There are more than 15 million cows and around 1.4 billion chickens in Indonesia. That’s a lot of waste!

It also represents a veritable payload of potential energy. While being an important source of food and income, the waste from these animals pollutes waterways and generates millions of tonnes of greenhouse gas emissions. The potential to harness energy in the form of biogas is enormous, and to date largely untapped despite energy shortages and a heavy reliance on wood burning stoves in many areas of Indonesia.

Recognising the opportunity, SNV Indonesia with the financial support of EEP Indonesia, has implemented the project Market Introduction of Medium Scale Biogas Digesters in Pulang Pisau, Central Kalimantan.

Clean, green energy is the aim of the project which promotes the development of a robust and cost-effective medium scale biogas sector to improve access to clean and sustainable energy. This included:

• developing a design for reliable medium scale biogas digester that was practical for local conditions

• developing and testing a management system for community digesters.

Ten 30 m3 digesters were constructed in Pulang Pisau. Each digester is capable of producing about 8,000 liters of gas every day, from about 225 kg of cattle dung mixed with an equal quantity of water. That’s enough clean, green fuel for ten households to cook their daily meals. The digester design, vetted by national and international experts, is strong enough to withstand earthquakes.