South Africa Feasibility Study

SOUTH AFRICA: HOUSEHOLD BIOGAS
FEASIBILITY STUDY
January 2008
Prepared on behalf of
Biogas for Better Life

An African Initiative
South Africa National Household Biogas Feasibility Study
Page ii
Acknowledgements
This study was made possible through financial and logistical support provided by The Netherlands Directorate
General for International Cooperation (DGIS). Under a contract with DGIS, South Africa-based AGAMA
carried out an initial study last year. Following this, Messrs. Julio Castro and Suresh Hurry undertook a mission
to South Africa on behalf of the Biogas for Better Life An African Initiative in late November/early December
2007 to refine and supplement the AGAMA report, with the ultimate objective of formulating a final report that
would pave the way for a smooth transition from a study phase to actual implementation. This final report
combines valuable background information provided in the AGAMA study and the findings of the Castro/Hurry
mission.
The support of DGIS and all local stakeholders in South Africa is gratefully acknowledged.
BIOGAS FOR BETTER LIFE, AN AFRICAN INITIATIVE
Page iii
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
South Africa is a country faced with pressing developmental challenges. Paradoxically, the country has a welladvanced, world-class economy. This first economy is largely thanks to the good business infrastructure,
mineral resources, manufacturing, and financial services sectors. To the casual observer, the dichotomous nature
of the economy is often un-noticed, resulting in the second economy that is epitomised by rural poverty,
minimal formal education and massive unemployment being overlooked.
South Africa is in this developmental context similar in many respects to other developing countries as far as
energy is concerned: there is great reliance on non-renewable sources of biomass (in the form of fuel wood) in
these rural areas, with its associated environmental degradation in the form of deforestation and soil erosion. The
existing non-sustainable consumption of fuel wood represents approximately 8% of the total primary energy
supply in South Africa. The impacts on the environment through the harvesting of these fuels, the impact on
indoor air quality and the resulting health problems, and the lack of access to cleaner energy are well
documented and understood.
The service delivery programmes to address the backlogs in the rural areas still has serious delays, and it is
therefore appropriate that this feasibility study has been undertaken to understand the technical scale of the
opportunity for moving households in these rural areas to a cleaner energy, and generally more sustainable and
self-reliant, future.
In this report a range of factors are considered, including climatic conditions, access to feedstock (dung) for
anaerobic digestion to produce the required amount of biogas, institutional aspects (including private sector
supply chains, importing/adapting of digester designs from abroad, government actors, non-government actors),
financial aspects (including hardware costs, and quantification of other costs and benefits) and linkages between
these different components.
While there is no policy specifically relating to rural energy supply using biogas, the Department of Minerals
and Energys (DMEs) White Paper on Energy Policy clearly points to biogas as a means to satisfy rural energy
service needs. Accordingly, the DME has keenly supported this study. In addition, numerous government and
non-governmental organisations have expressed a keen interest in and support for the programme, as have a
range of micro-finance institutions.
Though the institutional framework for the implementation of the programme is not yet clear, there are definite
expressions of interest and support for taking this further by a number of key stakeholders. These stakeholders
include the DME, and Departments of Trade and Industry (DTI), the National Development Agency, the
Provincial Government of Eastern Cape and the Umsobomvu Youth Fund.
There are many good reasons supporting the start of a household biogas programme in South Africa, and
excellent government support programmes are in place to develop the programme as a public-private
partnership. The country has excellent supporting infrastructure in the form of government services, financial
services, skills and micro-finance is assured, while the mechanisms for making credit available still need to be
established. The market conditions appear to be in place to initiate a programme.
At the same time, household biogas in South Africa is currently being implemented at a promotional level. This
means high quality, high cost installations with the need for economies of scale to bring costs down. There are
many opportunities for cost reductions that will flow from research and development in this area, as well as
transfer of the vast body of knowledge arising from the Nepalese and other national biogas programmes. A
programme, starting on the basis of a detailed five-year implementation plan, would aim at the end for ongoing
cost reductions and implementing quality products at a national programme level, to allow for the job creation
potential of constructed biogas plants at scale to be fully realised.
The issue dealing with revenue generation for the programme through the mobilisation of carbon credits, either
through mandatory or voluntary mechanisms, has not been addressed in this study, as discussions on how to
maximise it are still on-going within the Biogas Initiative. However, once a clear position has been established,
generation of revenues through carbon credits will be integrated into the implementation plan and such revenues
will be utilised for up-scaling the national household biogas programme.
The primary outcomes of the study are:
There are (conservatively) 310,000 households (9.5% of South Africas rural households) showing
technical viability to participate in a rural biogas programme (these are the households that inter alia
Page iv
have 4 cows or more, do not have access to grid electricity, and are situated within a 1km radius of
water). There is also a demand for the environmental and social benefits biogas would bring to
technically viable areas of the country.
Using the most conservative assumptions throughout, and with the capital subsidy for a biogas
programme at 30%, the programme would have significant financial and economic benefits: 25%
and 64% financial and economic internal rates of return respectively, averaged across the six
provinces investigated. The highest value attained from a programme is in the Eastern Cape, which
has a 40% financial IRR and an economic IRR of 78%.
The indicative programme design is based on a five-year programme installing biogas digesters in
12,000 households in the Eastern Cape and KwaZulu-Natal provinces, targeting households and
community groups that can afford to pay 10% of their monthly income during five years, and a 10%
upfront payment.
The implementation of 12,000 biogas digesters would require a capital outlay of approximately US$
17.5 million, over five years. Of this, the end-users will contribute a total of US$ 1.4 million in
down-payments plus US$ 8.3 million as credit. The programme will require US$ 4.2 million as a
subsidy and US$ 3.6 million for programme and technical support, totalling US$ 7.8 million.
Micro-finance institutions have indicated that credit to a programme of this scale could be made
available in the range of 2.5% to 3% per month, which would be aimed at households earning more
than ZAR 2,500 per month. These credit interest rates are very high compared to many other
countries.
There are a myriad of stakeholders interested in the programme, some of whom have expressed a
clear desire to be involved in its rollout. These include the DME, the Provincial Government of
Eastern Cape, the NDA and the Umsobomvu Youth Fund.
Implementing the programme presents an opportunity to co-ordinate various rural developmental

programmes under one banner, and as a result to harmonise different public funding streams in
capital and operational subsidies
The specific recommendations arising from this study are that:
A national household biogas programme should be implemented in South Africa, and located in two
provinces, starting in Eastern Cape and followed shortly thereafter in KwaZulu-Natal.
That DME install as soon as possible a Steering Committee to guide the start of the implementation
process.
The planning process including negotiations with the Biogas Initiative should be expected to last for
up to 12 months. During this period a detailed programmed implementation plan will be developed,
co-ordinated by the DME.
The programme should establish, even during the implementation planning stage, strong linkages
with other biogas programmes in Africa, and with the SNV networks in Southern and Eastern
Africa.
Page v
TABLE OF CONTENTS
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
iii
TABLE OF CONTENTS
1.
Introduction
2.
Background
2.1
Objectives
2.2
Benefits and impacts of a National Household Biogas Programme
3.
Country background
3.1
Geography and physical characteristics
3.2
Demography
3.2.1 Population distribution
3.2.2 Land utilisation
3.3
Economy
3.4
Weather
3.5
Cooking and staple foods
3.6
Energy situation
3.6.1 Overview
3.6.2 Energy needs assessment
3.6.3 Poverty and energy
3.6.4 Energy and health
3.6.5 Gender and energy
3.7
Energy policy
3.8
Fertiliser usage in agriculture
3.9
Environment
11
11
12
12
12
12
14
15
15
15
15
16
16
16
17
17
17
4.
History and experiences with household biogas

4.1
South African experience with small-scale biogas
19
19
5.
Assessment of technical factors for disseminating biogas plants

5.1
Nepalese digester GGC 2047
5.2
Cost of investment
5.2.1 Cost to construct a 6m3 digester
5.3
Technical potential assessment
5.4
Household energy supply and demand
5.5
Technology receptivity
5.6
Conclusions
21
21
21
22
24
25
26
26
6.
Financial and economic analyses

6.1
Financial analysis
6.2
Economic analysis
6.3
Discussion and conclusions
27
27
29
29
9
9
9
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7.
Stakeholder organisations and initiatives

7.1
Finance
7.1.1 Co-operatives
7.1.2 Microfinance institutions
7.2
Government
7.2.1 Department of Minerals and Energy (DME)
7.2.2 The Department of Agriculture (DOA)
7.2.3 Department of Trade and Industry (DTI)
7.2.4 Department of Environmental Affairs and Tourism (DEAT)
7.3
Government agencies and initiatives
7.3.1 The South African Bureau of Standards (SABS)
7.3.2 The National Development Agency
7.3.3 The Umsobomvu Youth Fund
7.4
NGOs
7.4.1 Women in Oil and Energy South Africa (WOESA)
7.4.2 Tsogang Water & Sanitation
7.4.3 Heifer International
7.4.4 Khanya - African Institute for Community Driven Development
7.5
Summary
31
31
31
31
31
32
32
32
32
32
32
33
33
34
34
34
34
34
34
8.
Preliminary programme implementation plan

8.1
Programme design
8.2
Main features of the programme
8.2.1 Private sector development
8.2.2 Subsidies and quality control
8.2.3 Micro-financing
8.3
Institutional aspects
8.4
Implementation plan
8.5
Elaboration of a quality control strategy
8.6
Programme planning for Eastern Cape and Kwa-Zulu Natal
8.7
Indicative programme costs
36
36
36
36
36
36
37
37
40
40
41
9.
Conclusions and recommendations

9.1
Conclusions
9.2
Recommendations
42
42
42
REFERENCES
44
LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS
BCC
Biogas Construction Company
CBO
Community Based Organisation
CER
Certified Emissions Reduction
DOA
Department of Agriculture
DME
Department of Minerals and Energy
DEAT
Department of Environmental Affairs and Tourism
DPLG
Department of Provincial and Local Government
DTI
Department of Trade and Industry
EIRR
Economic Internal Rate of Return
FIRR
Financial Internal Rate of Return
IRR
Internal Rate of Return
LPG
Liquefied Petroleum Gas
Mt
MegaTonne (tonne x 106)
MW
Mega Watt (kW x 103)
MWh
Mega Watt Hours (kWh x 103)
NBSC
National Biogas Steering Committee
NDA
National Development Agency
NGO
Non-governmental Organisation
PIO
Programme Implementation Office
PJ
PetaJoule (J x 1012)
PV
Photovoltaic
RE
Renewable Energy
UN
United Nations
UNDP
United Nations Development Programme
US$
United States Dollar
UYF
Umsobomvu Youth Fund
VAT
Value Added Tax
ZAR
South Africa Rand
Page vii
1.
Page 8
Introduction
The feasibility study takes place against a backdrop of increasing poverty in the rural areas of South Africa, difficult
service delivery (specifically water, sanitation and electricity related) in these areas and high costs associated with such
services. Additionally, electricity shortages are increasing as typified through the marked increase in blackouts across the
country over the past number of months, hitting rural areas the hardest. The timing of this study is, therefore, opportune
in that it builds on the opportunities for poverty reduction that are implicit in the integrated application of biogas
technology in these rural areas, and at a time when there are clear directives at national, provincial and local government
levels to address these rural-area problems through programmes at national, provincial and local levels.
A national household biogas programme is likely to address more than just the rural energy issue. It has all the
ingredients to also address income and food security, it offers a link between the so-called first, or formal, and second, or
informal (especially rural) economies, and has all the credentials to make a significant contribution to general health and
sanitation. In this context, a biogas programme can be viewed as an economic development/infrastructure and social
improvement programme with an energy security base. It is, therefore, evident that a national household biogas
programme can contribute significantly to achieve a range of the Millennium Development Goals.
Biogas technology, at its simplest form, involves the use of digesters that are vessels in which animal and/or human
waste and other bio-degradable materials are broken down (digested) by bacteria in the absence of oxygen. These
digesters are often below ground, while the digestion process produces both a methane-rich gas (biogas) that can be used
as a fuel for cooking, lighting, and power generation via an internal combustion engine for example, and a nutrient rich
liquid fertiliser (bio- slurry). Therefore, biogas is a safe, affordable and sustainable source of energy, and the digestion
process, as a positive externality, produces the bio-slurry. Combine this energy and fertilizer-producing technology with
water harvesting techniques, and it is possible to run food gardens even in some of the most adverse climatic conditions.
Biogas is therefore indeed the key to unlock a comprehensive rural economic development strategy that can contribute
significantly to improved and sustainable livelihoods.
This national rural household biogas feasibility study is aligned with the objectives of the Biogas Initiative that focuses
on household installations. Many other permutations are also possible such as the commercial sectors and the urban
environment, but, arguably, the biggest need for such a programme is among rural households. This report, therefore,
provides some background to this project and then presents some salient facts concerning the South African economy.
Thereafter, some examples and previous experiences will be offered followed by a section describing the cost of the
digesters and the technical supply and demand requirements for the success of such a programme. This information has
been ground-truthed through a series of surveys. Financial and economic analyses are then offered followed by a
proposed implementation plan. Lastly some concluding remarks are furnished.
2.
Page 9
Background
AGAMA Energy was commissioned to undertake a feasibility study for household biogas in South Africa within
the context of the broader Biogas for Better Life: an African Initiative under the auspices of the Directorate General
for International Cooperation and funded by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of The Netherlands. The Department
of Minerals and Energy (DME) provided a letter of support for this study to be conducted since biogas is
considered a potential fuel and key strategy within the stated objective of broadening the energy mix of South
Africa by including renewable energy sources. A national biogas programme can help the South African
government to achieve its stated targets for the use of renewable energy of an additional 10,000 GWh by 2013.
AGAMA submitted its revised report in early November last year. This was followed by a mission to South Africa by
Messrs. Julio Castro and Suresh Hurry, on behalf of the Biogas for Better Life An African Initiative, in late
November/early December 2007 to refine and supplement the AGAMA report and with the ultimate objective of
formulating a final consolidated report that would pave the way for a smooth transition from a study phase to actual
implementation.
2.1
Objectives
The purpose of this study is to inform a national rural household biogas digester programme. The objectives of the study
are to:
Elaborate the history of biogas utilisation in South Africa, and current activities.
Assess the market potential for household biogas, including:

