14 Dec 2021

The biogas project has demonstrated an alternative way to increase renewables in the energy mix and manage organic waste in an effective and efficient manner.

This was said by Minister of Mineral Resources, Green Technology and Energy Security, Mr Lefoko Moagi at a one-day Botswana biogas conference  in Gaborone yesterday.

He said that had been achieved through policy, regulatory and standard interventions, support  for  requirement compliance at demonstration sites to incite excitement and uptake of technology among the public.

Beyond the 200 subsided sub-projects, the ministry had seen a lot of enquiries and uptake from individuals, especially farmers, he said.

Minister Moagi encouraged Batswana to use biogas digesters  to utilise farm waste to generate electricity for cooking, lighting and heating.

That, he said, would ensure doing away with continued power tariff payments whilst caring for the environment.

Mr Moagi said the steady push for renewable energpes was driven, above all, by the aspiration for sustainable development.

“The reason for the central role of renewables is obvious: renewable energies are fully or almost fully carbon free. Consequently, every Kilo Watt /hour (kWh) from renewables and every calorie of renewable heat means carbon dioxide saving which directly affect our environment,” he said.

Stating that renewable energies must play a key role in climate change issues, he pointed out that government planned to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 15 per cent by the 2030.

Mr Moagi said government had also set a target of 15 per cent of peak power demand from renewable energy by 2030.

He informed his audience that the ministry had completed several instruments  which government would use for planning purposes, programmes and project implementation such as the Integrated Resource Plan National Energy  and Renewable Energy policies.

For his part, UNDP resident representative Mr Balazs Horvath said his organisation stood firm in its commitment to support Botswana in line with the recent UN climate change conference (COP26) held in Glasgow, Scotland.

Mr Horvath said more needed to be done to mobilise finance and successfully implement initiatives targeted at phasing out coal, curtailing deforestation, speeding up the switch to electric vehicles and encouraging investment in renewables.

He revealed that UNDP had finalised development of a new country programme for the next five years, 2022-2026.

The programme had identified renewable energy and waste management as key focus areas on which UNDP would be working with government, private sector and the public, he said.

Mr Horvath said the planned projects aimed to contribute towards greenhouse gas emission reduction and increase the use of clean fuels as well as energy efficient technologies.

The projects, he said, would build on the achievements of the biogas project, which started in 2017 and comes to an end next month.

Piloted in four south eastern Botswana districts, it sought to facilitate low-carbon investments in the production and utilisation of biogas from agrowaste.

The conference, held under the theme, Biogas For Botswana: A Solution to Energy and Environmental Challenges?, was convened to review the five-year pilot project.

It provided an opportunity for national stakeholders within the region and internationally to share information on biogas technology, review and exchange ideas on the results of the biogas project, share recommendations for biogas rollout in

Botswana and discuss the global direction of biogas and renewables as an intervention to achieving climate neutrality.

Attendants included biogas experts,  project beneficiaries, minerals and environment ministry officials, Botswana Institute for Technology Research and Innovation as well as UNDP representatives.

In their testimonials, some farmers applauded the adoption of biogas technology, saying it had made a significant difference in their lives. Ends