The New Nation - Internet Edition

Shamim Jahangir

Bangladesh will be able to produce 50MW of electricity by using poultry and livestock manure within three years, experts told the New Nation.

"We have nearly one lakh poultry industries. If we can use 10 per cent of the poultry industry it will help to produce 50MW electricity from poultry manure within three years," Dr MM Khan, General Secretary of Bangladesh Poultry Owners Association told the reporters yesterday during a field visit to one such Power Plant at Kashimpur in Gazipur.

Mr Khan who is owner of Advance Animal Science Ltd (AAS) said that he was now producing 120 kilowatt of electricity from manure of 4,200 poultry and 65-hybrid cow through using locally developed technology at a cost of TK 2.60 lakh. The GTZ, a German Technical Corporation provided the technical support to AAS.

After installation of the plant, I have been able to reduce 80 per cent cost of electricity, Khan informed.

He sought government support to install such electricity plant and said it would need bank loan to install the plant. "The plant will be able to reduce the pressure of electricity in national grid," he hoped.

Dr Eng Khursheed-Ul-Islam, senior adviser of Sustainable Energy For Development (SED), who installed the technology at the firm said that by the use of local filter technology no additional use of fuel would be needed to produce electricity, whereas in the traditional technology, it needs 30 per cent diesel mixture with 70 per cent biogas to produce electricity. "If 10 per cent poultry firm come to produce electricity from manure, then 500MW of electricity will be added in the national grid in 2021," he said.

According to PDB sources the residents are experiencing 2,000MW shortage of electricity everyday as the power plants produce only 3,200MW to 3,500MW of electricity against the demand of 5,500MW.