o End-user demand for biogas in combination with potential supply capacity.
o Appropriate methods for technology cost reductions.
o Willingness and ability to pay for services provided under the programme.
o Commercialisation options for household biogas.
Assess the finance requirements and indicate what international, national, provincial, local and private sources
would be willing and capable to provide finance.
Assess the policy and institutional arrangements to set-up a national plan of implementation for a household
biogas programme.
Propose the provinces for implementation.
Formulate an implementation plan.
2.2
Benefits and impacts of a National Household Biogas Programme
Biogas technology can play an important role to improve the quality of life for rural households where the technology
has been introduced. Additional expected impacts include:
Improvement of hygienic conditions, especially of women and children, by eliminating indoor air pollution and by
stimulating better management of dung (the stable is cleaned and the dung fed into the digester on a daily basis)
and night soil (latrine attachments, where socially acceptable).
Reduction of the daily workload (primarily of women) in the households (wood collection, cooking, cleaning
cooking utensils) since operations and maintenance activities relating to the digester require minimal labour.
Biogas does not require constant attention or blowing on the coals, so the user can put a pot on the burner and
perform other activities while the food is being cooked.
Protection of natural resources:

o Combat soil depletion: the organic materials that are fed into the plant are used without being destroyed. The
nutrients and organic matter are still available in the bio-slurry and should be returned to the soil.
o Reduce deforestation by reducing the consumption of fuelwood.
o Reduce erosion: bio-slurry sustains the amount of organic matter in the soil, improving infiltration rates and
water holding capacity and hence reducing run-off and limiting soil erosion.
o Reduce harmful emissions (at local and global level): burning biogas is cleaner than burning biomass. Apart
from being smokeless, it emits only CO2 and H2O to the atmosphere during combustion whereas a wood fire
generates a much greater level of pollution. Burning biogas does not contribute to global warming, because
the fodder used to feed the animals uses an equal amount of CO2 in the ecological cycle (referred to as
carbon neutrality).
Household-level benefits:
Page 10
o Energy and fertiliser substitution, e.g. reducing the need to buy expensive fuelwood and chemical fertilisers.
o Additional income sources, since time saved can be used in more directly economically productive ways.
o Increasing yields in animal husbandry and agriculture by using the full potential of digester effluent as
organic fertiliser. If properly stored, treated and applied to the fields, biogas slurry has a higher fertiliser
value than ordinary farmyard manure.
Macro-economic or societal benefits:
o Import substitution (fossil fuels and fertilizers).
o Health.
o Job creation: These jobs would be generated in the regions where the programme is active, through the staff
of biogas companies, by the labour required for the production of appliances and building materials and
through the unskilled labour used during the construction of the plants.
Introduction of biogas does not necessarily change traditional patterns in the division of labour. Strategic gender
needs are thus not specifically addressed by biogas, although some should be designed into a biogas programme
through, for example, training of females to become masons/supervisors during construction, and maintenance
workers during the O&M phase. However, in many cases the reduction of workload can be considered as a precondition to make opportunities available for women to organise and attend meetings, engage in income
generating activities, increase skills and awareness through training courses, etc.
Assessed against the Millennium Development Goals (MDG) the national biogas programme would deliver the following
benefits:
MDG 1, target 1: to halve extreme poverty. Households which install biogas systems are not amongst the poorest
due to the fact that a household must have a minimum number of animals, and the poorest families often cannot
afford them. However, the biogas dissemination process and the resulting reduced claim on common ecosystem
services do affect the livelihood conditions of (very) poor non-biogas households as well. For example through
employment creation and biogas saving on the use of traditional cooking fuels, increasing the availability of these
fuels for (very) poor members of the community.
MDG 3, target 4: eliminate gender disparity in education. Predominantly women and girls spend time and effort
providing traditional energy services. Biogas directly benefits this group by reducing exposure to the dangers of
wood smoke and reducing the workload, extending the amount of time to study or to engage in economic
activities.
MDG 4, target 5: reduce by two-thirds the under-five mortality rate. Globally, indoor smoke claims nearly one
million childrens lives per year and diseases that result from a lack of basic sanitation cause an even greater death
toll. Biogas stoves substitute conventional cook stoves and energy sources, virtually eliminating indoor smoke
pollution. On top of that, biogas significantly improves the sanitary condition of the household and its immediate
surroundings, lowering the exposure of children to harmful infections. Finally, proper application of biogas slurry
will improve agricultural production, contributing to food security for the community, this in turn having a
generally positive impact on the community health.
MDG 6, target 8: halt/reverse the incidence of malaria and other major diseases. Biogas virtually eliminates health
risks (e.g. respiratory diseases, eye ailments, burning accidents) associated with indoor air pollution. Biogas
improves on-yard manure and night-soil management, thus improving sanitary conditions and protecting
freshwater sources, lowering the exposure to harmful infections generally related with polluted water and poor
sanitation.
MDG 7, target 9: integrate the principles of sustainable development into country policies and reverse the loss of
environmental resources. Large scale household biogas programmes positively influence national policies on
sustainable development and usually support government policies and programmes that have positive
environmental impacts (reducing GHG emissions and the need for chemical fertilizer).
MDG 7, target 10: halve the proportion of people without sustainable access to safe drinking water and basic
sanitation. Biogas reduces fresh water pollution as a result of improved dung management and connection of the
household toilet to the biogas plant significantly improves the sanitary conditions in the farmyard.
3.
Page 11
Country background
South Africa is a country in its thirteenth year of democracy since the inauguration of a popular government in
1994. There are 19 languages, 11 of which have been recognised as official language (viz. all government
documentation is printed and available in these 11 languages) with English being the national language. The key
cultural groupings are the amaZulu, the amaXhosa, Caucasians and Coloureds. isiZulu, isiXhosa, English and
Afrikaans are the most widely spoken languages.
3.1
Geography and physical characteristics
Figure 1: South Africa with 9 provinces and major cities
South Africa is located at the southern most region of Africa, and is the worlds 25th largest country with a surface area of
1,219,912 km2. The climatic zones vary, from the extreme desert of the southern Namib in the farthest northwest to the
lush subtropical climate in the east along the border with Mozambique and the Indian Ocean. From the east, the land
quickly rises over a mountainous escarpment towards the interior plateau known as the Highveld. Even though South
Africa is classified as semi-arid, there is considerable variation in climate as well as topography.
Six of the nine provinces have a large percentage of their population in rural areas. The provinces with these
proportionally large rural populations are Eastern Cape, KwaZulu-Natal, Northwest Province, Mpumalanga, Free State,
and Limpopo Province. South Africa is bordered to the north by Namibia, Botswana, Zimbabwe, Swaziland, and
Mozambique, and totally encloses Lesotho.
3.2
Demography
3.2.1
Population distribution
Page 12
Table 1 shows which provinces have a large percentage of their population in rural areas. The provinces with
proportionally large rural populations are Eastern Cape, KwaZulu-Natal, Northwest Province, Mpumalanga, and
Limpopo Province (previously called Northern Province). Each of these provinces has at least 58% of their population as
rural, except for KwaZulu-Natal, which has about 54% of its population as rural. In the Limpopo province, the rural
population accounts for almost 87% of the population [1].
Table 1: Profile of rural population in South Africa [1].

Province
Rural Population 1996 Rural Population 2001
Eastern Cape
KwaZulu-Natal
Limpopo
North west
Mpumalanga
Free State
Northern Cape
Western Cape
Gauteng
Total
3.2.2
3,897,080
4,700,589
4,364,169
1,896,267
1,690,666
822,353
208,694
418,918
221,932
18,220,668
3,936,529
5,091,375
4,573,183
2,135,581
1,834,556
654,660
142,267
435,626
246,380
19,050,159
Rural % of Total
Population 1996
61.8
55.8
88.5
56.5
60.4
31.2
24.8
10.6
3.0
44.9
Rural % of Total
Population 2001
61.2
54.0
86.7
58.2
58.7
24.2
17.3
9.6
2.8
42.5
Land utilisation
While many of the countrys poor have no private access to land, in many of the cases where the poor do have access to
land, the land is not very productive. One indication of this is a Statistics South Africa census of commercial agriculture
conducted in 2002 [2], which show that from 1993 to 2003, there was a decrease in the number of commercial farming
units from 57,980 to 4,818.
3.3
Economy
Since democracy in 1994, South Africa has achieved a level of macro-economic stability not seen in the country for
many years. Such advances create opportunities for real increases in expenditure on social services, and reduce the costs
and risks for all investors, laying the foundation for increased investment and growth. By February 2005, the economy
was stronger than at any time in the past 20 years.
Yet despite the significant advances over the past two decades, South Africa remains a country of two worlds. In essence
it is a developing country, yet segments of its economy resemble those of a developed economy. As indicated in Figure
2, the primary sectors, agriculture and mining, contribute 10% to the GDP; manufacturing contributes 19%, and the
tertiary sector the remaining 71%, of which business services (19%), trade (14%) and the government (13%) are the
largest contributors. These numbers resemble a typical developed economy.
The countrys energy consumption levels are also similar to that of a developed country: 2.5 kiloton of oil equivalents
(kTOE) per capita, while its electricity consumption is 3.7 MWh per capita (Table 2). Since 93% of the electricity, and
much of the rest of the economy, are coal-based (Figure 3), the countrys carbon footprint resembles that of a developed
country, namely 0.8 kg CO2 per purchasing power parity US$ adjusted GDP or 7.9 ton CO2 per capita in 2001. It is worth
noting that the 8% featured in (Figure 3) as being from renewable sources is almost entirely biomass based and is in
fact not necessarily renewable at all.
Page 13
4% 6%
19%
19%
19%
4%
3%
14%
12%
Agriculture
Electricity
Transport
Mining
Construction
Financial services
Manufacturing
Trade
Community services
Figure 2: Industry contribution to real GDP in South Africa: 2003 [3]
5%
25%
32%
25%
8%
70%
35%
Coal
Crude oil
Renewables & waste
Coal
Petroleum
Renewables
Electricity
Figure 3: Primary (4,876 PJ) and secondary (2,288 PJ) energy supply (1998) [4]
Table 2: Selected environmental indicators: 1999 and 2001 1 [5]
World
Population (millions)
Urban population (% of total)
GDP ($ billions)
Lower middle
Upper middle
South Africa
1999
2001
1999
2001
1999
2001
1999
2001
1999
2001
5,980
6,130
2,420
2,510
2,090
2,160
570
500
42.1
43.2
46.4
47.2
31.4
30.8
42.9
45.6
75.4
77.2
50.2
57.6
1,030
1,080
2,610
2,740
2,920
2,420
131
113
4.5
3.4
4.0
3.6
3.7
4.3
4.9
3.3
4.4
1,690
550
570
1,120
1,210
2,030
1,810
2,680
2,510
2,180
360
350
1,060
1,190
2,480
2,250
3,830
3,750
39.1
43.5
45.0
41.2
47.0
32.2
19.2
92.6
93.1
0.6
0.5
0.6
0.5
0.9
0.7
0.6
0.5
0.9
0.8
4.1
3.8
1.1
1.0
3.4
3.0
5.5
4.3
7.9
7.9
30,900 31,100
Energy
Energy
Intensity
(PPP
4.2
USD/kg oil equivalent)
Commercial p.c. energy use
1,660
(kg of oil equivalent)
Electric
p.c.
power
2,080
consumption (kWh)
Share of electricity generated
38.4
by coal (%)
Emissions and pollution
CO2 emissions per unit of
GDP (kg per PPP $ of GDP)
CO2 emissions per capita
(metric tons)
Low income
Although these numbers are high both in relative and absolute terms, they do not reflect a comprehensive picture of the
economy. 41% of all households and 74% of rural households use either wood or paraffin for cooking. Notice that 43%
1
Notes:
Low-income economies are those with a GNI per capita of $745 or less in 2001
Middle-income economies are those with a GNI per capita of more than $745 but less than $9206
Lower-middle-income and upper-middle-income countries are separated at a GNI per capita of $2975
High-income economies are those with a GNI per capita of $9206 or more.
Page 14
of the South African population is rural. Also, 56% of rural households depend on remittances and pensions for an
income; the national unemployment rate is around 37% and that of the rural population exceeds 52% (data from 2001)
[6]. Depending on the poverty measure used, between 45 and 55% of all South Africans lived in poverty in 2001 [7].
Poverty is therefore widespread.
The above-illustrated structural dichotomy of a developed economic structure amidst a developing context has led to the
labelling of South Africa as having a double-decker economy [8], [9] - an economy with a multiple number of income
layers with little or no economic interaction among them. This is an issue stressed by the United Nations Development
Programme (UNDP) in stating that South Africa is a country of two societies, one ranked 18th in the world (the top deck)
and the other 118th (the bottom deck) based on gross domestic product per capita [10].
3.4
Weather
Climatic conditions in South Africa generally range from Mediterranean in the south-western corner of the country to
temperate in the interior plateau, and subtropical in the northeast. The northwest corner of the country has a desert
climate. At the same time, temperatures in South Africa tend to be lower than in other countries at similar latitudes - such
as Australia - due mainly to greater elevation above sea level.
Most of the country has warm, sunny days and cool nights. Temperatures are influenced by variations in elevation,
terrain, and ocean currents more than latitude [11]. There is very little difference in average temperatures from south to
north, however, in part because the inland plateau rises slightly in the northeast. For example, the average annual
temperature in Cape Town is 17C, and in Pretoria, 17.5C, although these cities are separated by almost ten degrees of
latitude. Maximum temperatures often exceed 32C in the summer, and reach 38C in some areas of the far north. Frost
occurs in high altitudes during the winter months. The coldest temperatures have been recorded about 250 kilometres
northeast of Cape Town, where the average annual minimum temperature is -6.1 C.
A biogas digester can function in a range of temperatures, approximately from 5 degrees Celsius to 70 degrees Celsius.
The bacteria responsible for methane production in an anaerobic biogas digester adapt themselves to a particular
temperature setting, and are averse to temperature shocks [12].
Table 3: Climate data for 3 provinces in South Africa [13]

