IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/eee/enepol/v68y2014icp80-91.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

The implementation of decentralised biogas plants in Assam, NE India: The impact and effectiveness of the National Biogas and Manure Management Programme

Author

Listed:
  • Raha, Debadayita
  • Mahanta, Pinakeswar
  • Clarke, Michèle L.

Abstract

The Indian Government's National Biogas and Manure Management Programme (NBMMP) seeks to deliver renewable energy services to households across the country by facilitating the deployment of family-sized (<6m3) anaerobic (biogas) digesters. NBMMP policy is implemented at three levels, from government and state nodal agency, via private contractors to households, creating multiple institutional arrangements. We analysed the scheme in Assam, north-east India, focusing on how policy was implemented across two districts and interviewing stakeholders in rural households, state and non-state institutions. The top-down, supply-side approach to policy enables government to set targets and require individual states to deploy the scheme, which benefits households who can afford to participate. NBMMP delivered improved energy service outcomes to a majority of households, although the level of knowledge and understanding of the technology amongst users was limited. Training and education of householders, and particularly women, is needed in relation to the maintenance of digesters, feedstock suitability and the environmental and potential livelihood benefits of digestate. A revised bottom-up approach to policy, which highlights the contextual and demand-side issues around adopting the technology, may deliver monetary benefits from market competition and enable development of community-focused microfinance schemes to improve the affordability of biogas systems.

Suggested Citation

  • Raha, Debadayita & Mahanta, Pinakeswar & Clarke, Michèle L., 2014. "The implementation of decentralised biogas plants in Assam, NE India: The impact and effectiveness of the National Biogas and Manure Management Programme," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 68(C), pages 80-91.
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:enepol:v:68:y:2014:i:c:p:80-91
    DOI: 10.1016/j.enpol.2013.12.048
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0301421513013128
    Download Restriction: Full text for ScienceDirect subscribers only
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1016/j.enpol.2013.12.048?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    As the access to this document is restricted, you may want to search for a different version of it.

