Biogas adoption in Nepal: drivers and challenges
Description
More than a quarter of the households in Nepal do not have access to electricity and about 85% of the total energy demand is met by traditional biomass energy. Because of its dependency on biomass energy, the Government of Nepal has been promoting alternative sources of energy, particularly for rural households. Biogas has been identified and promoted as a viable alternative renewable source of energy along with several others. Research suggests that biogas offers a wide range of benefits. Because of the many benefits of adopting biogas, the Government of Nepal has prioritized the installation of biogas and more than 300,000 household biogas plants have been installed so far. Despite the policy priority and several benefits, the drivers and barriers to the adoption of household biogas have not been examined at the national level. In this study, we examine the determinants of household biogas adoption in Nepal. We also identify and examine obstacles to the adoption of biogas by households. We use newly collected nationally representative rural household survey data (N=6,000) to investigate the determinants and barriers to biogas adoption. We use the probit model to quantify the marginal effect of these determinants on biogas adoption. Our analysis shows that the number of cattle, financial assets and land holdings are key determinants of biogas adoption in Nepal. The education level of the most educated member of the household is positively associated with the adoption of biogas. Our results indicate that households in the country’s mountainous and hilly region are less likely to adopt biogas indicating the difficulty of installing and operating biogas in mountain and hilly regions. The findings also suggest that lack of adequate water supplies and access to markets are key barriers to the adoption of biogas in Nepal. Our results provide insights that can make valuable contributions to Nepal's energy policy for the sustainable development of alternative energies.
Biogas adoption in Nepal: drivers and challenges
More than a quarter of the households in Nepal do not have access to electricity and about 85% of the total energy demand is met by traditional biomass energy. Because of its dependency on biomass energy, the Government of Nepal has been promoting alternative sources of energy, particularly for rural households. Biogas has been identified and promoted as a viable alternative renewable source of energy along with several others. Research suggests that biogas offers a wide range of benefits. Because of the many benefits of adopting biogas, the Government of Nepal has prioritized the installation of biogas and more than 300,000 household biogas plants have been installed so far. Despite the policy priority and several benefits, the drivers and barriers to the adoption of household biogas have not been examined at the national level. In this study, we examine the determinants of household biogas adoption in Nepal. We also identify and examine obstacles to the adoption of biogas by households. We use newly collected nationally representative rural household survey data (N=6,000) to investigate the determinants and barriers to biogas adoption. We use the probit model to quantify the marginal effect of these determinants on biogas adoption. Our analysis shows that the number of cattle, financial assets and land holdings are key determinants of biogas adoption in Nepal. The education level of the most educated member of the household is positively associated with the adoption of biogas. Our results indicate that households in the country’s mountainous and hilly region are less likely to adopt biogas indicating the difficulty of installing and operating biogas in mountain and hilly regions. The findings also suggest that lack of adequate water supplies and access to markets are key barriers to the adoption of biogas in Nepal. Our results provide insights that can make valuable contributions to Nepal's energy policy for the sustainable development of alternative energies.