Climate parameter
Average
Eastern Cape
KwaZuluNatal
Limpopo
Temp
(oC)
Month
Jan
Feb
Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov
Dec
21.7
21.0
19.0 15.7 11.6
7.5
7.6 10.4 13.5 15.5
17.5
19.6
Ave Min
Ave
Max
Rainfall (avg, mm)
19.6
17.9
13.5
9.1
5.4
2.7
1.3
4.3
6.9
10.0
13.3
16.5
29.2
27.1
25.2
21.8
17.0
12.3
12.7
16.3
20.5
21.9
23.4
25.5
78.7
77.8
80.6
49.8
27.5
21.9
21.8
34.7
39.3
60.9
72.5
82.2
Average
21.7
21.0
19.6
16.6
13.0
9.4
9.7
12.8
16.7
18.4
19.5
20.7
Ave Min
Ave
Max
Rainfall (avg, mm)
19.2
18.6
15.9
10.7
8.8
6.4
6.2
8.6
11.0
13.6
15.1
17.4
24.6
24.1
23.3
21.1
18.0
15.3
14.9
18.5
22.2
22.8
23.1
23.9
142.6
124.4
107.0
57.9
30.4
21.1
23.3
31.5
54.5
91.8
114.1
123.1
Average
22.6
22.3
20.9
1.9
14.3
10.9
11.5
15.0
19.9
21.7
21.9
22.5
Ave Min
Ave
Max
Rainfall (avg, mm)
20.7
20.3
17.7
13.6
10.6
8.0
7.5
10.6
15.1
18.0
18.8
20.1
25.5
25.1
24.2
21.8
19.0
16.3
16.5
21.2
24.7
25.9
25.2
25.5
113.2
109.3
76.4
36.5
12.7
7.8
5.4
5.9
15.5
44.5
85.8
104.2
Temp
(oC)
Temp
(oC)
The temperature fluctuations between day and night are no great problem for plants built underground, since the
temperature of the earth below a depth of one meter is practically constant. It has been found that the temperature of soil
below a depth of about 30 cm is almost constant during the day but seasonal temperature differences do occur. In South
African, the operating temperature of an unheated, subterranean biogas digester is roughly in the range 16.5 to 22.5
degrees Celsius (see Table 3). Within this temperature range, an increase in temperature generally means higher
microbial activity and thus a faster rate of waste digestion and a higher rate of biogas production.
3.5
Page 15
Cooking and staple foods
Maize is the staple food across South Africa. It is typically consumed in a stiff porridge manner, which goes by
various names in the different cultural groups. It was reported [14] that the majority of rural inhabitants in the 2001
survey (a) cooked meals at least twice daily and (b) the predominant method of cooking is boiling. This bi-daily
routine requiring an efficient thermal fuel lends itself perfectly to the use of biogas. Although no specific data for
other parts of South Africa could be found, it is a safe assumption that this is the case in other rural areas of the
country, given the same staple diet of primarily maize.
3.6
Energy situation
3.6.1
Overview
South Africas electricity consumption (93% of which is coal-based) is 3.8 megawatt hours (MWh) per capita compared
to 1.3 MWh for other lower-middle-income countries and 2.5 MWh for upper-middle-income countries (Table 2).
Consequently, the countrys carbon-dioxide emissions lie between that of upper-middle-income and high-income
countries at approximately 7.4 (metric) tonnes (t) carbon dioxide (CO2) per capita [15].
Most of the population in the rural areas of South Africa is unable to afford cleaner forms of energy than biomass in the
form of firewood and animal dung. Thus, even though South Africa has had an excess energy supply for at least the
decade starting 1994, many rural households have remained unconnected to the national grid, or if connected, these
households have not been able to take full advantage of the benefits offered by electricity due to poverty.
Energy supply in rural South Africa consists mainly of biomass (for heating and cooking), electricity (used mainly for
lighting and light appliances where available, due to cost), as well as petroleum products in the form of paraffin, petrol,
diesel, and LPG. Petrol and diesel are really only suitable for transport because of their high cost.
According to the Department of Minerals and Energy (DME) statistics, access to electricity in the rural areas is 54% of
households, compared to 79% of households in the urban areas, as of 2003 [16]. There was a great improvement in
access to electricity in South Africa in the period 1991 until 1999 [17]. However, there has been a decrease in the
electrification rate since 1999, due in a large part to the fact that the households yet to be electrified are far from the
existing grid and are costlier to electrify. This phenomenon has already been observed since the inception of Eskoms
electrification programme in the early 1990s 2 . This makes the investment in infrastructure for the electrification of these
households economically unfavourable, even though it is government policy to do so.
3.6.2
Energy needs assessment
Basic energy requirements are those that include services vital to a dignified basic existence, include cooking, hot water
heating, and lighting. Presently, many poor households cannot access the basic energy services necessary for a dignified
basic existence. As a result, many resort to whatever is available usually biomass, using conversion technology that is
low in efficiency, and often contributing to indoor air pollution. According to Karekezi: the bulk of Bio-fuelled cook
stoves meet the bulk of cooking, heating and lighting needs of most rural households in Africa [18]. In South Africa,
many of the poor have to resort to using paraffin or wood. According to the 2004 General Household Survey by Statistics
South Africa the percentage of households using either paraffin or wood for cooking declined to 35.0% in 2004, as
against 37.9% in 2002 [19].
While there is a small improvement, the scale of the need for clean energy services is clear. The gap between the needs
and what is presently available to poor households can be closed in a number of ways. The solution that would seem to
be more equitable would be to provide poor households the same quality of energy services as the middle class in South
Africa (mainly electricity, sometimes with LPG gas), albeit in the smaller amounts needed for a dignified basic existence.
The energy would have to be supplied in amounts that will cater for all the basic needs of the household (lighting,
cooking, water heating, basic appliances). This would differ from the present approach of the basic electricity subsidy,
where the 50 kW per month 3 is given to each household but cannot cover all of the household basic energy needs and
50 kWh per month costs around ZAR 20 a month.
2
3
Eskom is the government parastatal that generates over 98% of the electricity in the country.
The amount of free electricity ranges from 0 to 100 kWh/household.month in different municipalities
Page 16
While the argument to match the technology for the poor with that of the rich has validity, the main problem with this
approach is that if all South Africans live exactly as the wealthy households do, then the environment will not be able to
sustain the impact on it. South Africa already has twice the world average carbon emissions per capita [20]. The problem
of matching standards of living by matching consumption patterns (in terms of quantities and technologies employed) is
often expressed by scholars and observers for the global scale. In short, middle and upper income households are
engaged in unsustainable consumption [21], [22]. The main point of these considerations is that it is vital that
sustainability is pursued together with the quest for equity.
3.6.3
Poverty and energy
Poverty shows itself in a number of ways, and is particularly evident and can have drastic consequences in energy affairs.
The inability to access convenient, let alone clean, energy services leads to outcomes that make it harder for those
trapped in poverty to escape it. The effort and time often associated with the utilisation of low quality fuels and energy
conversion technologies decreases the overall productivity of households and communities.
The energy deficit in poor households results in practical setbacks such as inadequate lighting (paraffin lamps, candles or
wood fires are sometimes the only light), inadequate space heating, inadequate cooking fuel and thus fewer hot, cooked
meals, and a short supply of hot water. The setbacks caused by energy poverty in turn have consequences in the standard
of living of the poor through illness on a more frequent basis (with consequences on income), difficulty in doing
schoolwork and so on. Access to clean and convenient energy services are therefore vital to the alleviation of poverty.
3.6.4
Energy and health
Indoor air pollution among the poorer households in South Africa is a major health issue. Figure 4 indicates the relative
local emissions of various cooking technologies and fuels.
Figure 4: Local pollutant emissions along the energy ladder [23]

