Biogas is a vast energy source, worth VND30 trillion a year, but it is being wasted in Vietnam, Bui Xuan An from the Vietnam Biogas Association (VBA), said.
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| Kinh Te Xanh's electricity generator. |
Biogas is a vast energy source, worth VND30 trillion a year, but it is being wasted in Vietnam, Bui Xuan An from the Vietnam Biogas Association (VBA), said.
According to the Department of Livestock, the total volume of organic waste, including solid bio-waste and waste water from pig and cow farming, amounts to 85 million tons.
Organic waste is considered a vast resource which can be used for many purposes. But in Vietnam, it is mostly buried at landfills, which causes waste and harms the environment.
An said if the organic waste can be exploited, it can bring big benefits – providing fuel, fertilizer and electricity.
Reports show that biogas is the cheapest renewable source of energy in rural areas, with one biogas tank costing VND1 million.
VBA estimates that the organic waste alone can provide 25 billion cubic meters of biogas each year.
This means that Vietnam can generate 12.5 billion kwh a year from the waste. With the average electricity price of VND2,100 per kwh, the electricity output would be worth VND26.4 trillion.
Kinh Te Xanh, a cooperative in Bac Lieu province, is now breeding 6,000 pigs. To treat waste, Do Minh Nha, director of the cooperative, decided to build an 8,000 cubic meter biogas tank utilizing HDPE technology.
The gas collected from the tank is now used to run electricity generators which produce electricity to run the cooling system at pig farms and a water fan system at shrimp ponds, as well as providing daily needs of the farm’s members. The bioproducts from the biogas tank are used to fertilize 500 coconut trees.
The total volume of gas collected from the livestock waste in the farm is big enough to run three electricity generators with total capacity of 800 KVA per hour, which can generate electricity output worth VND40 million a day.
This means that a big part of gas output is being wasted, not used to generate electricity. According to Nha, there is no policy on buying electricity generated from biogas, so he cannot sell it.
He cited a report as saying that only 5 percent of organic waste in Vietnam is recycled and reused, mostly by households to serve their daily activities.
An emphasized that in order to take full advantage of the valuable biogas source, the government needs to set up a policy on buying biogas-generated electricity.
This will encourage organic waste owners to invest in electricity generation and help settle the electricity shortage problem in Vietnam.
(Source: VNN)
