Tanzania Sisal Board pushes sisal biogas

The Tanzania Sisal Board is to invest $31.1 million (€21.5 million) to encourage the production of sisal biogas in the region.

The investment will go towards developing 13 new biogas generation plants, with an overall capacity of 7000kW of electricity. Each plant is expected to consume around 500kW, with the excess energy sold to the national grid.

One sisal biogas plant is already in operation at Hale Estate, which was installed as part of a pilot programme.

'Tanzania Sisal Board is expecting to contribute a lot on power generation in Tanzania on a way to 2020 after it has accomplished its mission to reduce the energy cost in the country,' says D.D. Ruhida & Company.

Acting director general of the Tanzania Sisal Board, Hamis Mapinda, explains that sisal plants are an effective biomass which can generate consistent volumes of electricity in the country. 'In a way to stabilise the 14 sisal estates for electricity generation, we are planning to increase utilisation of the sisal plant from the current level of 2% to at least 50%,' he says.