Upper respiratory illness resulting from exposure to indoor smoke in households using low quality fuels (generally
biomass) and/or inefficient or 'dirty' energy conversion technologies (generally combustion in an open fire), is a major
problem in South Africa, as in many countries classified as developing around the world. The Air Quality Bill of 2004
[24], is an attempt to improve air quality in South Africa. The need to shift the poorest households in South Africa away
from low quality energy services such as burning coal, firewood and other biomass in an unhealthy (and inefficient) way
is vital in South Africa if lives are to be improved.
3.6.5
Gender and energy
Decision-making in the rural household around fuels and appliances for energy conversion is an important factor
when considering a technology introduction. In a study undertaken in the Northern Province (now Limpopo) it was
determined that women are the primary decision makers when it comes to purchasing fuels and their appliances.
3.7
Page 17
Energy policy
The DME is mandated to develop minerals and energy policy for South Africa. The policy position relating to
biogas in South Africa is set out in the 1998 White Paper on Energy Policy published in 1998. Under the Section
dealing with Access to energy services the policy document has the following to say:
It is clear that all South African households require access to a basic level of energy services. Achieving a sustainable level of energy
security for low-income households can play a central role in the reduction of poverty, the fostering of households livelihoods and an
improved quality of life.
Government will determine a minimum standard for basic household energy services, against which progress can be monitored over
time and will facilitate the widening of access to such a basic level of energy services, including fuels and related appliances.
Basic needs are understood as those requirements essential for human survival. Defining exactly what constitutes a basic energy need,
or rather what may satisfy such a need, is not an easy task however. It is also necessary to recognise that the use of some fuels causes
intolerable levels of air pollution. From this it is apparent that people must have both access to fuels and that these fuels should not
endanger their health in the conversion process.
The DME has directly expressed its support for this biogas feasibility, and potential programme, by way of a direct
letter to the sponsors of this study.
3.8
Fertiliser usage in agriculture
The South African fertiliser industry is largely dominated by 3 primary manufacturers of fertilizers, namely Kynoch (a
subsidiary of AECI), Sasol and Omnia (each with a market share of between 20 and 50%). There is also a manufacturer,
Indian Ocean Fertilisers, located at Richards Bay manufacturing mainly for the export market.
The nitrogenous components required for fertiliser production are derived from ammonia, which is produced by Sasol
and AECI. Phosphate rock is locally mined and used in the manufacture of phosphates by Foskor. Products sold by the
fertiliser manufacturers in South Africa include materials prepared from local phosphates, imported components, and
locally compounded materials.
In 2006 the total weight of fertilizer utilized in South Africa was 2,072,877 tonnes [25]. Yet is has been reported that of
the 2,051,521 tonnes consumed in 1999, around 442,258 tonnes were imported mainly in the form of potash [25]. This
represents approximately 21.5% of total consumption that is imported, resultantly leading to a rapid increase in the price
thereof. Unfortunately, these data no doubt refer in the main to the formal commercial agriculture sector. Most of
Southern Africa's 20-million farmers are applying small quantities of fertilisers, because of the problems of accessibility
and availability.
There is an enormous need for (organic) fertiliser that a planned biogas dissemination programme can assist in meeting.
There is the additional advantage that the fertiliser arising from the biogas digester as bio-slurry is produced on site and
at no additional cost to the household.
3.9
Environment
South Africa has a very heavy carbon footprint, comparatively speaking, as is illustrated in Figure 5. The figure shows
the global CO2 (per unit of GDP and per capita) as well as per low, middle and high income groups globally. South
Africa has a figure of 100 on average relative to the data shown. In absolute terms, South Africa ranked 19th in the top 25
greenhouse gas (GHG) emitting countries of the world in 2000 and is by far Africas largest GHG emitter. It is estimated
that in 2000 South Africa contributed 1.2% towards world GHG emissions, despite its relatively small economy and
population (44 million people) [26]. This stands in stark contrast to India which contributes about 5.6% to world GHG
emissions, despite having a population of more than 1.1 billion, i.e., 25 times greater than that of South Africa.
To fully evaluate and appreciate South Africas large carbon footprint from an economic development perspective, in
2001, based on the latest national census, approximately 73% of rural households use either wood or paraffin for cooking
purposes, and only 18% have access to electricity. In total only about 60% of households have access to grid electricity
[27]. Thus, a very large portion of the countrys population does not have grid electricity and, even some of those who do
have access, cannot afford the necessary appliances.
Page 18
100
as % of South Africa usage
90
80
70
60
50
40
30
20
10
0
World
Low income
Lower Middle
CO2 emissions per unit of GDP(kg per PPP $ of GDP)
Figure 5:
Upper Middle
CO2 emissions per capita
South Africas carbon emissions intensity: An international comparison (SA=100) [4]
4.
Page 19
History and experiences with household biogas
Biogas digester technology is well established in several countries. Mass dissemination of biogas technology was
first initiated in China around 1970 [28]. Subsequently, the technology was implemented on a large scale in India,
and Nepal, countries that, in addition to China, now have considerable expertise in biogas digester technology
programme implementation. There are a number of South Asian, South-East Asian, African, and Latin American
countries where biogas digesters have been constructed, in some cases, in notable numbers.
4.1
South African experience with small-scale biogas
The Agricultural Research Council (ARC) has a page on their website entitled Converting cattle manure to
biogas [29], that goes on to explain the functioning of biogas and their pilot project. The project involved the
installation of a heated floating drum digester. ARC also has a list of biogas publications, with titles such as
Biogas users manual, Biogas from cattle manure, Biogas purification, Biogas equipment, and Biogas water
pump. This digester under the pilot project was built in the late 1980s.
In addition, a fairly recent report prepared by Messrs. Gavin Fleming, Herman Cornelissen and Simangele Dlamini in
October 2006 and entitled Mintek and biogas generation in SA provides the following general information:
A number of biogas pilot projects have been initiated at various districts in rural KwaZulu-Natal: Two pilot biogas
digesters have been installed in the Ndwedwe District outside Durban. One is a residential system with a volume of 9.5
m3 that was commissioned in November 2000. This digester takes input from a toilet and dung from three cows that are
kraaled overnight. The digester generates in the region of 3 m3 of biogas each day, enough to cook for the family of eight.
Of particular interest is the integration of the digester within the household, since all food and water wastes (viz. grey
water) are directed through the biogas plant. It is a common misperception that access to water is a constraint on the
application of biogas technology at the household level. Since each family uses water every day, this same water can
easily be directed to the biogas digester. The average cost of this system is equal to the cost of LPG, without taking
externalities or biogas benefits into account.
The second system is at a school with 1,000 learners. It is comprised of two 20 m3 digesters, each fed from an eight-toilet
block. Additional gas is generated through the addition of cow dung through separate inlet chambers. This system
produces around 16 m3 of biogas each day. The gas has dual end uses: cooking in the domestic science classroom by
means of modified gas stoves, and running a modified 5 horse power diesel engine which in turn drives a 2 kW
alternating current generator. The biogas is sufficient to cook on four gas plates for eight hours per day, or to run the
generator for eight hours each day. The diesel engine operates as a dual-fuel system, since the biogas replaces about 85%
of the diesel that would otherwise be normally used. The unit energy costs over a 15-year lifecycle are lower than solar
electrification, and can be markedly cheaper than grid power should the grid have to be extended to a particular end-use
point. A biogas plant also does not suffer from the security risks faced by a solar installation.
Biogas digesters have been installed in several new sustainable villages, such as Oude Molen, Kuyasa (Khayelitsha),
Philippi and others (Lisa Thompson-Smeddle and Greg Austin, personal communication).
Yeastpro (Anchor Yeast) has considered biogas to treat their yeast waste, which is done in many cases around the world,
but say that the viability of such a solution depends on local conditions and that in the case of Yeastpro, it does not make
economic sense at this stage.
Several other publications document experience with biogas technology in South Africa, but they mostly relate to
family/institutional-size installations. However, the focus of the Biogas for Africa An African Initiative is
exclusively on household-size installations and while it is understood that many individual-size digesters have been built
since the digester technology was introduced in South Africa in the 1950s, there is very little documented information on
the countrys experience with such digesters. This, no doubt, will change once the Biogas Initiative becomes operational
in the country.
There has been a constant demand over the past eight years for biogas digesters, but over the past 12 months there
has been a clear interest from a different enquiry source: these include project developers, municipalities,
renewable energy fund managers, and the like. In terms of actual systems installed in South Africa, there are
conceptual plans to implement demonstration and training projects in different villages around South Africa. These
projects are particularly interesting from the perspective of retaining the momentum being generated naturally
Page 20
through the enquiries and discussions around this feasibility study, and will no doubt allow for some of the
assumptions around costs, market demand, affordability etc to be validated.
The digester technology that has been implemented in South Africa over the past five years has been of a modified fixeddome design. In the context of the Biogas Initiative with its emphasis on robust and tested biogas standardized designs
that meet local needs and conditions, with the experience with this design in both South Africa and its neighbour,
Lesotho, this is the technology basis for the costs (Section 5.2) and financials (Section 6) that are presented later in the
report.
5.
Page 21
Assessment of technical factors for disseminating biogas plants
There are a number of technical factors that need to be assessed in determining the viability of a household biogas
programme in South Africa, which can be separated into harder and softer issues. The hard issues include
technology cost, consumer demand, access to feedstock, access to water, and the climatic conditions. Once these
are proven, the softer issues need assessing: government support, potential for commercial involvement in a
programme, alignment with existing initiatives, etc.
In this section the technology costs, overall national technical potential based on critical parameters as well as the
anticipated demand for household biogas digester systems are assessed. The costs that are presented relate to a 6 m3
volume fixed-dome digester enough to meet the energy needs of a family of 4-5 persons for cooking and lighting.
5.1
Nepalese digester GGC 2047
With regard to digester design, it is generally accepted that the fixed-dome GGC 2047, developed in Nepal and
which has proved its performance and reliability in several Asian countries and is being promoted in African
countries (e.g. Ethiopia, Rwanda, etc. under the Biogas Initiative) and adapted as necessary for conditions in South
Africa would be the most suitable. The digester is depicted in the figure below.
Figure 6: Drawing of GGC 2047 digester
5.2
Cost of investment
South Africa has a challenging economic environment for the introduction of biogas digesters into the rural
economy. Looking at key economic indicators the casual observer might form the opinion that South Africa has an
economy where the impacts of a strong macro-economic environment might positively impact throughout society.
In reality however there is a large disparity in income in the so-called first and second economies, where the latter
are as indigent as the poorest countries in the world. Many of these indigent people reside in rural areas.
The fundamental issue the programme faces is that the inputs to the macro economy apply equally to these first and
second economies, and hence the strong economic environment creates a challenge in terms of the higher costs of
Page 22
digesters than might be seen elsewhere. The higher cost factors may occur primarily in two areas: materials and
labour.
There are several measures that can be undertaken to bring down this capital cost. A substantial cost reduction can
be obtained through design optimisations and efficiencies created through economies of scale, as well as smart
implementation and planning. In planning, the concept of clustering installations, where a number of orders for
digesters within a defined geographic area would accumulate until a threshold is reached, provides substantial
reduction of costs.
5.2.1
Cost to construct a 6m3 digester
The future construction cost for a single digester of this design under a wide-scale programme, as estimated by
AGAMA in Annex E, amounts to approximately US$ 1,900, whereas, for example, the cost for the same digester is
US$ 859 in the case of Rwanda.
In discussions with MPS Builders (in Mthatha) and on the basis of costs of some materials ascertained from a
hardware store (in East London), the AGAMA costs were refined and are provided in the table below, side by side
with costs for similar items (for comparison purposes) in Rwanda.
Page 23
Table 4: Rwanda and South Africa: 6 m3 GGC 2047 Digester Cost Comparison (on the basis of costs for
wide-scale implementation).
Item
A
Construction
materials
Cement
Lime
Water proof cement
Sand
Stone
Gravel 3/4
Reinforcement rod (6 mm)
Binding wire (2 mm)
Small items
Mixer
Paint
Subtotal construction
materials
B
Pipes and fittings
GI pipe (21 mm dia.)
PVC pipe (110 mm)-outlet
GI pipe fittings 21 mm
Subtotal pipes and fittings
C
Appliances cost
Stove
Main valve
Water drain
Gas tap
Inlet, Dome gas + Rubber
hose pipes
Subtotal appliances
D
Labour cost
Skilled labour
Unskilled labour
Annual Maintenance Fee
Subtotal labour
E Construction Charge
Transport cost
Entrepreneur Overhead
(P&G)
Company Profit
Subtotal Construction
Total
F VAT (14%)
Grand Total
Unit
bag
bag
kg
m3
m3
m3
pcs
kg
Rwanda
Unit
Qty
Cost
US$
13
12.36
3.0
2.18
18.0
2.73
Total
Cost
US$
160.70
6.50
49.10
2.2
18.18
40.00
3.0
18.18
54.50
1.2
18.18
21.80
2.0
0.5
-
5.45
1.82
-
10.90
0.90
25.45
litre
South Africa*
Unit
Total Cost
Qty
Cost
US$
US$
10
7.60
76.00
0.18
Owner
Provided
162.00
11
4.50
Owner
Provided
49.50
1
1
28.50
9.65
28.50
9.65
325.65
900**
bricks
370.00
pcs
metre
pcs
3
3
12
21.82
9.09
1.36
65.50
27.30
16.40
109.00
25m
2
12
5.00
7.70
1.40
125.00***
15.40
16.80
157.20
set
pcs
pcs
pcs
1
1
1
1
27.27
5.00
2.20
3.30
27.30
5.00
2.20
3.30
65.00
65.00
19.30
71.50
19.30
71.50
38.00
days
days
10
24
4.55
1.82
45.50
43.60
155.80
8
11
89.00
98.18
154.55
253.00
859.00
859.00
*
**
***
28.60
17.15
228.80
188.65
0.60****
418.05
100.00
120.00
150.00
370.00
1008.65
141.20
1149.86
Adapted from AGAMA Report, November 2007.

