Analysis on barriers to biogas dissemination in Rwanda: AHP approach

Biogas has emerged as a promising renewable technology that can provide affordable, safe and clean energy to rural area. In Rwanda, the domestic biogas was introduced as a partial solution to the energy security problem in rural areas with a target of 15,000 installed biogas plants by 2012. However, this target has never been achieved. Moreover, there is a high rate of non-functioning biogas plants. This study applies a combination of both qualitative and quantitative analysis to identify and analyze the major constraints that hindered the dissemination of domestic biogas in Rwanda. Through an extensive literature review, barriers were identified which were categorized into financial, technical, socio-cultural and institutional barriers. A total of 20 most hindering barriers were selected by a team of experts involved in the Rwandan biogas program. Then, Analytical Hierarchy Process (AHP) was used for ranking the importance of the barriers. The results showed that the financial category are the most influential barriers, with high capital cost and lack of financial mechanism highly ranked among all barriers. Finally, some policy recommendations were suggested towards a successful adoption of biogas in Rwanda. This study may assist in policy formulation to accelerate the uptake of biogas in rural area. (C) 2020 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Automated summary

Biogas technology is a promising renewable energy source for rural areas, but faces barriers in adoption in Rwanda, with financial obstacles being the most influential. Policy recommendations are suggested to accelerate biogas uptake in rural areas. This study provides insights for policy formulation to promote biogas adoption.