respective prices
Monthly household expenditure on cooking fuels
Supply channels and availability of cooking fuels
Type and availability of end-use cooking appliances
Fuel Use patterns and availability of substitutes in the communities
Knowledge about biogas and acceptability of technology
Willingness and ability of pay for the technology
There was a 2-day training of field assistants which consisted of familiarisation visits
to some installation sites, and a day‟s in-house training in understanding and
administration of questionnaire. The survey instruments were tested to assess their
suitability, effectiveness, accuracy, clarity and timing at Okushibli, a major cattle
holding community in the Greater Accra Region. Feedback and observations from the
pilot survey was used to finalise the questionnaire.
Fieldwork
The research team consisted of researchers with backgrounds in development
planning, research and marketing. The field work covered the Northern, Upper East,
Upper West and the Ashanti Region. It was undertaken from 15th October to 10th
November 2007, spanning a total of 27 days. A maximum of seven days was spent in
each region. The survey within the seven days consisted of the household survey,
focus group discussions in livestock holding communities, visits to dysfunction and
functioning installation sites, interview with alternative energy providers,
identification and interview of existing and potential technical experts, identification
and interview of existing and potential non-governmental agencies, and identification
and interview of Micro Finance Institutions (MFIs). Interviews were also conducted
with some biogas experts and key informants who had been involved in isolated past
biogas initiative or had certain vital information that would inform the development
of the biogas sub-sector.
63
Data Analysis
The main unit of analysis was the livestock holding household. The computer
packages SPSS and Excel were used for data entry and analyses. Information from
focus group discussions and key informant interviews were used in the absence of or
to support the quantitative data.
64
Annex 2: Biogas Initiatives in Ghana
Table A- 2: Catalogue of Known Biogas Initiatives in Ghana
No. Beneficiary Project Type Digester Type Plants
Capacity
Year
Constructed
Construction
Company
Current Status
HEALTH
1 St. Dominic
Catholic Hospital
Effluent/sewage
treatment
Fixed dome with separate
gas balloon
280m³ (5
Plants)
1994 Environment
Technology Ltd.
(ETL)
Operational
2 Holy family
Hospital, Nkawkaw
Effluent/sewage
treatment
Fixed dome with separate
gas balloon
120m³ (2
Plants)
1994 ETL Operational
3 Battor Catholic
Hospital
Effluent/sewage
treatment
Fixed dome with separate
gas balloon
240m³ (4
Plants)
1995 ETL Operational
4 Tamale Regional
Hospital
Effluent/sewage
treatment
Camartec Fixed dome type Twin 60m³ 2001 Biogas
Technologies
West Africa Ltd.
(BTWAL)
5 Tamale West
Hospital
Construction of
Biolatrine
Sewage treatment plant 12 seater
with a
40m³
digester
2002 BTWAL In use but gas just
in storage
6 Mampong Hospital Effluent/sewage
treatment
Camartec Fixed dome 2002 UNIRECO operational
7 Koforidua Regional
Hospital
Effluent/sewage
treatment
Sewage Treatment Plant
80m³ 2004 BTWAL operational
8 Accra Psychiatric
Hospital
Sewage system
rehabilitation
Sewage Treatment Plant Twin 50m³ 2003 BTWAL Non operational
EDUCATION
9 Dept. Animal
Science, KNUST
effluent waste
treatment
Camartec fixed dome 50m³ 1999 ETL operational
No. Beneficiary Project Type Digester Type Plants Year Construction Current Status
65
Capacity Constructed Company
10 Tema East Basic
Exp. School
Construction of
Biolatrine
Camartec fixed dome 30m³ 2002 BTWAL operational
11 Ofori-Panin Sec.
School
Biolatrine Camartec fixed dome 2002 UNIRECO operational
12 Tetrem Sec. School Biolatrine Camartec fixed dome 2002 UNIRECO operational
13 Aburi Girls School Biolatrine Camartec fixed dome 2002 UNIRECO operational
14 Valley View
University
Sewage treatment Camartec fixed dome 78.3m³ 2003 BTWAL operational
15 Abdullam
Orphanage, Obuasi
Biolatrine Camartec fixed dome 20m³ 2001 BTWAL operational
16 Children
Orphanage,
Prampram
Biolatrine Camartec fixed dome 50m³ 2004 BTWAL Operational
17 Garden City Special
School
Biolatrine Fixed dome with seperate
gas balloon
2004 ETL Not operational
18 UCEW, Winneba Biolatrine Sewage Treatment Plant 30m³ 2006 UNIRECO operational
19 GIMPA, Legon Sewage treatment
rehabilation
Fixed dome with separate
balloon
BTWAL operational
20 Pope John‟s School
and Seminary,
Koforidua
Sewage and kitchen
waste treatment
Puxin biodigester 60 m³ 2007 Beta
Construction
Not operational
INDUSTRY
21 Ejura Abattoir
House
effluent waste
treatment
Fixed dome with separate
gas balloon
ETL operational
No. Beneficiary Project Type Digester Type Plants
Capacity
Year
Constructed
Construction
Company
Current Status
22 Kumasi Abattoir effluent waste
treatment
sewage treatment plant ETL Still under
construction
23 Nestle Ghana Ltd. Sewage system
rehabilitation
Sewage Treatment Plant Twin 60m³ 2004 BTWAL Not operational
66
24 Kotoka
International
Airport
Sewage system
rehabilitation
Puxin digesters for
sewage treatment
60m³ 2007 Beta
Construction
Under
construction
25 Office Complex,
Dome
effluent waste
treatment
Puxin biogas digesters 40m³ 2007 Beta
Construction
operational
REAL ESTATE DEVELOPMENT
26 Trasacco Valley
Estates
Sewage and kitchen
waste treatment
Camartec fixed dome 4 plants-
260m³ total
vol.