On the basis of Uganda for 6 m3 digester.
This item can be reduced by US$ 100 if PVC pipe covered by gravel for protection against damage from digging
were to be used.
**** See Uganda FS: 1.5% max. of capital cost spread over 15 years.
Exchange Rate used: US$ 1 = ZAR 7
Page 24
It can be seen from the above table that, in the case of South Africa, the 6 m3 household biogas digester of the GGC
2047 design can be constructed for approx. US$ 1,150. The construction costs could be reduced by US$ 100 if
PVC pipes were to be used instead of galvanised iron (GI). Additionally, a further reduction of US$ 141 would be
possible if the Government were to waive the 14% VAT. This issue needs to be discussed with the Ministry of
Finance.
5.3
Technical potential assessment
Biogas digesters can process different feedstock, and be implemented in a variety of applications, including the
following:
Rural households with four or more cows, where the cattle dung can be collected fairly conveniently.
Rural households with a diverse mixture of livestock such as pigs, chickens, and goats.
Cattle farm where there is a large enough concentration of accessible cattle dung.
Sheep, horse, chicken and other farms where there is sufficient supply of accessible animal dung.
Institutions such as rural schools where there is inadequate sanitation, but a fairly large number of users.
The emphasis for the household application is on those homes with four or more cattle since a biogas digester
would be able to supply all the cooking requirements of the household without any additional inputs of
biodegradable resources to the digester. This is based on the widely practised livestock management system, where
cattle feed widely in communal areas during the day and are only penned (corralled) at night. Hence to achieve the
minimum amount of 20 kg of cow manure 4 cows are required.
This approach obviously excludes the poorest in our society, while focussing no doubt on the better off (on a rural
relative scale) in the community. Technology extension over time will see smaller cheaper digesters then being
more accessible to those with 3, then 2 cows as has been the case in Nepal for example.
The primary rural animal ownership across South Africa is that of cattle. There is a strong cultural relationship
between cattle ownership and status/wealth in a given community. Given this widespread tie between cattle and
rural people, for the purposes of this technical assessment the livestock ownership was limited to only cattle while
noting that in pockets there is considerable ownership of pigs, sheep, and goats. It is also worth noting that there is
strong correlation between cattle ownership, and cattle management, meaning that the household owners are in
control of the cattle.
Given the wide range in climatic and historical development status across the nine provinces of South Africa, a first
analysis of the number of households that owned four or more cattle was the initial parameter for inclusion in
additional analysis. These results are presented in Table 5. The data shown for 2006 were developed from different
sets of statistical data: the Rural Survey of 1999 (which presented 1997 data) [31], the General Household Survey
of 2005 [19], an assessment of the urban and rural areas in 2001 [1], and the mid-year population census performed
in 2006 [32].
Biogas digester systems require a certain amount of liquid per day for the fermentation. In the ideal situation all the
urine from the cattle would be captured and represent sufficient liquid for the anaerobic process, with is in the order
of 1 component solids to 1 component liquids. Therefore, access to 20 litres of water/day is essential, and this can
of course be used water from within the household. Nevertheless, a distance of not more that 1 km from the
household is felt to be the maximum distance people should walk to get water.
The number of households for whom biogas could be the solution for a better life is approximately 310,000
representing about 9.5% of the rural households in South Africa (Table 5).
Page 25
Table 5: Number of rural households with biogas potential by province.

Number of Percentage of Number of Percentage Number of Total number of Percentage
households
HHs with
HHs with of HHs not HHs with
rural HHs
of rural
with 4 or more access to
access to
electrified
biogas
HHs with
cows
water (< 1 km)
water
potential
biogas
potential
224,417
82.1%
184,291
59.3%
692,775
15.8%
Eastern Cape
109,285
310,206
92.4%
286,500
55.5%
963,835
16.5%
KwaZulu-Natal
159,007
47,727
82.6%
39,418
35.7%
765,089
1.8%
Limpopo
14,072
27,740
96.4%
26,730
42.2%
362,091
3.1%
North West
11,280
22,327
99.9%
22,295
45.8%
359,240
2.8%
Mpumalanga
10,211
22,770
97.9%
22,300
29.1%
132,736
4.9%
Free State
6,489
655,187
87.4%
581,534
44.6%
3,275,766
9.5%
Total
310,345
5.4
Household energy supply and demand
In an analysis of the household energy utilisation in the thirteen nodal areas comprising the focus of the Integrated
Sustainable Rural Development Plan undertaken in 2002 [6], it was noted that 18.3% of households use electricity
for cooking while wood is the main source of cooking energy in 53.8% of the households. 19.2% of households use
paraffin, while gas and coal comprise 2.6% each. These data are therefore broadly representative of the situation in
the focal provinces (Table 6).
In a study undertaken in Limpopo [14], it was ascertained that 51.3% of households use wood, 14.9% use paraffin,
25.4% use electricity and 6.9% and 1.2% use coal and gas respectively (based on seasonal data presented and
averaged here, for two villages surveyed) for their cooking fuels. In summer an average of 23.5% of the households
in the two villages used wood exclusively for cooking while in winter the figure was 21.8%.
In a 3-province analysis of rural household energy utilisation [33] between 89% and 94% of households identified
wood as their primary cooking fuel. While the information in this 2006 study was not disaggregated according to
final end uses it is invaluable in gauging the level of dependency on different fuels as well as the monthly costs
being allocated to different fuels but noting that a given fuel may provide multiple benefits/outputs at the same
time making the cost allocation to one end use e.g. cooking extremely difficult.
Table 6: Cooking fuels in three provinces.
Province
Cooking Fuel
% of fuel
used for
cooking
% users
(buyers)
User Expenditure
(month, average,
Rand)
Eastern Cape
Paraffin
88%
90%
63.07
Sample average
cost in users
buying fuels
(Rand)
56.00
LPG
95%
27%
135.49
37.00
Wood
89%
38%
16.27
Average monthly expenditure

KwaZuluNatal
NorthWest
6.00
99.00
Paraffin
87%
33%
37.18
12.00
LPG
85%
49%
77.00
38.00
Wood
94%
3%
11.66
50.00
Paraffin
82%
71%
77.42
55.00
LPG
47%
28%
129.82
36.00
Wood
92%
13%
10.63
1.00
92.00
Source: [33]
Wood fuel collection time is also a factor in households deciding to switch fuels from one form to another. In a study
performed in five southern villages in Limpopo in 2002 [34], it was noted that the wood fuel collection time per trip
Page 26
increased from 239 +/- 15 minutes in 1991 to 268 +/- 21 minutes in 2002. The authors also report that 94% of households
collected firewood in 2002, while the number of households purchasing firewood increased from 27% in 1991 to 31% in
2002. These data reflect the reliance on (unsustainable) wood fuel in rural South Africa as well as the increasing
distances involved in its collection, and the associated increase in households purchasing it. This is supported by data
presented in other surveys [33].
5.5
Technology receptivity
The question regarding adoption of a new technology within a household or community is that of ownership through
informed choice. In essence, the route into households and communities must take into account high potential
winners through locating champions. An example of this is to target, say, the headmen within an area. This requires
some intense investment in social facilitation in order to bring about a sustainable programme. There are lessons from
other programmes, and methods such as participatory rural appraisal approaches, semi-structured interviews, household
surveys that can be used to derive information relating to community stakeholders, the baseline data, community
resources and capitals, and skills data.
5.6
Conclusions
There is clearly a great potential for a household biogas programme, based on the technical analysis performed in
this section. However, there is uncertainty and associated concerns that the information pertaining to current
cooking fuels utilisation and their costs are not adequately documented in the literature. Household surveys were
therefore deemed absolutely necessary for answering these questions and hence also developing the financial,
economic and affordability indicators that are required.
The key information derived from the household surveys relates to the cost of cooking energy, and the time taken
to collect these cooking fuels. Table 7 presents these key results and identifies the monthly affordability level per
household as being ZAR 90, ZAR 113 and ZAR 104 in Limpopo, Eastern Cape and KwaZulu-Natal respectively.
The average affordability level is approximately ZAR 100/month.
Table 7: Household survey summary.
Limpopo
Eastern
Cape
KwaZulu
-Natal
Average
Average
monthly
cooking fuel
cost (ZAR)
Average
monthly
income
(ZAR)
% HH
income
on
cooking
fuels
(%)
10.8
15.6
Average daily
cooking fuel
collection time
among HHs
that collect
firewood
(minutes)
75
99
Minimum
amount
HHs will
pay for
biogas
system
(ZAR)
167
113
% of stated
payment for
biogas system
against
average
monthly fuel
cost (%)
186%
76%
Indicative
average
biogas
system
affordabilit
y level
(ZAR)
90
113
90
148
831
948
172
1003
17.1
26
104
60%
104
137
927
14.7
67
128
107%
102
The average cost data for fuels presented in Table 7 were used in the financial analysis section later in the report, since
they represent more conservative data.
6.
6.1
Page 27
Financial and economic analyses

Financial analysis
While the costs would be somewhat similar across the provinces considered, the benefits per province differ as
shown in Table 7 (mainly the quantity of collected fuelwood by the households and the costs of purchased
fuelwood differ) so the results of the FIRR would be expected to show some differences per province. Three
provinces that had the largest technical potential for biogas, in decreasing order are, Kwa-Zulu Natal, Eastern Cape
and Limpopo. However, of these three provinces Eastern Cape presented the largest returns in terms of benefits.
Hence, the suggestion to select Eastern Cape to launch the Biogas Initiative in South Africa, but to be followed
closely by KwaZulu-Natal and others..
For the calculation of the Financial Internal Rate of Return (FIRR) the following assumptions were made:
General assumptions
Inflation is taken to be 7% a year.
Exchange rate of the United States Dollar, US$ 1 = ZAR 7.
Exchange rate of the Euro, 1 = ZAR 10.
A fixed dome digester can last for 40 years depending on the quality of construction and the materials used.
However, the economic life of a plant is taken as 15 years mainly because any cost or benefit accrued after
15 years will have increasingly less value and hardly influence the value of the IRR.
Costs
The unit cost of a 6 m3 biogas plant is taken as ZAR 8,050 (US$ 1,150 see Table 4 above for calculation) including
14% Value Added Tax (VAT). However, there would be some minors cost differences in other provinces; hence, as
indicated above, some differences in FIRR would be, naturally, expected.
The annual maintenance cost is taken as 1.5% of the capital cost, increasing at 7% (inflation) per year.
Benefits
The benefits of the programme are wide-ranging and include direct benefits such as avoided cost of purchasing
alternative fuels and fertiliser, and indirect benefits such as the reduced time to collect fuelwood and decreased
health costs. Similar to the inflation rate, the value of the benefits also increases at 7%.
The time savings related to reduced cooking time and the time to look for the fuelwood have not been considered
(also the time needed to feed the biogas plant is not taken into account). This is because the households do not
perceive the saved time as a financial benefit. For the same reason the avoided health costs have not been taken into
account.
Therefore, only two real financial benefits are considered, namely savings in the cost of fuel and benefits of using
the slurry as organic fertiliser.
The average avoided fuel costs per year are for the three provinces is ZAR 744 (US$ 106). This is very
conservative estimate since, as indicated in Table 7; the total cooking energy costs indicated by the households
which were surveyed is between ZAR 90 and ZAR 172 per month.
Small South African farmers do use fertilisers in their lands even though there is suppressed demand due the high
costs of these fertilisers. Since one of the components of a biogas programme is the agricultural extension that
trains farmers in the use of slurry, it is reasonable to include the avoided costs of the utilisation of the slurry in its
totality. The price of the fertiliser is taken as ZAR 2,850 per tonne and the average fertiliser substitution value of
the slurry produced by a 6 m3 biogas digester is estimated at 100 kg per year (from Nepal data).
Table 8 below shows the FIRR as a function of the different levels of subsidy. For comparison, the FIRRs for
Eastern Cape only are shown. It is evident that the FIRR will decrease if the capital costs were to increase and this
is demonstrated in the last row of the table, where the capital costs are assumed to be ZAR 10,000 (US$ 1,428).
Page 28
Table 8: FIRR for different levels of subsidy and two capital costs.
For the three provinces

