Assessing The Potential of Biogas as a Clean Household Energy Source for Cooking: A Comparative Study of the Nsawam Adoagyiri Municipality and the Awutu Senya East Municipality

Abstract

The study aimed at assessing the potential of biogas as a clean household energy source for cooking in two municipalities. A mixed method approach of research was employed to compare between the two municipalities under study, peoples’ willingness to adopt biogas technology, the cost efficiency of domestic biogas and the likely challenges confronting the use of biogas to cook. Quantitative data was elicited from 271 respondents sampled from both municipalities with the aid of a survey. Rich qualitative data was elicited from eight experts through key informant interviews with the aid of semi-structured interview guides. The study revealed that there are vast varieties of feedstocks readily available to feed household biodigesters for the production of biogas for cooking. The fixed-dome biodigester type widely installed in Ghana was found to be the most suitable to digest the vast varieties of feedstocks available in Ghana. To bridge the technical expertise gap, biogas service providers in recent times have begun training artisans in the design, construction and maintenance of biodigesters. Majority (74.9%) of the respondents were willing to adopt biogas technology. Their decision to adopt biogas was influenced by their knowledge of biogas, annual expenditure of cooking fuel and gender. Biogas technology was found to be economically viable in a 20 years’ time period at a discount rate of 13.5% indicating that biogas is cheap in the long term. Some likely challenges confronting domestic biogas usage included high initial and maintenance cost which makes the technology not affordable for low-income households. Also, it was revealed that poor regulation of the Ghanaian biogas industry has led to the proliferation of substandard biodigesters which poses lots of challenges to users and deters potential adopters from adopting the technology. The study recommends that for low-income households and rural settlements, community shared biodigesters will be more feasible than household biodigesters. It also recommends effective regulation of the biogas industry and the