2002 BTWAL operational
27 AngloGold Ashanti Sewage/Effluent
treatment
Camartec fixed dome 14 plants
with total
volume of
886m³
2000 BTWAL operational
HOTELS
28 Airport West
Hospitality, Accra
Sewage/Effluent
treatment
Camartec Fixed dome 50m³ 2006 BTWAL operational
29 Ntiamoah Hotels -
Agona Swedru
Sewage/Effluent
treatment
Puxin biodigesters 30m³ 2007 Beta
Construction
operational
30 Ntiamoah Hotels –
Akyem Oda
Sewage/Effluent
treatment
Puxin biodigesters 30m³ 2007 Beta
Construction
operational
COMMUNITY/DOMESTIC PROJECTS
35 Guinness- Kaasi
Project
Biolatrine Camartec Fixed dome 100m³ 2005 ETL operational
32 Jisonayilli, N/R Community lighting Camartec fixed dome 1987 RESDEM Not operational
31 Apollonia
community
Community lighting
project
Floating Drum 10 plants,
total vol. of
500m³
1987 Global
Renewable
Energy Services
(GRES)
operational
34 Sege- Sokorpe 8-seater biolatrine Camartec Fixed dome 30m³ 2002 GRES operational
32 Jisonayilli, N/R Community lighting Camartec fixed dome 1987 RESDEM Not operational
33 Abeman/ 16-seater biolatrine Camartec Fixed dome 40m³ 2000 BTWAL operational
67
Oshiuman
36 Okushibli – 5
installation in 5
houses
Biodiegsters for
household cooking
Camartec fixed dome 50m³ GRES operational
37 Ankaful Prisons Biolatrines Sewage treatment plants GRES ongoing
PRIVATE DOMESTIC INSTALLATIONS
38 Dr. E.N. Mensah, of
Tema
Effluent and kitchen
waste treatment
Camartec Fixed dome 8m³ 2002 BTWAL operational
39 Mr. Kofi Ayim,
Tema
Effluent and kitchen
waste treatment
Camartec Fixed dome 12m³ 2002 BTWAL operational
40 Mr. Ransford
Tetteh
Effluent and kitchen
waste treatment
Camartec Fixed dome 8m³ 2002 BTWAL operational
41 Mr. Bonfah of
Accra
Effluent and kitchen
waste treatment
Camartec Fixed dome 10m³ 2004 BTWAL operational
42 Mr. Quainoo, Accra Effluent and kitchen
waste treatment
Camartec Fixed dome 10m³ 2004 BTWAL operational
43 Private residence
Nungua Accra,
Effluent and kitchen
waste treatment
Puxin fixed dome 10m³ 2006 Beta
Construction
operational
44 Private residence
Taifa, Accra
Effluent and kitchen
waste treatment
Puxin fixed dome 10m³ 2006 Beta
Construction
operational
45 New Legon –
Hostel Apartment
Effluent and kitchen
waste treatment
Puxin Fixed dome 40m³ 2007 Beta
Construction
operational
46 Private residence,
Achimota
Effluent and kitchen
waste treatment
Puxin Fixed dome 10m³ 2007 Beta
Construction
operational
47 Private residence
Tema, Com. 18
Effluent and kitchen
waste treatment
Puxin Fixed dome 10m³ 2007 Beta
Construction
68
Annex 3a: Cost Breakdown of Fixed Dome Digesters
COST BREAKDOWN FOR A 6M3 HOUSEHOLD BIOGAS DIGESTER COST BREAKDOWN FOR A 10M3 HOUSEHOLD BIOGAS DIGESTER
Material Cost Unit Quantity Unit Cost Total Cost Unit Quantity Unit Cost Total Cost
Bricks/blocks piece 1500 0 225 Bricks/blocks piece 2800 0 420
Blocks piece 100 1 65 Blocks piece 160 1 104
Cement (bags) bags 35 10 350 Cement (bags) bags 48 10 480