For Eastern Cape only
For the three provinces with a capital
cost of ZAR 10,000
Subsidy level
10%
20%
19%
22%
30%
34%
14%
16%
0%
16%
26%
12%
30%
25%
40%
19%
The monthly payments to service the loan to finance the biogas plant are shown in Table 9, assuming a subsidy of
30%, and a down-payment of 10%.
Table 9: Monthly loan repayments in ZAR.
Monthly Interest Rate
Term in months
12
24
36
48
60
1.0%
429
227
160
127
107
2.0%
457
255
189
157
139
3.0%
485
285
221
191
175
The average fuel cost for the three provinces is ZAR 62 and for Eastern Cape alone is ZAR 99. Including fertiliser
savings these amounts are respectively ZAR 86 and ZAR 123. Therefore the monthly instalment costs are higher
than the benefits (in fuel and fertiliser savings) for almost all values in the table. This implies that for the
development and future expansion of the programme it is crucial that the agreement with micro-finance institutions
focus on a specific credit line for biogas with both low interest rate and long repayment term.
Given that a minimum wage is ZAR 1,100 the above monthly costs are more than 10% of the possible household
income. Therefore, of the 282,000 households (three provinces only) where a biogas installation is technically
feasible, it is assumed that at least 10% of them (28,200) should have an income that allows them only to spend
10% of their monthly income for a biogas digester. This estimate is very conservative as, as noted above,
households spend on average more in fuels for cooking and lighting and also because the families with cattle most
probably have higher monthly incomes than average.
Even though the FIRR shows interesting rates of return even without a subsidy it is advisable to start the
programme with an appropriate level of subsidy conducive to generating an increased rate of market development.
Also the discussion above shows that in order to encourage people to invest in a biogas plant, the costs for the
monthly loan repayments should not differ too much from their present expenses for fuel and fertiliser, and this
calls for an as large as possible subsidy.
The loan servicing costs only occur during the repayment term while the benefits of the biogas plant occur during
the likely lifetime of the biogas plant of 20 years. Nevertheless we advise to set up the initial subsidy at 30% of the
investment costs, but make it clear from the beginning that as the costs per unit decline and the market confidence
increases that this subsidy percentage will decrease.
6.2
Page 29
Economic analysis
The range and level of the benefits for the economic and the financial analyses differ since the financial analysis
only includes benefits for the private households, that is, only those benefits that have a direct impact on the cash
flow of households. Economic benefits are a much broader concept and include societal benefits and benefits that
are not normally associated with cash flows.
Costs
The capital cost in the economic analysis is not the same as for the financial analysis, because it excludes taxes and
subsidies, and is therefore ZAR 7,061 (US$ 1,009), the maintenance costs are the same, namely 1.5% of the capital
expenditure, ex-VAT.
Included in the calculation are the programme and technical assistance costs estimated to be US$ 300 per digester
(ZAR 2,100), this taking into account the initial figures of the Rwanda programme.
Benefits
Five benefits are monetised, namely:
The energy savings, as discussed and calculated under the financial analysis.
The time savings of the household (see explanation below).
The potential CER revenue is calculated based on 3 ton CO2 avoided per 6m3 digester per year (this is a
conservative value) with a CER value of 7 per ton (ZAR 70/ton).
Avoided medical cost based on the biogas feasibility study done for Uganda, adjusting all values for power
purchase parity, are taken conservatively to be ZAR 1,000 per household per year 4 .
The fertiliser value will be realised based on the commercial wholesale price, as in the FIRR.
The reasons given above to not include time saved or spent in the calculations of the FIRR, cannot be reasonably
argued in the same way as for the EIRR. All biogas programmes show that the time for fetching wood, tending the
fire, cleaning pots etc., is drastically reduced by the biogas introduction. On the other hand the time a household
spends to manage the digester (fetch water, collect dung and mix it with water) has to be added. We make here a
conservative assumption that the net saved time is 1 h per day. This time has a societal value that is included as a
shadow cost for rural labour and taken as 35% of the minimum hourly wage, which results in a shadow price for
labour of ZAR 2.19 per hour.
Based on the above values the following EIRR were obtained:
45% if only energy cost savings, time saved and medical expenses are included.
52% if also the fertiliser value is included.
57% if also the CER revenues are included.
6.3
Discussion and conclusions
Despite using generally conservative estimates for the benefits in relation to the outcomes of the household surveys
done by AGAMA, both the financial and the economic analyses indicate a consistent and significant net benefit of
such a national biogas programme. These values, however, should not be considered without caution.
Implementing a national biogas programme is likely to have significant social and institutional challenges to
overcome, including financing mechanisms, the roles, and responsibilities of various stakeholders and the
affordability of the repayment of the 70% own contribution. The key conclusions of this analysis are:
In order for the households to have the same level of monthly loan repayments for the biogas digester as they
have at present time in terms of the expenditure for fuel for cooking and lighting, the appropriate level of
capital subsidy should be around 30% (US$ 345).
The affordability analysis indicates that there are at least 28,200 households that could afford to pay for a
biogas digester. Those are households that should have an income that allows them only to spend 10% of
their monthly income for a biogas digester.
4
The AGAMA study estimated ZAR 4,100 savings to society in medical costs and value of lost lives due to sickness, etc.
Page 30
It is advisable that households make an initial contribution of 10% of the capital costs, thereby increasing
ownership and decreasing the financing costs.
The highest value obtained from a programmatic point of view is in the Eastern Cape, which has a 40%
FIRR at the 30% subsidy level and an EIRR of 69%.
The FIRR analysis shows that, from the point of view of the household, investing in a biogas plant is an attractive
proposition even if there were no subsidy. However, the justification for the subsidy, especially at the initial stage
of the programme, is mainly to allow for increased demand to create a sufficient large (jumpstart) market making it
attractive for private companies to come into the market and invest in capacity to build biogas plants (even though
the programme will also support capacity development). Furthermore subsidies have been found to be a powerful
way to discipline participating private companies by enforcing quality standards and control of the constructed
plants. Installation of high quality plants in turn increases confidence in the product and results also in a sustained
growth of the market. This subsidy is expected to decline in time and, probably, get eliminated after several years,
as the FIRR will still continue to be attractive without it.
7.
Page 31
Stakeholder organisations and initiatives
7.1
Finance
7.1.1
Co-operatives
The Co-operative Act no 14 of 2005 defines co-operative as "an autonomous association of persons united
voluntarily to meet their common economic, social and cultural needs and aspirations through a jointly-owned and
democratically-controlled enterprise organized and operated on co-operatives principles". The co-operative
movement in South Africa has not to date been a major success and yet there is currently great support by
government and micro-finance institutions (MFIs) for their role in service delivery in a developmental context. The
umbrella organisation in South Africa is NCASA, the National Co-operative Association of South Africa.
A cooperative belongs to its members. The idea of an organization for self-help is violated once non-members are
allowed to benefit from the activities of the cooperatives. This is especially true where cooperatives process the produce
of members (e.g. large-scale production of biogas) or marketing their produce to the open markets that members have
created and markets that members have developed at great effort and expense are now made available to people who
have contributed nothing to the effort. Once this is allowed, the principle of a cooperative is seriously undermined.
However, some consumer cooperatives do sell to non-members, but in that case non-members are not entitled to bonuses
on the business they have transacted with the cooperative. Such bonuses are only distributed among members, so that the
members in fact benefit from the business of non-members.
7.1.2
Microfinance institutions
The Savings and Credit Cooperative League of SA (SACCOL) Ltd. was established by Savings and Credit Cooperatives (SACCOs) and Credit Unions around South Africa as their National Association [35]. SACCOL has three
primary functions:
Representative of the SACCO movement both locally and internationally
To provide development services to SACCOs. SACCOL services its member organisations by providing training,
advice and other technical services as well as accepting deposit from and making loans to its members.
To regulate SACCOs.
Khula Enterprise Finance Limited is an agency of the Department of Trade and Industry (dti) established in 1996 to
facilitate access to finance for small and medium enterprises (SMEs). Khula provides assistance through various delivery
channels. These include commercial banks, retail financial intermediaries and micro credit outlets. Through its Thuso
Mentorship Programme, Khula also provides mentorship services to guide and counsel entrepreneurs in various aspects
of managing their businesses. Khula is a wholesale finance institution, which means that entrepreneurs do not get
assistance directly from Khula but through various institutions named above. Over the past five years, Khula has
disbursed over ZAR 1 billion directly into the SME sector. During the 2003/04 financial year alone, disbursements
increased by 40% to ZAR 280 million. The number of beneficiaries also increased by 21% to 110 000 during the same
period [36].
The Community Organisation Resource Centre has been fully operational since March 2002. For the first three years
of its existence the Resource Centre was involved only in the facilitation of learning through exchange programmes to
grassroots communities involved in innovative development. These communities were almost always affiliated to either
the Coalition of the Urban Poor or the Alliance of Rural Communities. Most innovations derived from the activities of
the major social movement affiliated to both these grassroots networks the Federation of the Urban Poor [37].
Microfinance South Africa (www.mfsa.net) is the leading umbrella organisation for the microfinance sector with
a vision is to ensure a sustainable microfinance industry in South Africa and has as its members some of the largest
microfinance groups in the country.
7.2
Government
7.2.1
Page 32
Department of Minerals and Energy (DME)
The purpose of the department is to ensure the optimal utilisation and safe exploitation of mineral and energy resources
and the rehabilitation of the surface. To this end, it is responsible for the following:
To direct and administer regional offices on economic growth and development.
To formulate and promote mineral-related policies that will encourage investment into the mining and mineral
industry, thus making South Africa attractive to investors.
Regulate hydrocarbon energy carriers and ensure energy planning.
Manage the electricity sector and the nuclear industry.
Ensure the safe mining of minerals under healthy working conditions.
Ensure the co-ordination of the national rural development strategy.
Ensure overall co-ordination of HIV/AIDS and other programmes and projects in the department as well as in the
mining and energy industries.
Ensure alignment of departmental policies and programmes with the National Economic and Development
Strategy.
Co-ordinate the implementation of gender empowerment in the mineral and energy sectors.
The DME does not finance programs, but has a Renewable Energy Finance and Subsidy Office. This office provides a
non-repayable grant of ZAR 500,000 per MW energy equivalent that any renewable energy project can generate.
Different smaller scale projects can be bundled together to make one large programme and be submitted for co-financing.
7.2.2
The Department of Agriculture (DOA)
While not primarily concerned with access to energy, the National Department of Agriculture (DOA) has statistics and
programmes of relevance to the proposed biogas digester programme. These include statistics on households and
livestock ownership (types and numbers), crop production (waste crop amounts that could potentially be fed into biogas
digesters), programmes on land resettlement, information dissemination on farming practices, and so on. In particular,
Department of Agriculture programmes such as AGIS (Agricultural Geo-referenced Information System) can play a vital
role in the coordination and advancing of the national biogas digester programme.
Of importance is the approach to agricultural activity emphasizing the comprehensive re-use of resources and so-called
wastes. Biogas technology is part of such an approach and could re-focus the DOA towards a greater emphasis on this
approach.
7.2.3
Department of Trade and Industry (DTI)
The Department of Trade and Industry is entrusted with the responsibility to develop policies that will create enabling
environment to generate or stimulate economic growth driven by trade, industrial development, and support business to
achieve local economic development. The Department of Trade and Industry's vision is of a South Africa that has a
vibrant economy, characterised by growth, employment, and equity, built on the full potential of all citizens. To achieve
this, the DTI has become an outwardly focused, customer-centric organisation.
7.2.4
Department of Environmental Affairs and Tourism (DEAT)
The department environmental affairs and tourism is an organisation that promotes the enhancement of natural resources
for sustainable equitable use and protect and enhance the quality and safety of the environment. Its functions are:
Promote and conserve our biological diversity and cultural and local natural resources and ensure the sustainable
utilisation of resources for the benefit of the people of South Africa.
Protect the environment in the interest of the health and well being of the people of South Africa.
Provide environmental information in support of effective environmental management and public participation in
environmental governance.
DEAT funds poverty alleviation oriented projects, which have strong criteria relating to employment
7.3
Government agencies and initiatives
7.3.1
The South African Bureau of Standards (SABS)
Page 33
SABS is a statutory body that was established in terms of the Standards Act, 1945 (Act No. 24 of 1945) and continues to
operate in terms of the latest edition of the Standards Act, 1993 (Act No. 29 of 1993) as the national institution for the
promotion and maintenance of standardization and quality in connection with commodities and the rendering of services.
South African National Standards (identified by the letters SANS) reflect national consensus on a wide range of subjects,
aimed at improving the quality of life of all South Africans and are increasingly being harmonised with International
Standards in order to facilitate trade.
The SABS tests products for customers to check compliance with National Standards, and also certifies products and
services, providing assurance of quality and safety. They promote good design through the activities of their Design
Institute, and provide training on aspects related to quality and standardization. They have developed and implemented a
customer-focused business model to maximise service delivery in a coordinated way countrywide.
7.3.2
The National Development Agency
The NDA is a statutory body established in terms of the National Development Agency Act of 1998, to contribute
towards the eradication of poverty and eliminate its causes. This is achieved through strengthening the capacity of
civil society organisations in combating these issues by providing grants to Community Service Organisations for
the purpose of meeting development needs of the poor, providing a platform for policy dialogue as well as carrying
out research to inform development policy.
Historically Civil Society Organisations (CSOs) received their funding directly from donors. For a number of
reasons a decision was taken by government that funds should be channelled through a single entity. Thus the NDA
is also mobilising resources to reduce its funding dependency on government.
The funding objective of the NDA is to provide financial support for projects and programmes that will have a
direct impact on improving the asset base of poor communities. Criteria have been established for determining
eligibility for accessing development grant funding. One of these relates to alignment with the NDA selected focus
areas, which are food security and economic development.
7.3.3
The Umsobomvu Youth Fund
Umsobomvu Youth Fund (UYF) was established by government in January 2001 with the mandate of promoting the job
creation and skills development and transfer among young South Africans between the ages of 18 and 35. To carry out its
mandate, UYF makes strategic investments to create opportunities for young people to acquire skills, to access job
opportunities or to pursue meaningful self-employment opportunities. Umsobomvu Youth Fund's strategy is built around
four key areas:
To create and design job creation programmes.
To outsource the implementation of these programmes to service providers.
To support and work with existing youth initiatives.
To support capacity building for service providers.

