Renewable Energy Council Rues Pakistan’s Failure to Benefit From Biogas

Pakistan has failed to tap its potential in biogas, Director of the Pakistan Council of Renewable Energy Technologies (PCRET), Dr. Tahir Mahmood, has claimed. For the unversed, biogas is an energy-rich gas produced by the decomposition of biomass, organic material that comes from animals and plants. It consists of methane and carbon dioxide with traces of hydrogen sulfide that can be used to produce gas and electricity. Speaking in this regard, Director PCRET said that PCRET had developed 4,100 biogas plants. The plants ranged from 5 to 200 cubic meters as they were designed to encourage reliance on renewable energy among the masses. The plants were initially available at 100% subsidy, however, successive governments failed to scale up the production of these plants, forcing PCRET to cut the subsidy to 50%. He added that the geyser-shaped plant of biogas developed by PCRET incurs a cost of Rs. 30,000 to install in a household. These plants have the capacity to take 120 kgs of biomass as input and develop 2 cubic meters of gas and 4 kilowatts of electricity. Considering the widespread availability of biomass in the country, biogas could help to put an end to the gas and electricity shortage of Pakistan if the government promotes the use of biogas plants among the masses.