World Bank is set to endorse commercialization and judicious use of biomass based energy for cooking, lighting and powering machines through a multi-million shilling project aimed at nine African countries, as per a
report in Business Daily. The $3.5 million initiative will focus on 10 projects chosen out of 100 proposals covering Uganda, Kenya, Tanzania, Rwanda, Ethiopia, Benin, Gambia, South Africa and Mozambique.
“The bank will finance projects promoting the production and use of biomass fuel, such as energy saving charcoal stoves and clean biogas”, said Mr Waqar Haider, a senior energy specialist at the World Bank. “An objective of the programme is to identify projects that can be incorporated in future World Bank’s lending portfolio”, Mr Heider added.
“Charcoal and firewood constitute for the major energy source for Sub-Saharan Africa and the most charcoal cooking equipment are inefficient and emit high levels of pollution impacting negatively on health of the users and on the environment”, said, Mr Johannes Zutt, the World Bank Country Director for Kenya. “Despite its social, economic and environmental importance, investments in biomass energy makes up less than four per cent of energy access expansion projects,” Mr. Zutt added.
The rural biodiesel project in Kenya, started by Help Self Help Centre, a non-governmental organization in Nairobi will be up-scaled and will support use of biodiesel for vehicles and generators and bio-kerosene for lighting and cooking. The fuel will be locally extracted from available tree seeds. The Project will allow adoption of bio-fuels by 3.000 households whilst ensuring development of five seed collection centres.
“The money will be used to upscale production output from 300 to 800 litres per day. We will also be introducing cooking stoves and lamps while expanding the programme,” said Bernard Muchiri, director of Help Self Help Centre.
The Project will finance production of 10,000 stoves in Uganda by local tinsmiths and small business entrepreneurs through the Centre for Research in Energy and Conservation in the faculty of technology at Makerere University.
The Project money will be used to raise awareness among the inhabitants and encourage tree planting.
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Bank funds biomass projects in Africa
