SOCIO-ECONOMIC AND TECHNICAL CONSTRAINTS AND OPPORTUNITIES THROUGH EXPERIENCES IN WELAGI AND LOMALOMA

Transcription

1 BIOFUELS IN FIJI SOCIO-ECONOMIC AND TECHNICAL CONSTRAINTS AND OPPORTUNITIES THROUGH EXPERIENCES IN WELAGI AND LOMALOMA Paper for the PPA Workshop Nadi Fiji Islands Fiji Department of Energy Intiyaz Khan; Senior Scientific Officer 17 th November/2005

2 Location: Welagi NOTE Welagi Lomaloma Travel: Suva Taveuni (Welagi) Plane: Twice a day at $ Flight time: 40mins Suva Vanua Balavu (Lomaloma) Plane Twice a week $ Flight time: 1 hour 2

3 BIOFUELS IN FIJI SOCIO-ECONOMIC AND TECHNICAL CONSTRAINTS AND OPPORTUNITIES THROUGH EXPERIENCES IN WELAGI AND LOMALOMA 1. Introduction The Fiji Department of Energy (FDOE) has two community based copra biofuel projects with the primary aim of producing clean electricity for the communities involved. These are the Lomaloma Copra Biofuel Project, installed in April 2000, and the Welagi Copra Biofuel Project installed in July The two projects have had a rough project life since its implementation and the FDOE is monitoring these two projects to ensure the sustainability of the project once the project changes ownership over to the communities themselves. This paper will highlight the conception of the Biofuel Program, the project development, its implementation and current status. It will focus on the two-biofuel projects that were implemented in Fiji with emphasis on constraints encountered during the project lifetime and opportunities ahead based on experiences of the two projects. It is intended that lessons learnt from the experiences of the two projects will be a catalyst for a better planned project identification, development and management program in the future. It is also to be noted, that these two projects are pilot projects, while the aim of the project was definitely to provide electricity services to the communities, it was also to test the performance of the technology being provided. 2. Project Conception A feasibility study for the Fiji biofuel project was undertaken in April of These were at Welagi on Taveuni and 3 villages of Sawana, Lomaloma and Naqara on Vanua Balavu. The study was to investigate the relevance, feasibility and sustainability of the sites. A thorough investigation was taken of the socio-economic environment and a technical assessment was also undertaken for the justification for the site selection. In early 2000, a joint agreement for implementation of Renewable Energy Project was signed by the FDOE and the Secretariat of the Pacific Community (SPC). The objective of this agreement was to promote activities of scientific and technical co-operation in favour of Rural Energy Development. Under the agreement, FDOE took all responsibilities for local costs of project implementation while SPC provided for the transfer of the new technology (bio-diesel generator) for electricity generation. This was through CIRAD-AMIS France that provided the technology. Additional funding was provided by the French Embassy. 3

4 The uniqueness of the project is that, the specially modified biofuel generator is able to use coconut oil to generate electrical power for the homes in the village. The dual fuel tanks contain diesel oil and coconut oil respectively. The diesel oil is used to start the engine and when the engine is heated, the coconut oil takes over as the sole fuel source to run the engine for the duration of its intended purpose. The switch over from diesel to coconut oil is automatic. Just before switch off, the engine has to be turned off on diesel. 3. The Pilot Projects a. The Lomaloma Copra Biofuel Project Located at Sawana, Vanua Balavu; Lau Group. After socio- economical and technical feasibility, one 90 kva generating set was installed in Vanuabalavu to electrify three villages (Sawana, Lomaloma, Naqara), 198 households and an oil-mill with a kg/h copra milled capacity. This electricity generating plant is able to use crude coconut oil as fuel. A Hospital, Adi Moape Junior/primary School and other government quarters are also electrified. The Fiji Government spent about $120,000, including new grid electrification and workmanship. SPC through the French Government provided for the $150,000 generator. On April 2000 the Powerhouse was commissioned. Operation and management is handled by a village Electricity Committee, which also provides for a generator operator. This committee handles day-to-day affairs of the generator business. The FDOE is responsible for the maintenance of the gen-set and servicing of the system and spares (for 3 years from the start of the project). At present, the kwh rate for the 115 customers is around $0.90 per kwh. There were 198 customers initially, but due to non-payment of bills, some have been cut off. Sometimes the Electricity Committee allows for late payments just so that revenue is collected to breakeven for a month. b. Current Status: The Biofuel generator is operating on only diesel fuel since 2003 with no technical or managerial problems. The local production of coconut oil has never taken place here since the closure of the existing Oil Mill that had been proposed as a source of fuel supply. More discussions to follow later. c. The Welagi Copra Biofuel Project Located at Welagi Village on Taveuni. Project implementation began in April 2001 and was commissioned on July households were electrified to the underground mini-grid system linked to the newly constructed power house. Each house was fitted with two tube 4