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Reddy, B. Sudhakara & Srinivas, T., 2009. "Energy use in Indian household sector – An actor-oriented approach," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 34(8), pages 992-1002.
    2. Walekhwa, Peter N. & Mugisha, Johnny & Drake, Lars, 2009. "Biogas energy from family-sized digesters in Uganda: Critical factors and policy implications," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 37(7), pages 2754-2762, July.
    3. Jiang, Xinyuan & Sommer, Sven G. & Christensen, Knud V., 2011. "A review of the biogas industry in China," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 39(10), pages 6073-6081, October.
    4. Poeschl, Martina & Ward, Shane & Owende, Philip, 2010. "Prospects for expanded utilization of biogas in Germany," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 14(7), pages 1782-1797, September.
    5. Bhattacharyya, Subhes C., 2010. "Shaping a sustainable energy future for India: Management challenges," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 38(8), pages 4173-4185, August.
    6. Chen, Ling & Zhao, Lixin & Ren, Changshan & Wang, Fei, 2012. "The progress and prospects of rural biogas production in China," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 51(C), pages 58-63.
    7. Schmid, Gisèle, 2012. "The development of renewable energy power in India: Which policies have been effective?," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 45(C), pages 317-326.
    8. Yadoo, Annabel & Cruickshank, Heather, 2010. "The value of cooperatives in rural electrification," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 38(6), pages 2941-2947, June.
    9. Rehman, I.H. & Kar, Abhishek & Banerjee, Manjushree & Kumar, Preeth & Shardul, Martand & Mohanty, Jeevan & Hossain, Ijaz, 2012. "Understanding the political economy and key drivers of energy access in addressing national energy access priorities and policies," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 47(S1), pages 27-37.
    10. Buysman, Eric & Mol, Arthur P.J., 2013. "Market-based biogas sector development in least developed countries —The case of Cambodia," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 63(C), pages 44-51.
    11. Gupta, Priyanka & Shekhar Singh, Raj & Sachan, Ashish & Vidyarthi, Ambarish S. & Gupta, Asha, 2012. "A re-appraisal on intensification of biogas production," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 16(7), pages 4908-4916.
    12. Gosens, Jorrit & Lu, Yonglong & He, Guizhen & Bluemling, Bettina & Beckers, Theo A.M., 2013. "Sustainability effects of household-scale biogas in rural China," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 54(C), pages 273-287.
    13. Pillai, Indu R. & Banerjee, Rangan, 2009. "Renewable energy in India: Status and potential," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 34(8), pages 970-980.
    14. Baruah, Debendra C. & Bora, Ganesh C., 2008. "Energy demand forecast for mechanized agriculture in rural India," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 36(7), pages 2628-2636, July.
    15. Mohammad Asaduzzaman & Douglas F. Barnes & Shahidur R. Khandker, 2010. "Restoring Balance : Bangladesh's Rural Energy Realities," World Bank Publications - Books, The World Bank Group, number 5943.
    16. Kanagawa, Makoto & Nakata, Toshihiko, 2008. "Assessment of access to electricity and the socio-economic impacts in rural areas of developing countries," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 36(6), pages 2016-2029, June.
    17. Khandker, Shahidur R. & Barnes, Douglas F. & Samad, Hussain A., 2012. "Are the energy poor also income poor? Evidence from India," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 47(C), pages 1-12.
    18. Kanagawa, Makoto & Nakata, Toshihiko, 2007. "Analysis of the energy access improvement and its socio-economic impacts in rural areas of developing countries," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 62(2), pages 319-329, April.
    19. Foell, Wesley & Pachauri, Shonali & Spreng, Daniel & Zerriffi, Hisham, 2011. "Household cooking fuels and technologies in developing economies," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 39(12), pages 7487-7496.
