Mapping Bioenergy Supply and Demand in Selected Least Developed Countries (LDCs): Exploratory Assessment of Modern Bioenergy’s Contribution to SDG7

Dilip Khatiwada, Pallav Purohit () and Emmanuel Kofi Ackom
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Dilip Khatiwada: Division of Energy Systems, Department of Energy Technology, School of Industrial Engineering and Management, KTH Royal Institute of Technology, Brinellvägen 68, 100 44 Stockholm, Sweden
Emmanuel Kofi Ackom: UNEP DTU Partnership, UN City Campus, Department of Technology, Management and Economics, Denmark Technical University (DTU), Marmorvej 51, 2100 Copenhagen, Denmark

Sustainability, 2019, vol. 11, issue 24, 1-29

Abstract: Bioenergy can play an important role in achieving the agreed United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and implementing the Paris Agreement on Climate Change, thereby advancing climate goals, food security, better land use, and sustainable energy for all. In this study, we assess the surplus agricultural residues availability for bioelectricity in six least developed countries (LDCs) in Asia and Africa, namely Bangladesh, Lao-PDR, and Nepal in Asia; and Ethiopia, Malawi, and Zambia in Africa, respectively. The surplus agricultural residues have been estimated using residue-to-product ratio (RPR), agricultural residues lost in the collection, transportation and storage, and their alternative applications. We use a linear regression model to project the economic potential of bioelectricity. The contribution of bioelectricity for meeting the LDCs’ electricity requirements is estimated in a time frame between 2017 and 2030. Our results reveal that the surplus biomass feedstock available from the agriculture sector could provide the total current electricity demand in Malawi alone, followed by Nepal (45%), Bangladesh (29%), Lao People’s Democratic Republic (Lao-PDR) (29%), Ethiopia (27%), and Zambia (13%). This study also explores the complementarity and synergies of bioelectricity, SDG7, and their interlinkages with other SDGs. Findings from the study show that providing access to sustainable energy in the LDCs to meet the SDG7 by 2030 might be a challenge due to limited access to technology, infrastructure, and finance. Site-specific investigations on how much agricultural residues could be extracted in an environmentally benign manner for bioelectricity and increased investment in the bioenergy sector are key potential solutions in a myriad of options required to harness the full energy potential in the LDCs.

Keywords: energy access; least developed countries (LDCs); sustainable development goals (SDGs); agricultural residues; bioelectricity (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: O13 Q Q0 Q2 Q3 Q5 Q56 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2019
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (1)

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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:gam:jsusta:v:11:y:2019:i:24:p:7091-:d:296615

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