BioDigester Project At Rije Village CONTINUATION

It started as a whimsical idea passed between two professionals over linkedIn and now two years later we are a team of almost 30 individuals working tirelessly across language barriers, personal challenges and differing work schedule to bring electricity to an off grid community. Rije residents are impatiently waiting for our innovation to kick off. The first phase of the project is finished. We have finished with the biodigester now waiting on our methane generator and the electric metres to start our mini-grids to the community.

We have managed to identify three individuals in the community who would be managing this project for their community once we up and leave them with their new innovation. Its been a beautiful struggle but we are just starting. there are still over 100 off grid communities in Kuje Area Council alone. With almost 600 families per community and preliminary energy audit showing that families use an estimated $20 a month on power needs, that equates to $12, 000, 000 worth of energy consumption not catered for by the national grid. the numbers are mind-blowing but what is even more mind blowing is how quickly technology can be adopted. the energy profile of this small community would triple in the first month of our grid going live.

KOA

Waste, Energy and Green Days

The colour of Monday is green. The prospect of a new working week and getting productive has always coloured my Monday so.It has always been green for me. Today I ha extra reason for feeling very green. I spent the best part of yesterday researching into agricultural waste the impact of landfilling and the potential it holds for alleviating the energy poverty in this county.

Energy poverty is a real. I was not one to consider it in detail until I started researching into agricultural waste and how it can be handled. Experts in energy matters that Nigeria has one of the highest cases of energy poverty in the world while there lies a massive potential to convert waste to energy and help alleviate our energy challenges in this country. Agriculture is an activity that always produces a large amount of waste particularly in animal husbandry. A poultry farm with a thousand birds would produce half a tonne of waste in a day. We have traditionally only used this waste as a source of fertilizer on the farms but with recent advances in converting biomass to energy, agricultural waste would suddenly be viewed in a whole new spectra.

Biofuels seem as viable options to reducing our reliance on fossil fuels and providing electricity and cooking fuels to communities that are facing chronic energy poverty. The impact of electricity in developing a community is well documented. Having an alternative to the traditional sources of energy is crucial. Agriculture when done right can become an invaluable tool of development. My yesterday was green and I hope for a future is green in so many ways.

KOA