5 lights and a power point. The powerhouse consists of a work shed, a processing room and the generator room. The Government s local costs of project implementation were around $80,000 and SPC through French Government $100,000 for the biofuel generator. Operation and management is coordinated by the Electricity and Copra Committees for provision of copra collection, processing, generation, and revenue collection. The FDOE is responsible for providing training and technical support for maintenance of the generators. Monthly fee of $5.00 is collected by the Electricity Committee per month. d. Current Status: The bio-gen set is currently operating on coconut oil and diesel, but more often on diesel. There have been technical problems with the generator during Constraints Encountered There have been numerous problems with the project at Lomaloma and Welagi. Not all have been managerial, technical, social or economic. At times, it has been the distance and communication to the sites that affected problem solving. a. Logistical/Administrative The Committees at the two project sites rely upon the FDOE to rectify all technical problems. When a request comes to the FDOE for a technical fault, the FDOE has to take a quote from the Public Works Department (PWD) to send a generator fitter to the site. This quote process may take 2 weeks. Further accounts processing may take a week. In the forth week, the generator might be repaired. There has been a case where a PWD fitter has had to remain at Lomaloma for 2 weeks to clean the fuel tank after a wrong type of engine oil was used on the generator. For the first week the fitter identified the problem and in the second week, some parts were sent to him to clean the system. It took two weeks because at that time flights to Lomaloma were once a week and boat transfers were not frequent or on schedule. If some parts were required that are not in stock, quote taking, delivery and repairing may take up to 2 months or more. This had been the case with the search for a starter motor for the Welagi bio-gen set. There was no local companies having the particular model of starter motor for the generator, thus it had to be bought in from overseas. This process took close to 3 months, from problem identification, reporting, quotes, accounts processing and delivery of the item, then again the process of quotes to send a bio-gen set fitter to install the starter motor on to the bio-gen set. 5

6 b. Social The Feasibility report did mention differences at the project sites with regards to social interaction within the community at the two project sites but it was never seen to be a major obstacle. At Lomaloma, there was a silence rivalry between villages of Lomaloma/Naqara and Sawana. Though this did not create any physical conflict for the project, there was distrust within the committee members of each other. At the moment, it is difficult to ascertain the role of this rift on the project until the social participatory survey planned for later this year is preformed. At Welagi, there were divisions over church groups members that affected the daily collection of coconuts, copra production and supply. This at times led to low coconut oil productions and subsequently, the need to purchase from other coconut oil producers. c. Financial/Economics The two operators at Welagi are not paid, yet they had to over see the generation of the biogen set plus production of oil and over see copra sorting and crushing. This is a massive undertaking for two people. As it is, copra sorting and crushing is a relatively simple process but oil production is not. The oil press supplied with the project has the capacity to crush 20-30kg/hr of copra but to produce enough for the bio-gen set may take a full day for 5hours of operation in the evening. Its just not practical for the two operators to be involved in the Power House for a day at the expense of not working in their farms and not be paid for their time. Buying of coconut oil from a producer on the island has proven to be more expensive than buying diesel for the bio-gen set. Currently diesel sells for $1.80/l while the high grade coconut oil also sells for a little less, but transportation to the particular coconut oil producer adds $50.00 to the total costs while $15.00 would be the charge to the local Shell Fuel Station for diesel. Lomaloma was also provided with an oil press, but its capacity was never going to be enough for the 90kVA bio genset and was only used once for demonstration when the project was commissioned. Lomaloma had an existing oil mill with a 300kg/hour capacity, which was to be incorporated into the biofuel project to crush and produce coconut oil for the bio genset. Unfortunately, when the project was commissioned in 2000, the oil mill closed due to old age, and low copra supply due to lack of good prices and inconstant shipping schedules. Whatever coconut oil drums with coconut oils that were left in the oil mill were then used for the bio-gen set till all was used up. For a short while, coconut oil was shipped all the way from Savusavu to Suva then on to Lomaloma, but this was a major logistical challenge and at the end of the day, the price of coconut oil to be shipped became more expensive then diesel at Lomaloma, it did not make economical sense to buy coconut oil anymore. The price of coconut oil at Savusavu in 2002, was around $0.90/l - $1.00/l, while diesel at Lomaloma was around $1.80 but hire of drums and shipping made it more expensive. Thus Lomaloma reverted to diesel fuel, not because of any technical problems but due to the costly supply of 6

