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In the remote and poor Northeastern province of Misiones in Argentina, the Instituto de Economia Energética has developed a method for identifying micro-hydroelectricity potential over large areas of remote countryside and matching it with the electricity required by rural households.
The method was developed to identify the lowest cost option for providing electricity to rural areas, as well as to provide economic information and policy recommendations for policymakers.
Although the importance of energy to rural communities is recognized, the provision of electricity has been hampered by low population densities and the limited purchasing power of rural people. The research undertaken by the Rural Energy Technology Assessment and Innovation Network (RETAIN) in Misiones showed that decentralized micro-hydro plants can be an attractive alternative to trying to integrate rural areas into a “central grid” system.
Three alternative micro-systems were studied:
· Micro-hydro systems, consisting of easily built dams on small rivers and streams (using earthfill and rocks), connected to a micro-turbine and generators. The capacity ranges from 4 to 50 kilowatts (enough for one family or a few households).
· Thermal systems, fueled by diesel or gasifiers using charcoal (capacity 4 to 50 kilowatts).
· Wind systems, using a three-blade design, direct current generators and storage batteries.
The method for identifying the potential of these small energy sources consists of six modules:
· A “diagnosis” of the region’s socioeconomic and energy situation, including the underlying processes of wealth creation and their effect on energy consumption;
Figure
· A survey of energy requirements, based on an analysis of people’s energy needs as distinct from their ability to pay (up to 70% of electricity needs can’t be paid for by rural users);
An assessment of the potential of the area to supply energy from different sources;
· A map of electricity needs overlaid with the locations of potential micro-plants, as well as existing power stations and distribution lines;
· An evaluation of alternative packages, i.e., central grid electricity, decentralized micro-plants (thermal, hydro, or wind), or combinations of the above, with cost comparisons;
· Development of preliminary policy recommendations, including the impact of different options on elements of the macroeconomy, such as employment, the development of local industry, and the use of foreign exchange.
The project has gone on to a second phase to look at the legal, institutional, and financial mechanisms for using decentralized micro-hydro plants, as well as potential markets and the necessary planning for organizing and managing decentralized systems. This includes looking at the availability of credit from financial institutions, the availability of local suppliers and the ability of people to install and maintain the equipment.
As well, research is being done on how small-scale microhydro plants can be replicated over larger areas, and how they can be integrated with a central electricity system (for example, by transfering subsidies from the central system to users of micro-hydro plants). They are looking at how to overcome opposition to decentralized provision of electricity and have already had an impact on policy-makers and energy companies in the country.
Potential users
Rural people would be the main beneficiaries of a small-scale electricity supply system. The method for assessing its potential can be used by governments, utility companies, NGOs, and policymakers wishing to expand microhydro projects to a full-scale rural system of electricity supply, and to overcome resistance to integrating small-scale systems within the central grid. Some interest has already been shown by policymakers and utility company officials in Argentina.
Contact
Mr Daniel Bouille Instituto de Economia Energética Piedras 482 - 20H, 1070 Buenos Aires, Argentina Tel.: 54(944)22050 Fax: 54-1-34-5437
Like many other African countries, Burundi suffers from a shortage of firewood, which accounts for 90-95% of the energy used in the country. The price of charcoal is rising steadily and deforestation is a serious problem. However, Burundi has peat reserves of up to 1 billion tonnes. Peat is already extracted in small quantities for use as fuel in some institutions, including the armed forces and small factories. However, untreated peat is not readily accepted as domestic fuel because of the thick smoke and unpleasant smell it produces.
With the assistance of the Société d’ingénierie Cartier (Canada), Burundi’s national peat marketing agency, the Office national de la tourbe du Burundi (ONATOUR), has developed a small-scale procedure to transform untreated peat into an acceptable fuel for small industries and household use. Peat coking (total carbonization) is a costly process that requires sophisticated equipment, whereas partial carbonization is considerably less expensive and can produce acceptable fuel. This method, which can by used both by small and large industries, consists of the following stages:
· The peat is cut, macerated and dried in the sun.
Experimental kiln
· It is put into an oven and pyrolyzed until partial carbonization occurs.
