1.2. Energy status Bangladesh’s per capita energy consumption is very low, the lowest within the Indian subcontinent. The 2004 energy consumption value stands at 227 kgOE, compared to 500 kgOE for India, 475 kgOE for Pakistan, 400 kgOE for Sri Lanka and 450 kgOE for South Asia, and it was much below the world average of 1680 kgOE. Total primary energy consumption in 2004 was 30.70 MTOE and the energy consumption mix was estimated as: indigenous biomass 60%, indigenous natural gas 27.45%, imported oil 11.89%, imported coal 0.44% and hydro 0.23%. More than 76.9% of the country’s population lives in rural areas, meting most of their energy needs (for domestic, commercial, and industrial needs) from traditional biomass fuels. Various marketing companies under the Bangladesh Petroleum Corporation (BPC) distribute kerosene and diesel throughout the country at a uniform tariff rate set by the government. Around 32% have access to electricity, while in rural areas the availability of electricity is only 22%. But the quality of power services in rural areas is very poor; there are reports of frequent voltage fluctuations, unreliable and erratic supply. Only 3–4% of the households have connection of natural gas for cooking purposes. Only about 2–3% households use kerosene for the same purpose and the rest (over 90%) of people depend on biomass for their energy needs.
1.3. Energy policy Energy development appears to be a major constraint for the continued development of a LDC such as Bangladesh. The major stumbling block is lack in terms of capital investment since energy development programs are highly capital intensive. Traditionally these programs have been implemented with support from the donors and/or multilateral banks. Since independence, the government has given adequate priority and about 20% of total public sector investment has been allocated for the development of energy sector. Even then the achievements made in this sector have not been able to cope with the growing demand for energy services, in terms of both quality and quantity. In response to noncooperation for large-scale investment in energy development by the major donors, which was fuelled by an unacceptably high level of ‘system loss’ by the major government-managed energy utility companies, the government encouraged the participation of the private sector in energy development and management program. This was highlighted in the first-ever National Energy Policy (NEP), completed and gazetted in 1996. The NEP recognized that energy plays important role for the socio-economic development of the country and energy development and management should be brought under an integrated policy framework.
2.1. Biomass resource Biomass resources include various natural and derived materials mainly categorized as agricultural residues, wood and wood wastes, animal dung, municipal solid wastes.
2.1.1. Agricultural residues Approximate land use for agriculture is 54.5% and forests is 17.6% of total land area of the country. Agricultural residues contribute significantly to the biomass sector. About 46% of traditional biomass energy is supplied from major crop residues such as rice straw and rice husk from rice plants, bagasse from sugarcane and jute stick. Some amounts of residues produce from wheat, potato, oilseeds, spices, etc. crops grown. Crop residues can be distinguished into field residues and process residues. Field residues are residues that are left in the field after harvesting. They are scattered over a wide area, and are generally used as fertilizer. Process residues are generated during crop processing, e.g. milling. They are available at a central location. The residues from cash crops like groundnut and coconut are also used to provide biomass energy. Jute stick is used for fuel purposes after being used as construction materials.
2.1.2. Wood and wood wastes Total wood fuel consumption of the country is 8 million m3 where domestic cooking accounts for an estimated 5.1 million m3 (63%) annually and the industrial and commercial sectors 2.9 million m3 annually (37%). Besides reserve forest, the homestead trees (including social forest) supplies a significant amount fuelwood. In fact, most of the fuel-wood consumed by rural households is supplied by the homestead trees, which mainly consist of firewood, twigs and leaves. The trees are supplied as timber to urban and semi-urban areas and to industries. Though it is commonly thought that reserve forests are the main source of wood fuel in the country, but from statistics, it has been found that village forests are supplying 70% of total consumption, which has been shown in Table 4. At present, there is acute shortages of wood fuel in Bangladesh, due to which poor people opt for other inferior types (not compact, difficult to handle) of biomasses like agricultural residues or animal dung.
2.1.3. Animal dung Total livestock populations of cattle, buffalo, sheep and goat of Bangladesh in 2000 were estimated as 59.55 million heads. Of the working cattle, 92% was used for cultivation and 0.19% was for transportation. The quantity of dung yield varies from region to region. It was taken as 8–12 kg/animal/day for buffalo, 5–10 kg/animal/day for cattle, 0.25–0.50 kg/animal/day for sheep and goat. About 200 million chickens produce about 0.020 million tons of litter every day. The total dung produced annually was calculated by multiplication of the animal dung production per year and the number of head of different animals (FAO) taking the average of the lower and higher dung yield. A significant part of the dung is currently being used as fuel. A biogas plant is a better option to use the dung producing both biogas and fertilizer. Poultry litter could similarly be used.
2.1.4. Municipal solid wastes Total number of city corporations and municipalities in Bangladesh are 4 and 223, respectively. The major sources of municipal solid wastes are households, commercial areas, industries and hospitals. At present around 31 million of the country’s people live in urban areas. In the Fiscal Year of 1997–1998, it was reported that 29,573 manufacturing industries were running all over the country. All most all are in urban areas. Among them, about 21,941 industries are producing energy-based organic solid wastes which are categorized in Table 6. Besides according to 2002 estimation, the country has 1342 hospitals giving a facility of 45,607 beds, which are mostly in towns. The main cities of the country are already overburdened with solid wastes from different sources. According to the World Banks study, the rural population generates only 0.15 kg per capita per day, while their urban counterparts generate 0.4–0.5 kg per capita per day. All city corporations, responsible for waste management, are unable to handle solid waste properly.