Biomass gasification, which is the conversion of solid fuels like wood and agricultural residues into a combustible gas mixture, is a fairly new technology in East Africa with most of the projects either at planning or demonstration stages. This study contains an overview of the current and potential situations for biomass gasification in East Africa, as well as best practice case studies for successful uptake of the technology.
The study recommends that financial incentives for the gasification technology should be made available. These can be in the form of feed-in tariffs, green certificates, tender schemes, blending requirements, and differential taxation. There is also need for continued research and development. This will go a long way to resolve the problems and will help in addressing issues related to adaptation of the technology to local conditions. Gaps also exist in entrepreneurial development. Thus, joint ventures between international financing organisations, governments and private companies should be encouraged. There is a need to increase capacity through training. There should also be a plan for knowledge transfer rather than hardware transfer for the technology packages in the long run.
Muzee, K.; wa Gathui, T.; Wanjiru, H. Biomass Gasification: The East African Study. Practical Action Consulting, (2012) 40 pp.
Biomass Gasification: The East African Study