    20. Sovacool, Benjamin K. & Clarke, Shannon & Johnson, Katie & Crafton, Meredith & Eidsness, Jay & Zoppo, David, 2013. "The energy-enterprise-gender nexus: Lessons from the Multifunctional Platform (MFP) in Mali," Renewable Energy, Elsevier, vol. 50(C), pages 115-125.
    21. Bhattacharyya, Subhes C., 2006. "Energy access problem of the poor in India: Is rural electrification a remedy?," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 34(18), pages 3387-3397, December.
    22. Winkler, Harald & Simões, André Felipe & Rovere, Emilio Lèbre la & Alam, Mozaharul & Rahman, Atiq & Mwakasonda, Stanford, 2011. "Access and Affordability of Electricity in Developing Countries," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 39(6), pages 1037-1050, June.
    23. Urban, Frauke & Benders, René M.J. & Moll, Henri C., 2009. "Energy for rural India," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 86(Supplemen), pages 47-57, November.
    24. Larson, Bruce A. & Rosen, Sydney, 2002. "Understanding household demand for indoor air pollution control in developing countries," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 55(4), pages 571-584, August.
    25. Bhanot, Jaya & Jha, Vivek, 2012. "Moving towards tangible decision-making tools for policy makers: Measuring and monitoring energy access provision," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 47(S1), pages 64-70.
    26. Zheng, Y.H. & Wei, J.G. & Li, J. & Feng, S.F. & Li, Z.F. & Jiang, G.M. & Lucas, M. & Wu, G.L. & Ning, T.Y., 2012. "Anaerobic fermentation technology increases biomass energy use efficiency in crop residue utilization and biogas production," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 16(7), pages 4588-4596.
    27. Bhattacharyya, Subhes C., 2013. "Financing energy access and off-grid electrification: A review of status, options and challenges," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 20(C), pages 462-472.
    28. Barnes, Douglas F. & Kumar, Priti & Openshaw, Keith, 2012. "Cleaner Hearths, Better Homes: New Stoves for India and the Developing World," OUP Catalogue, Oxford University Press, number 9780198078364.
    29. Alam Hossain Mondal, Md. & Kamp, Linda M. & Pachova, Nevelina I., 2010. "Drivers, barriers, and strategies for implementation of renewable energy technologies in rural areas in Bangladesh--An innovation system analysis," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 38(8), pages 4626-4634, August.
    30. Balachandra, P., 2011. "Modern energy access to all in rural India: An integrated implementation strategy," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 39(12), pages 7803-7814.
    31. Barua, Dipal C., 2001. "Strategy for promotions and development of renewable technologies in Bangladesh: experience from Grameen Shakti," Renewable Energy, Elsevier, vol. 22(1), pages 205-210.
    32. Chaurey, Akanksha & Krithika, P.R. & Palit, Debajit & Rakesh, Smita & Sovacool, Benjamin K., 2012. "New partnerships and business models for facilitating energy access," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 47(S1), pages 48-55.
    33. Bansal, Mohit & Saini, R.P. & Khatod, D.K., 2013. "Development of cooking sector in rural areas in India—A review," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 17(C), pages 44-53.
    34. Kabir, Humayun & Yegbemey, Rosaine N. & Bauer, Siegfried, 2013. "Factors determinant of biogas adoption in Bangladesh," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 28(C), pages 881-889.
    35. Gurung, Anup & Oh, Sang Eun, 2013. "Conversion of traditional biomass into modern bioenergy systems: A review in context to improve the energy situation in Nepal," Renewable Energy, Elsevier, vol. 50(C), pages 206-213.
    36. Douglas F. Barnes & Priti Kumar & Keith Openshaw, 2012. "Cleaner Hearths, Better Homes : New Stoves for India and the Developing World," World Bank Publications - Books, The World Bank Group, number 9366.
    37. Sovacool, Benjamin K. & Drupady, Ira Martina, 2011. "Summoning earth and fire: The energy development implications of Grameen Shakti (GS) in Bangladesh," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 36(7), pages 4445-4459.
    38. S. Narayan, 2009. "India," Chapters, in: Peter Draper & Philip Alves & Razeen Sally (ed.), The Political Economy of Trade Reform in Emerging Markets, chapter 7, Edward Elgar Publishing.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Citations