Sand -Smooth trip 1 80 80 Sand -Smooth trip 1 80 80
Sand Rough trip 1 80 80 Sand Rough trip 1 80 80
Stone chippings trip 1 16 16 Stone chippings trip 1 16 16
Enamel paint litre 2 20 40 Enamel paint litre 3 20 60
AC pipe 6" piece 1 40 40 AC pipe 6" piece 1 40 40
GI pipe 3/4"x12" piece 1 8 8 GI pipe 3/4"x12" piece 1 8 8
iron Rod ton 0.5 70 35 iron Rod ton 0.7 70 49
Wawa Board piece 10 7 65 Wawa Board piece 10 7 65
Wawa 2x4 piece 6 5 27 Wawa 2x4 piece 6 5 27
Odum 2x6 piece 2 9 18 Odum 2x6 piece 2 9 18
Nails box 1 17 17 Nails box 1 17 17
Gas piping system Various 1 120 120 Gas piping system Various 1 150 150
Stove piece 2 16 32 Stove piece 3 16 48
lamp piece 2 7 14 1,232 lamp piece 3 7 21 1,683
Labour Labour Days No. of personUnit Cost Total Cost Labour Days No. of person Unit Cost Total Cost
Clearing of site 1 2 7 14 Clearing of site 1 2 7 14
Escavation 2 3 7 42 Escavation 3 3 7 63
Mason 18 2 12 432 Mason 23 2 12 552
Capenter 4 1 12 48 Capenter 4 2 12 96
Steel bender 1 1 10 10 Steel bender 2 1 10 20
Labour unskilled 18 2 7 252 Labour unskilled 28 2 7 392
Supervisor 15 1 20 300 1,098 Supervisor 25 1 20 500 1,637
Others Other
Transport/mobilization 1 1 100 100 Transport/mobilization 1 1 150 150
Woorking Tools 1 1 120 120 Working Tools 1 1 140 140
water Container/supply 1 50 50 270 water Container/supply 1 60 50 340
Total Cost 2,600 3,660
Source: REES, 2007
69
Annex 3b: Cost Breakdown of Fixed Dome Digester
10m3 Fixed Dome Digester
Component Quantity Total Cost GH¢
Bricks 850pcs 340.00
Blocks 5” 20pcs 14.00
Cement 20bags 170.00
Sand 5m3 60.00
Chippings 5m3 80.00
6mm Iron Rod 5pcs 15.00
12mm Iron Rod 5pcs 37.00
Binding Wire “ 5.00
Pressure Gauge 1no. 120.00
Piping 300.00
Wawa Board 6pcs 30.00
2”x4” Wood 8pcs 28.00
Total 1199
8m3 Fixed Dome Digester
Bricks 700pcs 280.00
Blocks 5” 20pcs 14.00
Cement 17bags 144.50
Sand 5m3 60.00
Chippings 5m3 80.00
6mm Iron Rod 4pcs 12.00
12mm Iron Rod 4pcs 30.00
Binding Wire 5.00
Pressure Gauge 1no. 120.00
Piping 280.00
Wawa Board 5pcs 25.00
2”x4” Wood 6pcs 21.00
Total 1071.5
6m3 Fixed Dome Digester
Bricks 650pcs 260.00
Blocks 5” 15pcs 10.50
Cement 14bags 119.00
Sand 5m3 60.00
Chippings 5m3 80.00
6mm Iron Rod 4pcs 12.00
12mm Iron Rod 4pcs 30.00
Binding Wire 5.00
Pressure Gauge 1no. 120.00
Piping 260.00
Wawa Board 4pcs 20.00
2”x4” Wood 6pcs 21.00
Total 997.5
Source: UNIRECO, 2008
70
Annex 3c: Cost Breakdown of 10m3 Fixed Dome Digester
Component Quantity Total Cost (US$)
Bricks/blocks 1000 537.63
Cement (bags) 30 322.58
Sand –Smooth/ Rough 2 258.06
Stone chippings 1 150.54
Enamel paint(gal) 1 37.63
Pipings(8in dia pressure
pipe) 1 86.02
iron Rod(1/2in for slaps) 6 48.39
Wood(8pcs of 2in x 4in
scantlings, 10pcs of wawa
boards) 1 104.3
Nails(lbs) 8 6.9
Gas piping components(gas
valves, pipes, T‟s, elbows,
sockets etc 1 82
Stove(single burner) 1 32.26
lamp (converted pressure
lamps) 1 69.89
TOTAL 1736.2
Source: IIR, 2008