UYF's strategic objectives include:
Achieving effectiveness.
Integrated business and programmes.
Achieving scale.
7.4
NGOs
7.4.1
Women in Oil and Energy South Africa (WOESA)
Page 34
WOESA is a Section 21 Company whose aim is to facilitate and promote business opportunities for and enhance the
participation of South African women in the oil and energy sector. Black women in South Africa have either been at the
lowest end of any form of business opportunity, or totally excluded. It therefore is imperative for women to focus
cohesively on addressing their unique position in order to address these facts. WOESAs first priority is to facilitate
womens participation in business opportunities in the oil, gas and other energy sector in South Africa [38].
7.4.2
Tsogang Water & Sanitation
Tsogang is a non-governmental organisation established in 1995 to assist in the development struggle of South Africa.
Tsogang's mandate is to ensure that South Africa achieves her place among nations; that previously disadvantaged
populations reach the standards of the Millennium Development Goal set by United Nations; and to contribute to the
achievement of a better life. To support the development struggle of rural & peri-urban people through the provision of
sound technical advice in infrastructure & housing delivery, the promotion of on-going financial accountability,
strengthening community organisations, operations & maintenance, and health & hygiene awareness for all [39].
7.4.3
Heifer International
Heifer International is a community development organisation assisting families to produce food and income for
themselves using animals. In South Africa the mission is in partnership with others to promote community development,
food security and environmental regeneration. The mission is achieved by:
Educating and training in sustainable community development and animal production.
Providing livestock and related services.
Raising public awareness and commitment to rural development and environmental regeneration.
It is noteworthy that in both the Ethiopian and Rwandan biogas programme Heifer is a key stakeholder.
7.4.4
Khanya - African Institute for Community Driven Development
Khanya is promoting community-driven development and sustainable livelihoods in Africa. They work in action-learning
processes with government, civil society, business, and communities, providing advice, facilitation, action research,
implementation, sharing of experience and training [40].
7.5
Summary
Based on extensive research into different stakeholder organisations, it is abundantly clear that South Africa has all
the correct elements for supporting the biogas programme. The objectives and outcomes of the programme itself
clearly align with the social development objectives of the country. Key departments and entities are summarised
here.
The Department of Minerals and Energy is the department that would provide policy support and guidance to the
programme, and should either lead or play a senior role in the Programme Steering Committee. It would be the
correct institution to lead the detailed programmed implementation design process.
The Department of Agriculture will play an agriculture-related policy support and guidance role to the programme,
to ensure optimal focus on bio-slurry utilisation.
The Department of Trade and Industry is a key stakeholder with its important programmes in supporting financing
and micro-finance, and its focus on supporting and developing co-operatives in communities around South Africa.
Similarly, the Department of Labour plays an important role with respect to its job creation programmes with
which a biogas programme clearly should be aligned.
The Umsobomvu Youth Fund and the National Development Agency were two organisations that expressed such
an interest in participating in the programme.
Page 35
At the delivery or local level, there are a range of NGOs and groups working in the energy, agriculture and
sanitation sectors, which are well positioned to play an active delivery role in the programme, with support from
the provincial and national level actors.
An outline of a preliminary institutional framework for a household biogas programme is presented in Figure 7,
which draws from other national biogas programmes elsewhere.
Figure 7: Envisaged institutional arrangements for the household biogas programme.
8.
8.1
Page 36
Preliminary programme implementation plan

Programme design
The first principle of this programme is the adoption of a market-focussed delivery mechanism sustained by an
institutionalised programme support structure, where the customer is king. The second is that the capital costs and
financing needs of the customer are addressed through a subsidy mechanism and well-developed financial environment
(banks, micro-finance, etc).
Based on the experiences in Asia (Nepal, India, China and Vietnam) it can be concluded that a market driven
approach in combination with clearly defined functions for governmental, non-governmental and private sector
organisations would contribute enormously to the success of large-scale deployment of household biogas in South
Africa. This is becoming the norm for national biogas programmes around the world, where experiences from the
Asian countries are now being replicated, and there is good reason to do the same here. Elements of this approach
include effective promotion (media, local groups, etc), capacity development of local contractors, quality control of
construction and maintenance, credit facilities and subsidies. The following main activities must be implemented to
achieve market development:
By establishing consumer confidence through a reliable product, promotion activities, the initial incentive of a
subsidy (until sufficient market penetration has been achieved) and provision of credit facilities, a long-term
demand for the product is created while at the same time a promising market is established for construction
companies.
Through demand generation and a range of trainings (technical, marketing, management) new companies are
supported and offered the opportunity to grow and develop.
By conducting applied research, the product is modified to meet the exact need of the consumer, therewith
improving the quality-price ratio.
By establishing national standards, harmonization can be achieved in promotion, training and construction,
leading to lower overhead costs while the user is ensured of a minimum quality.
Regulatory and control mechanisms through which a level of customer protection is achieved therefore further
supporting long-term confidence of the market in the product;
Organizational and institutional strengthening for development of the sector.

Once this confidence in the market is installed and the price suitably reduced, the sector should be self-sufficient and the
ultimate aim of the programme will have been reached.
8.2
Main features of the programme
8.2.1
Private sector development
Small and medium scale companies will be encouraged to enter the programme, and will receive training to install
the biogas plants. These companies will receive training at business, management and technician level to aim at
long-term programme sustainability through reliable, high-quality installations. The companies will provide
warranties for the systems, and after-sales services will also be offered to customers.
8.2.2
Subsidies and quality control
As discussed in para. 6 above, it is proposed that a flat subsidy of 30% be provided per plant. The subsidy has been used
effectively in South-east Asian biogas programmes as a quality assurance tool, where the companies are ranked
according to quality of installations which in turn indicates whether they continue in the programme, receive a bonus for
excellent performance or receive a reduced subsidy amount for a low ranking. In this way companies are regulated to
ensure that a minimal level of quality is achieved.
The subsidy has the additional benefits of reducing the initial cost for the users, as well as stimulating the market
demand. This latter aspect comes as a result of increasing confidence in the product since it is linked to quality control.
8.2.3
Micro-financing
Page 37
Based on experience with other biogas programmes, it may be necessary to establish a dedicated revolving credit fund to
provide wholesale loans for financing these credit applications. A monthly interest of between 2.5% and 3% is
exceptionally high compared to some other countries, and should form the focus of negotiations with micro-financing
institutions.
8.3
Institutional aspects
At the national level and in order to provide institutional support and directions to the biogas programme, DME will be
requested to set up and chair a National Biogas Steering Committee (NBSC) consisting of representatives from among
the Departments of Agriculture, Health, Social Development, Public Works, Science and Technology, Women Affairs,
Provincial and Local Government, Trade and Industry, Biogas Initiative and an NGO active in rural development.
This NBSC will guide, review and check on the process of formulating the implementation plan and will afterwards
oversee the implementation of the programme. The NBSC (without a representative of the Biogas Initiative) will be the
interface between the Biogas Initiative and the Government of South Africa in the negotiations process that will lead to
the actual implementation of the programme.
In Eastern Cape, the Biogas Initiative will set up an independent Programme Implementation Office 5 (PIO) that, it is
suggested, be housed within an entity to be designated by the Premiers Office. The PIO will be staffed to begin with by
a Programme Manager, an Adviser and an Assistant with direct responsibility for implementation and reporting to the
National Biogas Steering Committee through the Provincial Government.
The management role of the PIO is to ensure that high quality biogas plants are installed in the Province. The PIO would
carry out the following activities:
Standardize technical designs and drawings of biogas digesters to be built under the program.
Train masons in installation of high quality plants and train company management in the operation of an efficient
biogas installation company.
Carry out (randomised) quality control of installed plants.
Penalize and reward companies as necessary to achieve quality control objectives and installation targets.
Provide technical support to companies to respond to demand.
Increase awareness through a dissemination programme about the biogas technology.
Co-ordinate research and development activities, particularly with respect to reducing digester costs, and
increasing the use of bio-slurry.
When the programme expands to KwaZulu-Natal and other provinces, a decision will then be made whether to set up
Provincial PIOs or whether to move implementation up to the national level by having a national Biogas Programme
Implementation Office (BPO).
8.4
Implementation plan
The implementation plan is to be centred around the entrepreneurial activities of biogas companies in the province and
their network of technicians in the district and/or the villages. The key thrust is that a rapidly growing number of biogas
companies at the district level are needed. These biogas companies are fundamentally linked to a growing number of
biogas technicians at the village level. By putting these companies (operating essentially at the district level) in the centre
of the approach, the present market barriers can be tackled in the most effective way by reputable actors, working in their
natural role, driven by logical market forces of sales turnover, cost control and competition. Companies will provide
follow up services, at no additional cost, within the warranty period (five years) and for a fee after this period. Given the
high overhead associated with these follow-up services it demands that these companies be based locally and provide a
high quality installation.
As part of the programme, training centres in the district are included for technical training of the biogas technicians.
This could then develop from incidental technical trainings to integration of biogas construction in the curricula of
technical schools. The contacts with the Umsobomvu Youth Fund (UYF) indicated great willingness of this organisation
to participate in the training components of the programme including providing own funds for training of masons and for
the development of business skills and enterprise creation.
Which is sometimes called Biogas Programme Office
Page 38
The structure of competing market development agents and biogas companies clearly demands an auditing role that
verifies the existence and quality of reported installations, and that is capable to provide the appropriate feedback from
their findings to the market development agents and biogas companies.
The programme activities are essentially non-governmental and market driven, but clearly in line with and supported by
national government policy to enhance the role of the private sector. Local government may play an important role in
promoting biogas systems in the villages, in cooperation with the partner companies.
Like in other countries the biogas implementation plan in South Africa should also opt for a conservative approach, with
a first phase during 5 years, including an inception period of half year, with not so ambitious targets concerning the
number of biogas plants built (the potential for Eastern Cape as given in Table 5 above is 109,000 and that of Kwa-Zulu
Natal is 159,000). The inception period will be utilised to build the programme organisation and develop operational
strategies and financing. Then, during the rest of the 5 years, we propose to focus on developing a mature market on the
priority provinces of Eastern Cape and Kwa-Zulu Natal, which as indicated above presents the combination of a large
number of farmers with enough cattle, with sufficient water, and where the costs of wood seem to be high, giving the
largest incentive for adopting a biogas plant.
Critical aspects for this first phase will be:
Proven product: It is essential that the first phase of the biogas marketing strategy starts from proven products,
with high quality standards, and that is the reason that we suggest to choose an approved model of the fixed dome
type. Innovation is first of all needed in sales, not in technology.
Technical training: The availability and capacity of biogas technicians needs to be a priority from the start.
Competition: a critical mass of (more than 1) competing biogas companies and technicians must be developed.
Focus on sales: The biogas companies (and technicians) have to design an effective marketing and sales strategy.
Selling the high quality of the initial products (fixed dome of standard sizes) is essential. Getting promotion and
sales going, i.e. through cooperation with Community Based Organisations (CBOs), local government and
microfinance organisations; CBOs and local government structures in the region can form partnerships with the
biogas companies for the promotion and sales of biogas plants. The local partnership between companies and
CBOs/governments can bring the basis of trust needed for accelerated acceptation of new biogas technology
with rural end-users. Also microfinance organisations can play a similar important role for promotion of biogas
plants.
Page 39
Table 10: Programme elements for first phase.