· This procedure produces biomass charcoal that is then cooled, sifted to remove any particles that are too large, mixed with water and a binder (such as molasses), formed into briquets using a press, and dried. The biomass charcoal produced using this method contains 40-45% peat.
The combustion of the bricks was greatly improved by mixing the peat with agricultural byproducts, such as rice husks, coffee hulls, and wood shavings. The briquets now consist of at least 50% vegetable products and are accepted by customers.
The pilot factory in Burundi can produce up to 4 tonnes of biomass charcoal per hour. Biomass charcoal is clean and efficient. Given the poor reputation of untreated peat as a fuel, an education program is required to convince users that the briquets do not have the same drawbacks as untreated peat.
This new technology might help reduce deforestation in the country. The pilot factory created 75 new jobs as well as work in the peat bogs.
Prerequisites
Peat reserves; binder (such as molasses or manioc flour). The pyrolysis oven can be made using local methods and materials. The pilot oven, made from fire brick and cement, covers approximately 18 square metres and costs about Can $25 000 to build. The press for forming the briquets is imported and costs about Can $60 000. An improved version, made in Niger, has a completely sealed metal outer layer and an interior made from fire cement.
Potential users
Small rural industries in countries that are experiencing energy problems and have peat reserves (including Bangladesh, China, Rwanda, Senegal, Sri Lanka, and Zaire).
Contact
Mr Léonce Sinzinkayo
Office national de la tourbe
PO Box
2360
Bujumbura, Burundi
Tel.: 26480/26748
Telex: 6082 CABPUB BDI
Mr
Paul Courteau
Société d’ingénierie
Cartier
2045 Stanley
PO Box
6086, Station A
Montreal, Quebec
Canada H3C 3Z9
Tel.: (514)
499-4571
Telex: 055-6120
Fax: (514)
499-4515
In Kenya, 80% of urban and 10% of rural families use the traditional metal “jiko” charcoal stove for cooking. The remaining rural households use firewood on a three-stone fireplace. Wood is the main energy source for cooking, light, and heat in many East African countries (80% in Kenya, 96% in Tanzania, 90% in Uganda). To help address the deepening deforestation crisis, researchers at KENGO (Kenya Energy and Environment Organisations) have developed a more energy efficient jiko.
The new stove uses up to 50% less fuel and is light (3-6 kg) and portable. Ideal for low-income families, it reduces the cost of fuel while decreasing cooking time. For example, water can be brought to a boil faster and for a longer period using the improved jiko. Because of its shape, the stove’s heat is directed only to the desired location, right under the cooking pot.
The ceramic jiko lasts approximately 30 months with intensive use, longer than the traditional jiko. The outside casing is made of metal and produced by local crafts-people. The ceramic inner lining is produced by large and small enterprises, including several women’s groups.
Since the new stove costs slightly more than the traditional version, there is a need for educating people on the savings in fuel costs. The cost of the jiko can be recovered in fuel savings in 2-3 months. Savings to the country’s forests have been estimated at 206 000 tonnes of wood or 570.000 hectares of trees per year, with some 70 000 improved jikos in active use.
Aside from KENGO, several NGOs, including CARE (Kenya), have worked with women’s and community groups on the production, demonstration and dissemination of the stoves.
With the success of the domestic ceramic jiko, researchers have developed an improved institutional stove for rural hospitals, clinics, schools, and prisons. These institutions traditionally use fuelwood and charcoal as their main energy sources, and thus contribute to the country’s fuelwood crisis. Increased costs of fuel put a major strain on their resources.
The institutional ceramic jiko is based on the same model as the domestic jiko, with a metal outer shell and a ceramic or vermiculite inner lining. It measures 30 to 50 cm in diameter and can last for up to 5 years. Fuelwood savings can reach 50%. Cooking time is reduced and there is less gas emission than with other types of institutional stoves. As well, a water jacket can be added to the stove to warm water and prevent heat loss from the metal sides of the stove, allowing it to be handled even while in use.
