By Moses Ndhaye
The Netherlands ministry of foreign affairs have earmarked about Shs15.2b to make the local communities in Uganda access the use of clean energy in a move to protect the environment.
The four-year project, running until 2025 aims at commercializing the biodigester sector in Uganda.
The commissioner in charge of renewable energy at the Ministry of Energy and mineral development Dr. Brian Isabirye says, the project is aimed at making the people adopt the use of bio-Gas instead of depending on the use of firewood and charcoal which promotes environmental degradation.
He says currently, 82% of the households in Uganda depend on using firewood and charcoal to cook which is not only harmful in terms of degrading the environment but also the fumes which come out of the firewood during the cooking affect the health of people.
Dr.Isabirye made the remarks at the signing of a memorandum in Entebbe between the governments Uganda and SNV.
The project will be implemented as a joint effort by a consortium of SNV, the German Agency for International Cooperation (GIZ) and Biogas Solution Uganda Limited (BSUL) in co-development support of the Netherlands Enterprise Agency (RVO).