Methane is finding wide application in the rural areas in Tibet which helps relieve energy dearth in the
"roof of the world".
There are many crab apple trees in full bloom in the green house
of Zhamdu, a Tibetan farmer in Xigaze Prefecture of the Tibet
Autonomous Region. But the primary function of the 40-square-meter
greenhouse is to provide a warm environment to allow the animal
dung to give off methane gas, which Zhamdu's family uses for
cooking.
"Methane gas generated here is piped into our kitchen (where it
is burned on a stove) and it takes just a few minutes for a kettle
of water to boil," said Zhamdu, 52, as he pointed to a white
plastic tube inside his greenhouse.
Though methane gas has long been used in many other rural areas
in China, it was technically difficult to get the animal waste to a
high enough temperature high up on the plateau before greenhouses
were built to solve the problem.
"Thank goodness I don't have to burn the dung patties anymore to
make a fire," said his wife Yangzhoin. The thick acrid smoke from
burning dung, she said, used to stings her eyes and cover the walls
with dirty.
A side benefit to the project are the family's early ripening
crab apple trees.
The greenhouses can generate enough methane to last five hours a
day and the average life span of the generating facilities is
between 15 and 20 years.
It costs 4,000 yuan (US$500) to build the special greenhouse,
but Zhamdu's family paid only 500 yuan (US$62.5), and the rest came
from the local government.
The local government of Xigaze Prefecture in central Tibet has
spent 2 million yuan (US$250,000) in research and development
program to help more than 360 rural families get the methane
generating greenhouses.
"It cuts fuel costs by an average 2,000 yuan (US$250) a year for
each family," he said, "And we aim to make methane gas available to
1,000 rural families in the coming five years." said Li Shengrong,
a local official in charge of scientific and technological
renovation.
Energy has long been a roadblock to development in Tibet even
though the region boasts rich solar energy, wind power and
hydropower resources.
(Xinhua News Agency April 25, 2006)