| Overview : The Government of Botswana through Ministry of Mineral Resources, Green Technology and Energy Security, in collaboration with the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) are implementing a project called “Promoting production and utilization of Biogas from Agro-waste in South-Eastern Botswana (Biogas Project)”. This follows the realization that waste has not been taken as a resource in the country and this waste could be used as a valuable resource. The reuse of waste to generate energy is an opportunity that Botswana must tap into for future use. Several waste streams are available in various agro-industrial facilities which can be utilized for generation of energy. Some of the organic waste for consideration in bio-gas production include chicken manure, cow dung, goat/sheep droppings, wastewater and spent grain. Despite this immense potential presented by the abundance of livestock manure, agricultural/animal waste and other forms of biomass in the country, generation of energy from this waste resources still remains a challenge. The Biogas project seeks to facilitate low-carbon investments and public-private partnerships in the production and utilization of biogas from organic waste in the districts of South-eastern Botswana. It has been realized that there are no suitable demonstration projects for technology penetration as the current use of biogas in Botswana is limited to small-scale applications and there is no institutional biogas plant operating at either an abattoir, landfill or any industry producing large amounts of organic waste. Botswana having ratified the United Nations Framework on Climate Change Convention (UNFCCC) has the obligation to promote production of green energy and reduce on the Green House Gases (GHGs) emissions. Though Botswana is a minor emitter of greenhouse gases (GHGs), the country is negatively affected by climate change, efforts should be made to reduce emissions. One of the targets of the project is to support the development of a feasibility study for a medium scale biogas digester to be used for the production and utilisation of biogas in South-Eastern part of Botswana (South East, Southern, Kgatleng and Kweneng districts). The feasibility study aims to determine the viability of implementation of a biogas digester within a selected industry. The viability is based on the quantity of waste produced, the amount of energy (electrical and thermal) that can be produced from the biogas digester and therefore the potential savings to be made by using biogas as a source of energy, the avoided cost of environmental fines associated with mismanagement of organic waste and the cost of implementation of the biogas digester as well as rate of return on the equipment. Once the study is undertaken and the industry commits to proceed with the project, UNDP will further support development of an environmental management plan for the implementation of the biogas digester. In light of this, UNDP invites prospective companies and/or industries to express interest in the development of a feasibility study for a medium scale biogas plant |