    Citations are extracted by the CitEc Project, subscribe to its RSS feed for this item.
    as


    Cited by:

    1. Talevi, Marta & Pattanayak, Subhrendu K. & Das, Ipsita & Lewis, Jessica J. & Singha, Ashok K., 2022. "Speaking from experience: Preferences for cooking with biogas in rural India," Energy Economics, Elsevier, vol. 107(C).
    2. Rupf, Gloria V. & Bahri, Parisa A. & de Boer, Karne & McHenry, Mark P., 2015. "Barriers and opportunities of biogas dissemination in Sub-Saharan Africa and lessons learned from Rwanda, Tanzania, China, India, and Nepal," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 52(C), pages 468-476.
    3. Loh, S.K. & Nasrin, A.B. & Mohamad Azri, S. & Nurul Adela, B. & Muzzammil, N. & Daryl Jay, T. & Stasha Eleanor, R.A. & Lim, W.S. & Choo, Y.M. & Kaltschmitt, M., 2017. "First Report on Malaysia’s experiences and development in biogas capture and utilization from palm oil mill effluent under the Economic Transformation Programme: Current and future perspectives," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 74(C), pages 1257-1274.
    4. Yasmin, Nazia & Grundmann, Philipp, 2020. "Home-cooked energy transitions: Women empowerment and biogas-based cooking technology in Pakistan," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 137(C).
    5. Hynek Roubík & Jana Mazancová, 2019. "Identification of Context-Specific Knowledge as a Tool for Biogas Facilitators and Their Quality Involvement—Using Vietnamese Practice as an Example," Energies, MDPI, vol. 12(7), pages 1-10, April.
    6. Mukeshimana, Marie Claire & Zhao, Zhen-Yu & Ahmad, Munir & Irfan, Muhammad, 2021. "Analysis on barriers to biogas dissemination in Rwanda: AHP approach," Renewable Energy, Elsevier, vol. 163(C), pages 1127-1137.
    7. York, L. & Heffernan, C. & Rymer, C., 2016. "The role of subsidy in ensuring the sustainability of small-scale anaerobic digesters in Odisha, India," Renewable Energy, Elsevier, vol. 96(PB), pages 1111-1118.
    8. KeChrist Obileke & Nwabunwanne Nwokolo & Golden Makaka & Patrick Mukumba & Helen Onyeaka, 2021. "Anaerobic digestion: Technology for biogas production as a source of renewable energy—A review," Energy & Environment, , vol. 32(2), pages 191-225, March.
    9. Aleksandra Górna & Alicja Szabelska-Beręsewicz & Marek Wieruszewski & Monika Starosta-Grala & Zygmunt Stanula & Anna Kożuch & Krzysztof Adamowicz, 2023. "Predicting Post-Production Biomass Prices," Energies, MDPI, vol. 16(8), pages 1-16, April.
    10. Dawit Diriba Guta & Jose Jara & Narayan Prasad Adhikari & Qiu Chen & Varun Gaur & Alisher Mirzabaev, 2017. "Assessment of the Successes and Failures of Decentralized Energy Solutions and Implications for the Water–Energy–Food Security Nexus: Case Studies from Developing Countries," Resources, MDPI, vol. 6(3), pages 1-15, June.
    11. Rahut, Dil Bahadur & Aryal, Jeetendra Prakash & Manchanda, Navneet & Sonobe, Tetsushi, 2024. "Examining energy justice: Empirical analysis of clean cooking transition across social groups in India, 2004–2018," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 193(C).
    12. Douglas G. Bray & Gaurav Nahar & Oliver Grasham & Vishwanath Dalvi & Shailendrasingh Rajput & Valerie Dupont & Miller Alonso Camargo-Valero & Andrew B. Ross, 2022. "The Cultivation of Water Hyacinth in India as a Feedstock for Anaerobic Digestion: Development of a Predictive Model for Scaling Integrated Systems," Energies, MDPI, vol. 15(24), pages 1-16, December.
    13. Daniel Hoehn & María Margallo & Jara Laso & Isabel García-Herrero & Alba Bala & Pere Fullana-i-Palmer & Angel Irabien & Rubén Aldaco, 2019. "Energy Embedded in Food Loss Management and in the Production of Uneaten Food: Seeking a Sustainable Pathway," Energies, MDPI, vol. 12(4), pages 1-19, February.
    14. Bastian Winkler & Iris Lewandowski & Angelika Voss & Stefanie Lemke, 2018. "Transition towards Renewable Energy Production? Potential in Smallholder Agricultural Systems in West Bengal, India," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 10(3), pages 1-24, March.
    15. Nihit Goyal, 2021. "Limited Demand or Unreliable Supply? A Bibliometric Review and Computational Text Analysis of Research on Energy Policy in India," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(23), pages 1-23, December.
    16. Prabir C. Bhattacharya & Vibhor Saxena, 2015. "Discrimination in Accessing Cleaner Cooking Fuels and Electricity in North India: The Role of Caste, Tribe, and Religion," Heriot-Watt University Economics Discussion Papers 1502, Department of Economics, School of Management and Languages, Heriot Watt University.
    17. Vibhor Saxena & P.C. Bhattacharya, 2015. "Inequalities in accessing LPG and electricity consumption in India: The role of caste, tribe, and religion," Discussion Paper Series, School of Economics and Finance 201512, School of Economics and Finance, University of St Andrews, revised 25 Jun 2017.
    18. Guta, Dawit & Jara, Jose & Adhikari, Narayan & Qiu, Chen & Gaur, Varun & Mirzabaev, Alisher, 2015. "Decentralized energy in Water-Energy-Food Security Nexus in Developing Countries: Case Studies on Successes and Failures," Discussion Papers 207713, University of Bonn, Center for Development Research (ZEF).

