Influence of using household biogas digesters on household energy consumption in rural areas - a case study in Lianshui County in China

Development of household biogas digesters in rural areas and integrated use of agricultural wastes has changed the structure of rural household energy consumption and greatly increased the application of highly efficient organic fertilizer, improved soil fertility and promoted sustainable agricultural development. This paper mainly discusses the influence of using household biogas digesters on household energy consumption-in rural areas based on the data from the survey of rural household energy consumption and household biogas digesters in Lianshui County. The results showed that the construction of biogas digesters leads to the obvious decrease of per capita energy consumption in rural families and biogas mainly takes the place of some stalk and straw and a few firewood but does not substitute other forms of energy, especially commercial energy. (C) 2004 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.