When
Year 1
Year 1-2
Year 3-4
What
Design biogas technical training programme, including (1) technician
training, and (2) end-user training.
Who
PIO
UYF
Select partner companies and technicians in EC province. Develop

partnership feeling and trust with these companies (based on long term
vision), design joint marketing plan with each of the partner companies
and provide continuous capacity building support and coaching on
implementation. Eventually support financially companies with
marketing, institutional development, etc.
PIO
Biogas Construction
Companies (BCCs)
Design and implement awareness campaigns on (1) national level and

(2) in the priority districts. Involve in these campaigns as much as
possible actors that will play a role in the marketing plans in these
districts.
PIO
BCC
Develop marketing plans with potential BCCs focusing on the sale of a

high quality product. Develop commercial skills of BCCs if necessary.
Continue selecting companies
PIO
BCC
PIO
Implement biogas technical training programme in dedicated technical

trainings.
UYF
Design and implement special sales promotion actions (such as

early bird discounts, demonstration/promotion sites, etc). As much
as possible integrate these in the marketing plans of the partner
companies.
PIO
BCC
Develop cooperation with community based organisations, micro

finance organisations, and local government to promote biogas systems
to their constituencies, and where feasible have them function as sales
front-offices.
Integrate biogas technical training programme in vocational training
institutes in the priority districts
PIO
BCC
Consultants
Analyse bottlenecks in marketing plans, analyse market saturation

effects. Special attention to be given to lower cost biogas systems and
marketing plans including a dedicated end-user financing component.
PIO
Consultants
Where appropriate and supportive for demand creation develop biogas

oriented micro finance systems.
Year 5
Year 1-5
Prepare for expansion to other districts. Special attention should be

given to replication (1) by partner companies opening up branches in
other districts, and (2) by spontaneous initiatives copying the work of
partner companies.
Monitoring and knowledge management to identify and share success
and fail factors, toolboxes, etc.
UYF
PIO
Micro-finance
PIO
PIO
8.5
Page 40
Elaboration of a quality control strategy
The objective of this programme component is to design and operate a quality control mechanism that assures that the
end-users of biogas systems:
Are capable and willing to manage the biogas plants.
Get products that are technically reliable.
Can access after sales service and technical support from their biogas suppliers and biogas technicians based
within a reasonable distance from where they live.
The biogas programme implementation office should have also deal with quality control of the end products. The
conditions should be beforehand explained to the companies and include complete identification of the households
including its Global Positioning System location and acceptance delivery reports by the user. This system is based on a
carrot and stick approach in which:
A subsidy on biogas systems is provided to lower the first cost to the user and in this way help create a sufficient
large market for the companies (this is only one of the types of support the companies are getting from the
programme). The companies abide by certain design, installation, and after-sales service standards.
Quality control is to be exercised in the first years on all digesters built by the constructers, later on, as the volume
of sales enlarges based on a fixed random sample of the installations built by a certain constructor. Measures,
including financial penalties based on a beforehand agreed methodology can be imposed on companies delivering
substandard systems. Companies having systematic mal-performance will be barred from participating in the
programme.
Table 11: Quality control set-up.
When
Year 1
Year 1-4
What
Design output based quality standards for biogas systems,
including training of maintenance technicians.
Who
PIO
UYF
Design quality control mechanism, as much as possible together

with partner companies. Design a penalty system and establish an
emergency fund for repairs in case of companies malpractice.
Design, implement and monitor a complaint handling procedure,
including a national call-centre for customer support.
PIO
Implement repair strategy for non-functional biogas plants; repair

non-functional biogas plants in target districts from programme
funds or the proceeds of the emergency fund
8.6
PIO
Consultants
PIO
Programme planning for Eastern Cape and Kwa-Zulu Natal
On the basis of the conservative approach proposed to be adopted over the first 5 years, as described above, and
assuming that 10% of the households, given the present costs and benefits, could immediately be able to finance a biogas
installations (see paragraph 6.1 above for a justification of this percentage), this would mean for Eastern Cape alone
around 11,000 and for Kwa-Zulu Natal 15,900 biogas plants. Therefore it would not be unrealistic to assume for the first
5 years a conservative target of 6,000 biogas plants for each province.
The essential elements in this planning are:
Based on the mix of skilled and unskilled labour as given in Table 4 above to install 72 biogas plants over a oneyear period one needs 2 skilled and 3 unskilled craftsmen. This element is very important in order to assure that
technical capacity growth is in tune with market growth and does not become a bottleneck. The above assumption
is based on the number of hours to build of biogas plant; however, these averages can also be reduced if clustering
of the construction of biogas plants is applied.
The assumption that one biogas installation company can employ 2 skilled and 3 unskilled technicians, and
therefore has a capacity of around 72 systems per year (and that larger companies can be considered as consisting
of several sub-companies consisting of 8 technicians and managers/back-office). This element is very important to
show how a sector must grow under an ambitious biogas programme.
Table 12: Programmatic targets for the first phase in EC and KZN.
Year
1
2
3
4
5
Total
Annual sales
346
1.037
2.074
3.456
5.183
12,096
Page 41
Technicians
24
72
144
240
360
360
Companies
5
14
29
48
72
72
Therefore, at the end of the first phase around 12,000 biogas plants (approximately 6,000 in each of the two Provinces)
will be in operation and there could be as much as 72 five-person biogas construction companies operating (or a smaller
number of larger biogas construction companies) employing 360 trained craftsmen.
8.7
Indicative programme costs
Based on the assumed quantities of biogas plants to be built in the next 5 years and the data of chapter 7 the
following programme costs will result, as shown in Table 13.
Table 13: Calculation of the costs in US$ for the first phase.
Year Number of
Subsidy
DownLoan
Programme
Total
biogas
payment
support costs
programme
installations
costs
1
346
119,232
39,744
238,464
103,680
501,120
2
1,037
357,696
119,232
715,392
311,040
1,503,360
3
2,074
715,392
238,464 1,430,784
622,080
3,006,720
4
3,456
1,192,320
397,440 2,384,640
1,036,800
5,011,200
5
5,183
1,788,480
596,160 3,576,960
1,555,200
7,516,800
12,096
4,173,120
1,391,040 8,346,240
3,628,800
Total
17,539,200
The subsidy value used is 30% and the down-payment is 10% of the initial capital outlay including VAT. The
programme support costs are based on the assumption of US$ 300 per biogas plant. This value is based on the
Nepal/Rwanda experience, but adapted to the South Africa situation and will decrease as the programme develops
and the number of plants built increases.
The programme will have to disburse a larger amount of funds in the first years because all structures need to be set
up, training initiated, etc. and this is not dependent on the number of installations built. Table 14 below shows a
likely disbursement of programme funds in the first 5 years.
Table 14: Programme costs per year (in US $).
Year
1
2
3
4
5
Total
Subsidy
119,232
357,696
715,392
1,192,320
1,788,480
4,173,120
Programme Disbursement
907,200
907,200
725,760
725,760
362,880
3,628,800
Total Programme costs

1,026,432
1,264,896
1,441,152
1,918,080
2,151,360
7,801,920
9.
9.1
Page 42
Conclusions and recommendations

Conclusions
There are (conservatively) 310,000 households (9.5% of South Africas rural households) showing technical
viability to participate in a rural biogas programme (these are the households that inter alia have 4 cows or more,
do not have access to grid electricity, and are situated within a 1km radius of water). There is also a demand for the
environmental and social benefits biogas would bring to technically viable areas of the country.
Using the most conservative assumptions throughout, and with the capital subsidy for a biogas programme at 30%,
the programme would have significant financial and economic benefits: 25% and 64% financial and economic
internal rates of return respectively, averaged across the six provinces investigated. The highest value attained from
a programme is in the Eastern Cape, which has a 40% financial IRR and an economic IRR of 78%.
The indicative programme design is based on a five-year programme installing biogas digesters in 12,000
households in the Eastern Cape and KwaZulu-Natal provinces, targeting households and community groups that
can afford to pay 10% of their monthly income during five years, and a 10% upfront payment.
The implementation of 12,000 biogas digesters would have an overall cost of approximately US$ 17.5 million, over
five years. Of this, the end-users will contribute a total of US$ 1.4 million in down-payments plus US$ 8.3 million
as credit. The programme will require US$ 4.2 million as a subsidy and US$ 3.6 million for programme and
technical support, totalling US$ 7.8 million.
Micro-finance institutions have indicated that credit to a programme of this scale could be made available in the
range of 2.5% to 3% per month, which would be aimed at households earning more than ZAR 2,500 per month.
These credit interest rates are very high compared to many other countries.
There are a myriad stakeholders interested in the programme, some of which have expressed a clear desire to be
involved in its rollout. These include the DME, the Provincial Government of Eastern Cape, the NDA and the
Umsobomvu Youth Fund.
Implementing the programme presents an opportunity to co-ordinate various rural developmental programmes
under one banner, and as a result to harmonise different public funding streams in capital and operational subsidies
9.2
Recommendations
There are many good reasons supporting the start of a household biogas programme in South Africa, and excellent
government support programmes in place. The country has excellent supporting infrastructure in the form of
government services, financial services, skills and micro-finance is assured, while the mechanisms for making credit
available still need to be established.
At the same time, household biogas in South Africa is being implemented at a promotional level. This means high
quality, high cost installations with the need for economies of scale to bring costs down. There are many opportunities
for cost reductions that will flow from development in this area, as well as transfer of the vast body of knowledge arising
from the Nepalese and other national biogas programmes. A programme, starting on the basis of a detailed five-year
implementation plan, would aim at the end for ongoing cost reductions and implementing quality products at a national
programme level, to allow for the job creation potential of constructed biogas plants at scale to be fully realised.
The specific recommendations arising from this study are that:
A national household biogas programme should be implemented in South Africa, and located in two
provinces, starting in Eastern Cape and following shortly after in KwaZulu-Natal.
That DME install as soon as possible a Steering Committee to guide the start of the implementation process.
In this phase the steering committee will not have a representative from the Biogas Initiative.
The planning process including negotiations with the Biogas Initiative should be expected to last for up to 12
months. During this period a detailed programmed implementation plan will be developed, co-ordinated by
the DME.
Page 43
The programme should establish, even during the implementation planning stage, strong linkages with other
biogas programmes in Africa, and with the SNV networks in Southern and Eastern Africa.
Page 44
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South Africa Feasibility Study

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SOUTH AFRICA: HOUSEHOLD BIOGAS

Biogas for Better Life

South Africa National Household Biogas Feasibility Study

BIOGAS FOR BETTER LIFE, AN AFRICAN INITIATIVE

South Africa National Household Biogas Feasibility Study

The primary outcomes of the study are:

South Africa National Household Biogas Feasibility Study

Implementing the programme presents an opportunity to co-ordinate various rural developmental

The specific recommendations arising from this study are that:

BIOGAS FOR BETTER LIFE, AN AFRICAN INITIATIVE

South Africa National Household Biogas Feasibility Study

History and experiences with household biogas

Assessment of technical factors for disseminating biogas plants

Financial and economic analyses

BIOGAS FOR BETTER LIFE, AN AFRICAN INITIATIVE

South Africa National Household Biogas Feasibility Study

Stakeholder organisations and initiatives

Preliminary programme implementation plan

Conclusions and recommendations

BIOGAS FOR BETTER LIFE, AN AFRICAN INITIATIVE

South Africa National Household Biogas Feasibility Study

Biogas Construction Company

Community Based Organisation

Certified Emissions Reduction

Department of Minerals and Energy

Department of Environmental Affairs and Tourism

Department of Provincial and Local Government

Department of Trade and Industry

Economic Internal Rate of Return

Financial Internal Rate of Return

Internal Rate of Return

Liquefied Petroleum Gas

MegaTonne (tonne x 106)

Mega Watt (kW x 103)

Mega Watt Hours (kWh x 103)

National Biogas Steering Committee

National Development Agency

Programme Implementation Office

United Nations Development Programme

United States Dollar

Umsobomvu Youth Fund

Value Added Tax

South Africa Rand

BIOGAS FOR BETTER LIFE, AN AFRICAN INITIATIVE

South Africa National Household Biogas Feasibility Study

BIOGAS FOR BETTER LIFE, AN AFRICAN INITIATIVE

South Africa National Household Biogas Feasibility Study

Assess the market potential for household biogas, including:

Propose the provinces for implementation.

Formulate an implementation plan.

Benefits and impacts of a National Household Biogas Programme

Protection of natural resources:

BIOGAS FOR BETTER LIFE, AN AFRICAN INITIATIVE

South Africa National Household Biogas Feasibility Study

BIOGAS FOR BETTER LIFE, AN AFRICAN INITIATIVE

South Africa National Household Biogas Feasibility Study

Geography and physical characteristics

Figure 1: South Africa with 9 provinces and major cities

BIOGAS FOR BETTER LIFE, AN AFRICAN INITIATIVE

South Africa National Household Biogas Feasibility Study

Table 1: Profile of rural population in South Africa [1].

Rural Population 1996 Rural Population 2001

BIOGAS FOR BETTER LIFE, AN AFRICAN INITIATIVE