7 coconut oil. Since 2003, when the Lomaloma biofuel project had been operating on diesel fuel, there have been no technical problems with the generator, just routine maintenance. At Lomaloma, the households having access to electricity has fallen from 198 to 115. The households have kwh meters but for the Committee to breakeven, the tariff charge of $0.90/kWh is beyond the means of some in the villages. d. Managerial The Committees at the project sites had a responsibility to report frequently to the FDOE on the project management and operation. This did not eventuate as the Committees only contacted the FDOE once there was any technical problems with the bio-gen set. Record keeping at Welagi was non existent even after FDOE had supplied a log book and trained the Power House operators on the importance of the log book functions. Thus upon inspection/maintenance visits it was difficult to identify faults. At Lomaloma, book keeping has been excellent and this can be attributed to the maturity of the operator and he has been in charge since day one of the project implementation. Village operators are not paid by the Committees as it s seen as an obligation, though the operators would like to be paid. At Welagi, two young men trained on the bio-gen set operations and maintenance have left the village. Two other young men now preform the operations of the Power House. At Lomaloma, the operator gets free electricity for his time assisting with the project. The operators have all mentioned that they would like to be paid. e. Technical At Welagi, the 45kVA bio-genset runs only at less then 17% efficiency. The bio-gen set is oversized for the site. Initially, it was thought that spin off efforts and new demand arising from electricity in the households would lead to increased usage but this has been minimal. Thus the low load has caused problems with the bio-gen set. This again has led to more maintenance for the FDOE and unreliable power supply for the community. With coconut oil for the Lomaloma bio-gen set, there was constant problems with the fuel solenoid. Upon cleaning the item, it was found to contain contaminants indicating dirty coconut oil. This problems was present all throughout the project when coconut oil was used even at Welagi. As mentioned, there were problems with acquiring spare parts that were not available in Fiji. Being a new type of an electricity generator, not many technicians were well versed with the components of this bi-gen set. Training was provided to village men, but they were not trained technicians to work on troubleshooting except for basic maintenance such as fuel change and filters. 7

8 4.1 Summary of Issues and Constraints Distance and travel constraints Lack of ongoing communication Lack of planning for maintenance Community issues Low load Lack of financial support for project operators High cost of external/alternate oil supply High cost of generated electricity Copra supply problems Lack of adequate record keeping Some households not paying monthly bills 5. Opportunities Ahead The FDOE believes that there is a future for biofuel projects in Fiji. At the same time, it believes the visions for the future must be as practical as possible and within reach. A available technology and funding should not be the basis for project development/implementation but rather a collective approach should be taken to assess resource potential, human and technical resources, community needs and ability, economics of project and adaptability of the project to changing economic/social climate of the locality. The two projects in Fiji have shown that there is room for biofuel technology, but at the same time, backup services for new technology must be present and sustainable for the community as reliance on the Government is not practical in the longer term will see the projects being fully handed over to the village Committees. FDOE hopes a final project evaluation will assist to restructure the projects for long term sustainability once the projects are handed over to the communities. a. Present work to be undertaken by the FDOE A participatory survey for Welagi and Lomaloma A social survey of the benefits to the community from the Project. This will involve a questionnaire survey to assess the effectiveness of the project to the community, including responses from the community to the Department s assistance and the opportunity for the community to highlight problems areas that needs urgent attention by the Department, etc. A technical and economic assessment of Welagi and Lomaloma Biofuel Projects An assessment to highlight technological performance of the Project to the community, to justify economic performance of the project and its sustainability. Proposal for development of an oil mill to produce oil for the Projects (dependent upon socio-economic and technical evaluation reports). 8

