Kenyans opt for clean energy

Kenyans are now opting to go for clean energy to mitigate the effects of climate change, conserve the environment and cut power costs at a time when rising power costs continue to make Kenyans with reduced income suffer.

Produced from the decomposition of organic wastes in the absence of oxygen, bio-fuel has been cited as the cheapest, environmentally friendliest form of energy that most households and productive firms are now using to cut down high power costs.

According to Joe Gachanja who has been using biogas for some time now, cutting down power costs by 80 per cent, the advantages of biogas extend beyond just financial benefits.

Gachanja, who runs a dairy factory at Ng’amba village in Limuru, Kiambu County said that the environmental impact of using biogas is considerably lower compared to fossil fuels.

At his Ndeiya Akiwa firm in Limuru Constituency, Gachanja, using biogas is able to power all his systems including lighting using a generator that produces electricity from biogas.

Biogas use

From the biogas-powered generator, Gachanja is able to cook, milk, manufacture feeds, operationalise chaff cutters among other operations. “I pay very little to Kenya Power. Save for the very major factory operations, all other things are powered by biogas. This technology has enabled me to increase my profits and better the world around me as I no longer cut down trees,” said Gachanja.

From the generators, he is able to save 80 per cent of power costs he initially was remitting to Kenya Power and Lighting Company (KPLC).

Speaking at the firm, Gachanja stated that biogas production not only curtails greenhouse gas emissions by capturing methane, a potent greenhouse gas, but also reduces the reliance on fossil fuels that contribute to climate change and environmental degradation.

He thereby called on Kenyans to adopt the use of biogas which discourages deforestation to clean the environment.

Gachanja is among tens of dairy farms and manufacturing industries that continue to do away with unreliable and expensive energy for biogas that addresses energy poverty by providing affordable alternative in remote and urban areas.

According to Maureen Murugi from biogas technology provider Sistema.Bio, the biogas’s potential to harness locally available resources and transform them into usable forms of energy makes it cheaper and available.