Biomass and biomass residues, if sourced in an environmentally and socially sustainable fashion, represent a vast – and largely untapped – renewable energy source for the countries of sub-Saharan Africa. This guide seeks to outline the potential, taking the Ethiopian cement sector as a specific example of how biomass energy might be deployed in practice. Many of the issues covered, such as the need for biomass pre-treatment and densification, the problems of biomass availability in space and time, and the importance of appropriate on-site storage and handling facilities, are equally applicable to other countries of the region and, indeed, other manufacturing sectors. It is hoped that the guide will assist policy makers, industrial operators and the technical community to engage with the opportunities and challenges presented by the use of biomass energy, particularly in the context of the financing opportunities provided by the Clean Development Mechanism.

By: UNDP, UNEP Risoe Centre

download this document:    1626 kb