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Geography Essays: Chinas Use of Biogas
Biogas in Rural China
Chapter 1 – Introduction
Meeting the challenge of providing an adequate and safe energy supply for the world population has become an important concern in recent decades. As the notion of sustainability has obtained rising recognition, there has also been a consensus that sustainable energy will be one of the toughest challenges to meet. Some argue that the concept of sustainable energy, or energy use that meets the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their needs, is irrational.
For example, Lomberg, in The Skeptical Environmentalist, argues that it is “impossible to use isolated, non-renewable resources in such a way that future generations can also be assured of their use. Even if the world used just one barrel of oil a year this would still imply that some future generation would be left with no oil at all”. Whilst Lomberg may have been attempting to dismiss the entire notion of sustainability, the very fact that his example restricts itself to non-renewable resources serves only to reinforce the need for development of renewable resources in such a way that the goal of sustainable energy can be reached.
The conflict between the need for both economic development and environmental protection has taken over international debates on energy issues. The numerous negative effects of fossil fuel consumption have been brought to the fore in the last decades and have appropriately guided the way for expanding research into alternative energy sources. These developments led Christopher Flavin to state that “ … the 21st century may be as profoundly reshaped by the move away from fossil fuels as the 20th century was shaped by them”.
The People’s Republic of China, with its massive population of around 1.2 billion and correspondingly massive level of energy consumption, faces a variety of challenges in providing a stable energy supply to ensure continued economic development. Energy is, after all, the basis of the national economy, and thereby vital to socio-economic development and any improvement in living standards.
The Chinese are excessively dependent on fossil fuels to meet this energy demand: China is the biggest coal production and consumption country in the world. Owing to this, Chinese fossil fuel consumption has come to dominate the politics of global environmental change. However, China is not an ignorant or idle bystander in this debate, nor do the Chinese refute their large contribution to environmental degradation. China has indeed recognised that importing enough oil and gas in the next decades to support its economic growth is not viable. Thus the Chinese have realised that “an energy transition [to renewable energy]…” is not only “…ecologically necessary, but it is also economically logical”.
The Chinese have explored and researched a variety of renewable energy sources, including solar cells, wind power, hydrogen energy, and biomass energy. This paper will explore the expansion of biogas in rural China. Biomass energy, or bioenergy, is a general term that includes the energy stored in organic wastes, its translation into useful energy, and the ultimate use of that energy. Biogas is the gas produced microbiologically from this organic waste treatment. The objective of this paper is to analyse various aspects of biogas technology and how it has been implemented in China.
First, it will review the strengths of biogas technology over other technology, exploring alternative sources of renewable energy, as well as the advantages and disadvantages of biogas technology.
Second, it will examine the type of biogas technology that has been developed in rural China, and the reasoning behind the method and technologies put into operation.
Third, it will consider why different biogas technologies have been developed in different countries, with particular reference to the differences between India and China.
Fourth, it will attempt to outline a few suggestions and recommendations for the furthering of biogas development in China.
Lastly, it will offer a few conclusions as well as some suggestions for further research.
WORKS SITED:
- Boyle, G. (1996) Renewable Energy: Power for a Sustainable Future, Oxford: Open University Press.
- Carless, J. (1993) Renewable Energy: A Concise Guide to Green Alternatives, New York: Walker and Company.
- CCRE, Capacity Building for the Rapid Commercialisation of Renewable Energy in China, “Project Activity Brief No. 4: BIOGAS”, available at: www.ccre.com.cn/English/c4.pdf
- China Daily, 26 March 2003, Renewable Energy to Sustain Growth, available from: http://service.china.org.cn/link/wcm/Show_Text?info_id=59699&p_qry=biogas
- China New Energy, Biomass, available from: www.newenergy.org.cn/english
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- Government of India, Biogas Development, available from: http://www.mnes.nic.in/biogas/html
- Government of India, Planning Commision (2002) Evaluation Study on National Project on Biogas Development, available from www.mnes.nic.in
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- Lomborg, B. (2001) The Skeptical Environmentalist, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
- Lusk, P. and Moser, M. (1996) “Anaerobic Digestion – Yesterday, Today and Tomorrow”, abstract available at: http://www.biogasworks.com/reports/9th-yt&t.htm
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