Validity of the Africa-wide Lang factor of 2.63 for estimating small biogas plant installation costs in Uganda
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Date
2014
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International Journal of Agricultural and Biological Engineering
Abstract
There is an increasing interest in popularizing small biogas plants to meet the bulk of domestic energy needs in Africa for cooking, lighting, and other activities such as cooling or refrigeration. As stakeholders (policy makers, donors, credit providers, sector experts, and product development professionals) contemplate programs, one of the key questions to which a reliable answer is needed is biogas plant installation cost that may vary from region to region. An Africa-wide materials’ cost multiplier factor (Lang factor of 2.63) estimation approach has been proposed, based on data from only two locations. The factor’s validity throughout Africa has been questioned. This study shows that the Africa-wide Lang factor of 2.63 is applicable in Uganda. However, differences in accuracy have been observed based on whether the installation is located in a rural or urban setting. Location-specific factors of 2.984 and 2.404 for rural and urban locations
were established and validated, respectively, which produced more accurate estimates in comparison with a single composite non-location specific factor.
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Citation
Ndyabawe, K., & Kisaalita, W. S. (2014). Validity of the Africa-wide Lang factor of 2.63 for estimating small biogas plant installation costs in Uganda. International Journal of Agricultural and Biological Engineering, 7(1), 70-76.DOI: 10.3965/j.ijabe.20140701.008