Prerequisites
The use of the stove requires access to fuelwood or charcoal. Production of the stoves requires ceramic material and scrap metal. Training has been provided by KENGO to other regional NGOs in the manufacture of the new jiko. Quality control is an important factor in maintaining the improved efficiency of the stove.
Stoves requires ceramic material and
scrap metal
Potential users
Domestic ceramic jiko: rural and urban low-income families.
Institutional ceramic jiko: hospitals, schools, prisons, and any institutions that use fuelwood or charcoal as their main energy source.
Cost and availability
The trade name of the new domestic jiko is Kimathi Jiko, and it sells for 55 to 75 Kenyan shillings, or Can $2 to $3. The institutional stove sells for 25 000 to 30 000 Kenyan shillings, or close to Can $1000. The institutional stove is designed to cook for at least 100 people, using 50-litre or larger cooking pans.
Suppliers of the stoves include:
Domestic jiko:
· Program Officer, Wambugu
(Central Highlands), PO Box 5069, Nyere, Kenya
· Mr Richard Kimani, Jerri International, PO Box 52747,
Nairobi, Kenya
Institutional stoves:
· Mr C.J. Davey, Bellerive Foundation, Ngong Road, PO Box 42994, Nairobi, Kenya Tel.: 254.2.720 274; Fax: 254.2.726 547
· Charles Gitundu, Rural Technology Enterprises, PO Box 28201, Nairobi, Kenya, Tel.: 796352
Contact Kenya Energy and Environment Organisations PO Box 48197, Nairobi, Kenya
Resources and publications
· Wood Energy in Kenyan Institutions, A Summary of Research Findings, KENGO Wood Energy Series, 1988, 14 pp.
In remote areas where electricity is unavailable and where other fuels are too costly, people meet their energy needs by using wood for fuel or to make charcoal, both of which are environmentally damaging. Charcoal kilns can cause serious air pollution. In response to this situation, the government of the Philippines is seeking to reduce deforestation by establishing tree farms using fast-growing Leucaena species.
The Forest Products Research and Development Institute in the Philippines is using the potential of the tree farms to develop a small-scale biomass energy system that provides rural areas with small decentralized electricity plants. The technology centres on a charcoal-producing kiln and is appropriate for areas where fuelwood is abundant and lump charcoal production is already an industry. Combustible waste gases emitted by the kiln during carbonization, which otherwise pollute the air, are captured, cleaned, and used with about 50% diesel fuel to run a power generator.
In a first system, four sets of charcoal kilns are used to generate the combustible gases and heat energy. The simplified second system adopts a biomass pyrolyzer that produces charcoal and combustible gases using agricultural wastes such as sawdust, rice hulls, coffee bean hulls, cocoshells, and wood chips. Both systems are backed up with a gas cleaning and cooling train and an electric generator run off a diesel engine.
The setup also generates byproducts such as better-quality charcoal, wood tar, and heat energy to operate a dryer. Ashes from the kilns are used as fertilizer. The system can also be adapted to run small buses, fishing boats, rice threshers, irrigation pumps, and small ice plants.
Prerequisites
An established source of agricultural and forestry wastes to supply the system and available technical support to operate the system. The annual fuel requirement to sustain the first system (charcoal production) is 2700 cubic metres of wood. It produces 200 tonnnes of charcoal per year, and can run a 12.5 kW electrical plant. The second system (biomass pyrolyzer) uses 20 kg per hour of agricultural wastes. It produces an estimated 9.6 tonnes of charcoal per year and can run a 12.5 kW power plant. The initial capital cost of setting up the plants is approximately Can $1600 for the charcoal kiln system, and Can $1400 for the pyrolyzer system. It is estimated that these costs can be paid back within 2-4 years.
Charcoal production
Potential users
Communities in remote regions without electric power, particularly where there is abundant wood from tree farms and where charcoal production industries already exist; small businesses or government services, such as rural hospitals and clinics; and villages requiring a reliable, low-cost energy system.
Contact
Dr Emmanuel D. Bello, Director Forest Products Research and Development Institute, College, Laguna 4031, The Philippines Tel.: (63) 2377; (63) 2586; (63) 2360 Telex: 40860 PARRS PM; Fax: (63) 94 - 3630
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