International Conference on Biogas
Published: Nov 29, 2015 Reading time: 2 minutes Share: Share an articleSri Lanka hosted its first international conference focusing on small and medium scale biogas systems: “Innovations Driving Effective Growth in the Biogas Sector” which took place during 17-19 November, 2015 at the Taj Samudra, Colombo. The three-day event consisted of a two-day knowledge-sharing workshop followed by a 1-day field visit to biogas sites.
The event was put together with the collaborative efforts of The Ministry of Power and Energy, Sri Lanka, The Delegation of the European Union to Sri Lanka and the Maldives, Asian Development Bank (ADB), United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), SWITCH-Asia Network Facility, Energy for All, SNV, People in Need (PIN), Help-O and Janathakshan and was supported from the PIN’s project “Up-scaling Biogas Technology for Sustainable Development and Mitigating Climate Change in Sri Lanka” funded from European Union.
Objectives of the workshop were following:
1) To share experience from the implementation of the domestic and medium-scale biogas programme in Sri Lanka (progress, challenges etc.).
2) To present and discuss innovations including innovative finance mechanisms and policy instruments, technical innovations, innovative institutional set-up and public-private partnership, innovative marketing/promotional approaches and tools (presentations, discussion).
Nearly 80 participants, consisting of representatives from private sector, civil society, academic field, governments in Asian countries, banks and stakeholders from the biogas sector in Sri Lanka, attended the workshop and could share their experience, ideas and best practices in the biogas sector.
As summarizes PIN’s Regional Coordinator for Asia, Petr Drbohlav: “The workshop was a remarkable opportunity for the EU funded SWITCH-Asia initiative to share and exchange ideas and best practices in the biogas sector as it not only facilitates networking between various other stakeholders across the region but also helps better enable innovations that contribute to effective growth in the country.”
Asia is the centre of domestic biogas development with almost 50 million installed biogas units. Medium scale biogas stays a significant waste management solution, with thousands of installations in such facilities as hotels, textile and food-processing factories, public buildings, markets and households.
For Sri Lanka in particular, it was identified that the country has a great potential to implement a successful biogas programme given its ability to attract biogas users and new technologies from within the country and outside. Experts that attended the workshop believed that as a country that strives for independence and self-sufficiency, it was important that various stakeholders look into innovations for market to drive growth and development in the biogas and renewable energy sectors. The workshop also included the exchange of success stories and information on various biogas systems and technologies that have worked in different countries of the Asian region.
