3 Midlands schools construct biogas digesters
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SYDNEY MUBAIWA
MIDLANDS BUREAU CHIEF
GWERU – Three boarding schools in the Midlands province have constructed biogas digesters with assistance from the Rural Electrification Agency (REA) to lessen utility bills.
REA Midlands Provincial Manager Silba Zimwara confirmed the development to The Mirror.
He said the schools are Hama High in Chirumhanzu district, Pakame High in Shurugwi and Anderson High in Gweru.
Zimwara said the digesters will be primarily used for cooking and heating water.
“We have biogas digester projects at the three schools and we encourage other schools to embrace the project as this reduces utility bill costs. The biogas plants are used to supply heat energy for cooking and heating chicken runs,” she said.
Anderson High head Caxton Mukasvanga said the biogas digesters were constructed at a total cost of ZWG 400 000 with the school being tasked to provide concrete stones, river sand and pit sand as well as digging the pits.
Biogas is an environmentally-friendly and cost effective renewable energy source produced by the breaking down of organic matter such as food scraps, human and animal waste as well as industrial waste.
Decomposed waste fed into a biogas digester produces gas in the absence of air.
The gas can then be burned as fuel for lighting, cooking and heating, while on a large scale, it can be used to generate electricity. The slug that remains is rich in nitrogen and can be used as organic fertilizer.
REA is a subsidiary company of Zimbabwe Electricity Supply Authority (ZESA) Holdings and has trained builders across the province to construct biogas digesters.