9 Case Study: Welagi Copra Biofuel Project Annex : Welagi Copra Biofuel Project Welagi is a coastal village located north-west of Taveuni, the garden island of Fiji. In 1998, after a survey by French scientists with FDOE and other country counterparts of the feasibility of Welagi as a possible site for a copra biofuel, it was concluded that the socio-economic pre-conditions favoured the implementation of the biofuel project here. The village chief was fully supportive of the project from the start and this further assisted to build a good working relationship that enabled the project to proceed without any hindrance. In early 2000, a joint agreement for implementation of Renewable Energy Project was signed by the FDOE and the Secretariat of the Pacific Community (SPC). The objective of this agreement was to promote activities of scientific and technical co-operation in favour of Rural Energy Development. Under the agreement, FDOE took all responsibilities to incur local costs of project implementation while SPC provided for the transfer of the new technology (bio-diesel generator) for electricity generator. This was through CIRAD-AMIS France that provided the technology. Additional funding was provided by the French Embassy. Project implementation began in April 2001 with the Public Works Department (PWD Electrical) contracted to carry out electrical works of the 57 houses that were to be electrified to the underground mini-grid system linked to the newly constructed power house. The house wiring along with grid set up took 8 weeks to complete. Each house was fitted with two tube lights and a power point. The powerhouse consists of a work shed, a processing room and the generator room. On 20 th July 2001 electricity was generated for the first time in the village. The uniqueness of the project is that, the specially modified biofuel generator is able to use coconut oil to generate electrical power for the homes in the village. The dual fuel tanks contain diesel oil and coconut oil. The diesel oil is used to start the engine and when the engine is heated, the coconut oil takes over as the primary fuel source to run the engine for the duration of its intended purpose. The switch over from diesel to coconut oil is automatic. Just before switch off, the engine has to be turned off on diesel. The Village has an electricity committee that collects revenues from a fixed rate per household for using the electricity. This income is directed towards the sustainability of the project in terms of maintenance and servicing the engine. FDOE spent close to $80,000 for the local cost of this project with another $100,000 plus contributed by the French Government for the implementation of this project. For FDOE this was a challenge to develop new and renewable fuels for electricity generation to reduce dependence on use of imported fossil fuels and also to develop a sustainable project that would be maintained by the community. After three years of monitoring by FDOE, the project would be handed over to the village electricity committee to maintain. 9

10 The aim from the beginning was not only to generate electricity but generate electricity development activities whereby the provisions of electricity would enable creation/expansion of other economic activities to benefit the community. On 7 th December, 2001, His Excellency the French Ambassador Mr. Jean-Pierre Vidon, along with other dignitaries official attended Welagi village and the Welagi Copra Biofuel Project. They were accorded a vakasobu (full traditional Fijian welcome for high ranking visiting persons). Village Electricity Committee This is a general village committee. Two women under the four mataqali are also part of this committee. Under this committee are other committees. Village Committee Copra Committee Other Committees Electricity Committee Copra Committee The Copra Committee is made of two groups with 10 people. This committee oversees harvesting of coconut and copra production. Coconuts are harvested on Monday s while two laborers collect firewood and dry the nuts. The two laborers known as firemen (because they collect firewood) are paid $10.00 a day to do the required tasks. Coconuts collected by the committee are not sold to the project, it is for the project. Any excess copra is sold at the market. This is at $ per ton. Expenses: $10.00/day for firemen: 4 days a week $10.00 for premix for chain saw per week $10.00 for tractor and diesel per week Electricity Committee This committee looks after post copra activities. The committee sells copra cake at $10.00 per bag. The committee reports to the general committee at the end of every month. There are two technicians working for the Power House. Currently for the Power House operation, they are not paid. In an earlier committee meeting, it was discussed that to get the committee running, the technicians help out without any pay. Groups of boys from each mataqali help out the technicians in producing oil. One group helps out from Monday to Wednesday while the other group 10

11 helps out from Thursday to Saturday. This committee when it buys CNO (coconut oil) externally pays $275 for a 44-litre drum. Electricity Production Time : 6 am to 11 pm Tariff : $5.00 flat rate This fee is collected by the technicians every month. Some houses have shown introduction of new appliances and there are plans to buy some power tools later on. So far, the village has been able to generate revenue for its people through employment in the harvesting and production process, and women through production of scented oils from copra cake. Not to mention, there is electricity that benefits the community in numerous ways. Waisake Savu of PWD (Electrical) preforms a sevusavu on behalf of FDOE and PWD to the village during the visit of the French Ambassador to Welagi in Equipment : #ENGINE: DEUTZ modified for coconut oil use Type: F6L 912W Serial number: Power Output: rpm. #ALTERNATOR: LEROY-SOMER Type: LSA 43.2 LSA 43.2 S3 J6/4 Serial number: /1. 45 KVA continuous 11