Biogas in developing countries and the SDGs: Comparative cross-fuel analysis for biogas and other cooking sources in Central Ghana

B.Sc. Fiifi Aggrey-Sey, BSc

Master's thesis

Abstract:

The purpose of the study was to determine the potential use of biogas for the substitution of currently used solid fuels and LPG (liquefied petroleum gas) in rural and peri-urban households, the subsequent benefits, and the constraints to the adoption of domestic biogas technology in Ghana, with two municipalities (Effuttu and Awutu Senya East) as study areas. In all, a total of 304 responses were gathered from household heads using the mixed method (qualitative and quantitative) of data gathering. Additionally, environmental officers from the two municipal assemblies were interviewed. Following the field data collection, Microsoft Excel and Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS) version 20 was used to analyse the data to display descriptive statistics and frequencies. In total, 65 households out of the sampled population have adopted the use of biogas and this is 21.4% of the number of people interviewed. A total of 92.3% of the plants were built with personal sources financing from households, compared to 7.7% financed by NGOs. Generally, households perceive that biogas generates clean energy and is easy to operate and maintain. Again, respondents believe that the adoption of biogas increases energy supply, and reduces time spent collecting firewood and cooking while giving women and children more time to engage in education and other economically productive ventures. The findings of the study suggest that the Ghanaian government has made very little effort to promote the usage of biogas technology. This is because there is no policy in place to sustainably develop and spread the use of biogas technology in Ghana. Additionally, some NGOs have made some efforts to educate and finance biogas technology, but the approaches have numerous challenges. The way forward is mostly in the hands of the government. It is recommended that the government make efforts to prioritize the adoption of biogas through effective policies that provide NGOs and private companies with a solid platform for implementation. This can be in the form of focusing on subsidies to increase the adoption rate and also educating more people on the importance of biogas technologies for socio-economic development, healthy population, and environmental sustainability, thus contributing to the achievement of the SDGs.

Keywords

fuel sources, domestic energy, waste management, energy consumption

Language used: English

Date on which the thesis was submitted / produced: 30. 3. 2023

Thesis defence

• Supervisor: doc. Ing. Hynek Roubík, Ph.D.
• Reader: Dinh Van Dung, externi

Czech University of Life Sciences Prague

Faculty of Tropical AgriSciences

Master programme:
Agri-food Systems and Rural Development