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Andrea Vaona & Natalia Magnani, 2014. "Access to electricity and socio-economic characteristics: panel data evidence from 31 countries," Working Papers 15/2014, University of Verona, Department of Economics.
    2. Cheng, Shikun & Li, Zifu & Mang, Heinz-Peter & Neupane, Kalidas & Wauthelet, Marc & Huba, Elisabeth-Maria, 2014. "Application of fault tree approach for technical assessment of small-sized biogas systems in Nepal," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 113(C), pages 1372-1381.
    3. Malla, Sunil & Timilsina, Govinda R, 2014. "Household cooking fuel choice and adoption of improved cookstoves in developing countries : a review," Policy Research Working Paper Series 6903, The World Bank.
    4. Ortiz, Willington & Terrapon-Pfaff, Julia & Dienst, Carmen, 2017. "Understanding the diffusion of domestic biogas technologies. Systematic conceptualisation of existing evidence from developing and emerging countries," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 74(C), pages 1287-1299.
    5. Mukeshimana, Marie Claire & Zhao, Zhen-Yu & Ahmad, Munir & Irfan, Muhammad, 2021. "Analysis on barriers to biogas dissemination in Rwanda: AHP approach," Renewable Energy, Elsevier, vol. 163(C), pages 1127-1137.
    6. Sun, Dingqiang & Bai, Junfei & Qiu, Huanguang & Cai, Yaqing, 2014. "Impact of government subsidies on household biogas use in rural China," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 73(C), pages 748-756.
    7. Zheng, Lei & Cheng, Shikun & Han, Yanzhao & Wang, Min & Xiang, Yue & Guo, Jiali & Cai, Di & Mang, Heinz-Peter & Dong, Taili & Li, Zifu & Yan, Zhengxu & Men, Yu, 2020. "Bio-natural gas industry in China: Current status and development," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 128(C).
    8. Francis Kemausuor & Muyiwa S. Adaramola & John Morken, 2018. "A Review of Commercial Biogas Systems and Lessons for Africa," Energies, MDPI, vol. 11(11), pages 1-21, November.
    9. Rupf, Gloria V. & Bahri, Parisa A. & de Boer, Karne & McHenry, Mark P., 2015. "Barriers and opportunities of biogas dissemination in Sub-Saharan Africa and lessons learned from Rwanda, Tanzania, China, India, and Nepal," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 52(C), pages 468-476.
    10. Khan, Ershad Ullah & Martin, Andrew R., 2016. "Review of biogas digester technology in rural Bangladesh," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 62(C), pages 247-259.
    11. Alfonso Carfora & Monica Ronghi & Giuseppe Scandurra, 2017. "The effect of Climate Finance on Greenhouse Gas Emission: A Quantile Regression Approach," International Journal of Energy Economics and Policy, Econjournals, vol. 7(1), pages 185-199.
    12. Cheng, Shikun & Li, Zifu & Mang, Heinz-Peter & Huba, Elisabeth-Maria & Gao, Ruiling & Wang, Xuemei, 2014. "Development and application of prefabricated biogas digesters in developing countries," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 34(C), pages 387-400.
    13. Sutar, Kailasnath B. & Kohli, Sangeeta & Ravi, M.R. & Ray, Anjan, 2015. "Biomass cookstoves: A review of technical aspects," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 41(C), pages 1128-1166.
    14. Ni, Ji-Qin, 2024. "A review of household and industrial anaerobic digestion in Asia: Biogas development and safety incidents," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 197(C).
    15. Joshi, Lalita & Choudhary, Deepak & Kumar, Praveen & Venkateswaran, Jayendran & Solanki, Chetan S., 2019. "Does involvement of local community ensure sustained energy access? A critical review of a solar PV technology intervention in rural India," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 122(C), pages 272-281.
    16. Khandelwal, Meena & Hill, Matthew E. & Greenough, Paul & Anthony, Jerry & Quill, Misha & Linderman, Marc & Udaykumar, H.S., 2017. "Why Have Improved Cook-Stove Initiatives in India Failed?," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 92(C), pages 13-27.
    17. Singh, Rhythm, 2018. "Energy sufficiency aspirations of India and the role of renewable resources: Scenarios for future," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 81(P2), pages 2783-2795.
    18. Laura Del-Río-Carazo & Emiliano Acquila-Natale & Santiago Iglesias-Pradas & Ángel Hernández-García, 2022. "Sustainable Rural Electrification Project Management: An Analysis of Three Case Studies," Energies, MDPI, vol. 15(3), pages 1-21, February.
    19. Yin, Dongxue & Liu, Wei & Zhai, Ningning & Wang, Yandong & Ren, Chengjie & Yang, Gaihe, 2017. "Regional differentiation of rural household biogas development and related driving factors in China," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 67(C), pages 1008-1018.
    20. Sehjpal, Ritika & Ramji, Aditya & Soni, Anmol & Kumar, Atul, 2014. "Going beyond incomes: Dimensions of cooking energy transitions in rural India," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 68(C), pages 470-477.

    More about this item

    Keywords

    Energy policy; India; Biogas;
    All these keywords.

    Statistics

    Access and download statistics

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:eee:enepol:v:68:y:2014:i:c:p:80-91. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Catherine Liu (email available below). General contact details of provider: http://www.elsevier.com/locate/enpol .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.