China has just announced an overnight rise in its domestic energy prices on friday. The cost of diesel is up by 18.1% while gasoline price increases by 16.7%. Amidst the rising oil price, what can the chinese government do to deal with the energy crunch, especially in the poorer rural areas? Solution: Build more bio-gas pools.

The Asian Development Bank (ADB) has pledged a US$1million grant to China for use in constructing more bio-gas pools in the rural areas. The use of bio-gas for cooking and lighting in the rural areas has been successfully and hence led to this grant by the ADB.

This grant will be used in researching and for building large-scale bio-gas pools in the rural areas. In general, Chinese farmers recycle crop straws, grass, husk and animal dung and use it as bio-gas and the process can produce fertilizer, which is organic and environmentally friendly for farming. About 26 million households in the country’s rural areas were already using methane for cooking and heating by the end of last year, and another 5 million households will join the group this year bringing the expected total to 31 million households.

This grant will also benefit China’s poorer neighbours such as Laos and Cambodia by passing on the technology of building bio-gas pools to them. China has already formed a legislative framework in biomass use. It encouraged the development of bio-energy within the Renewable Energy Law that took effect last year, as well as the Mid-Term and Long-Term Development Program for Renewable Energy.

Via - China Daily