Biogas has many economic benefits. A
survey showed an average saving of $120 a year on cooking fuel, so a biogas plant pays for itself in four to five years, and even faster if slurry is sold. Using the slurry as a cost-free fertiliser also means families can enjoy a higher income from better crop yields, and have a new source of income from selling surplus slurry to neighbours. Jobs are also created: the Vietnamese bio- gas programme provides over 1,800 local masons with work. The environmental benefits of biogas
are also significant. Each MARD-SNV bio- gas system saves the equivalent of about two tonnes per year of carbon dioxide emissions by replacing the use of fossil fuels. By the end of 2009, the programme had cut around 167,000 tonnes per year of carbon dioxide. In some places, biogas plants save the use of scarce wood. A survey also showed that women save
an average of 1.75 hours a day from not collecting fuel, tending cooking fires and collecting LPG cylinders. Women use the additional available time for work, child- care and leisure.
The future There is still growing demand for biogas, with over 2mn families raising pigs in Vietnam, half of which could make use of
According to Nguyet, significant changes
are afoot. ‘The government has become more concerned about the environment. They are setting regulations for environ- ment protection, for example telling farm- erswho aremanaging livestock production that they must build biogas plants.’ Across Vietnam there are now hundreds
Source of the biogas
the technology. ‘Biogas is here to stay as long as there are farmers raising pigs or cattle. There are almost one million house- holds eligible for a biogas digester so this is only the beginning,’ says As Bastiaan Teune, SNV’s biogas advisor. The effectiveness of MARD/SNV’s
approach has led to increased interest in biogas investment and support from large donors such as the World Bank and the Asian Development Bank. In response to this, the programme will shift from imple- mentation to coordination, monitoring and capacity building. A new Vietnam Biogas Association has been established which will pursue a commercial marketing approach for the expansion of the biogas sector, building on what has been achieved.
of thousands of farmers likeMrsDoThi Lap who are rapidly spreading the word on biogas and the benefits it can bring in their communities. These days the air smells sweeter on these pig farms and life is bet- ter all round. For Vietnam, the enduring legacy of this initiative will be a robust, sus- tainable infrastructure for biogas energy and a highly successful approach that many other countries can adopt.
Juliet Heller isWriter and PR Manager for the Ashden Awards for Sustainable Energy, e:
juliet.heller@ashdenawards.org
The Ashden Awards for Sustainable Energy have been rewarding and supporting biogas and other clean energy technologies in the developing world and the UK for over 10 years,
www.ashdenawards.org
MARD/SNV Biogas Programme website:
www.biogas.org.vn
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