A young man from Emanda village in Mungoma Ward, Vihiga Sub County has resorted to using green energy for cooking and heating.

The 22-year-old Oliver Angwenyi says he decided to harness cow dung to generate biogas to cut down on the use of wood fuel that negatively impacts on climate change.

‘I have noted that most people in the community rely on wood fuel as a source of energy, a situation that has led to the depletion of forests in the area causing environmental degradation,’ he narrated.

He said the destruction of forests in the region had not only distorted the weather patterns but had also made the land susceptible to soil erosion.

Angwenyi stated that biogas is a renewable source of energy that is derived from organic wastes such as animal waste, kitchen waste and sewage.

He explained that biogas is produced when a semi-liquid fermented animal waste (slurry) is released into the anaerobic digesters to produce methane gas and carbon dioxide as a by-product.

Agwenyi has located the small bio-gas plant which comprise of a large biogas digester and a gas storage tank in the backyard of his home. ‘The beauty of biogas is that it is a cheap, renewable, and environment-friendly source of energy,’ he observed.

He says the venturing into harnessing the green energy has made his fame to spread far and wide as delegations of people come calling to learn of the technology.

The upcoming environmentalist has been organising forums in the neighbourhood to educate the masses on the need to embrace use of green energy.

Source: Kenya News Agency