Biogas production from organic waste for auto-consumption
Business Model Description
Build, distribute and install domestic and industrial biodigesters for biogas production and ensure the maintenance to reinforce a circular economy approach and enhance access to electricity in rural, remote areas or to decrease the energy costs for industries.
Expected Impact
Biogas production expands access to clean cooking energy and organic fertilizer, reduces pollution and deforestation, improves households and women's health, and creates inclusive economic opportunities.
How is this information gathered?
Investment opportunities with potential to contribute to sustainable development are based on country-level SDG Investor Maps.
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Country & Regions
- Senegal: Dakar
- Senegal: Nord
- Senegal: Centre
- Senegal: Sud
Sector Classification
Renewable Resources and Alternative Energy
Development need
Senegal has achieved a national electricity access rate of 84% in 2023, yet rural electrification lags at 64% and over 30% of rural communities remain off-grid. Despite recent progress in power generation, over 60% of the population continues to rely on unsustainable cooking methods, such as firewood or charcoal causing health risks (1, 2).
Policy priority
The National Development Strategy 2025-2029 aims at achieving universal access to electricity, enhanced energy efficiency and demand management. The Strategie Gas to Power 2018-2025 targets the energy independence and the reduction of energy costs. The Nationally Determined Contribution's objective is to reduce the sector's emission of 35,3% unconditionally by 2030 (3, 4, 5).
Gender inequalities and marginalization issues
Stark disparities remain between electrification of rural and urban areas. Electricity access in urban center is of 97% compared to 64% in rural areas. This rural energy gap disproportionately affects women and youth who leave in majority in rural areas. Women also spend excessive hours on survival tasks such as fetching water or firewood and processing food manually. These unpaid burdens severely limit their time for education, income-generating activities, and childcare (1, 6, 7).
Investment opportunities introduction
Per capita energy consumption in Senegal increased of 301% from 2000 to 2023, reaching 0.417 MWh/capita. Opportunities include scaling renewables, transitioning from HFO to natural gas, grid upgrade, and transport and distribution. With existing reserves, developing the gas value chain is crucial to lowering costs and boosting industrial growth (4, 8, 9).
Key bottlenecks introduction
Despite strong energy potential, Senegal struggles with high electricity costs, sparse rural access, reliance on foreign investments for structuring renewable projects, limited support for local small-scale renewables, and risks from new fossil fuel reserves that might divert attention from renewables development (3, 10).
Alternative Energy
Development need
Senegal remains highly dependent on fossil fuel, making the sector one of the biggest contributor to GHG emissions. Emissions are planned to increase by 22% from 2025 to 2030 following as business as usual scenario. The country needs to harness its solar and wind potential to reach its energy transition and universal electrification target by 2029 (3, 5, 11, 12, 13).
Policy priority
The National Development Strategy 2025-2029 targets a share of renewable of at least 40% by 2029. The Stratégie nationale des combustibles de cuisson propre et des biocarburants 2025-2035 set the pace for a clean cooking transition, through a diversified and accessible clean energy supply (3, 14).
Gender inequalities and marginalization issues
Only a small portion of rural Senegalese households have access to clean cooking fuels (LPG, biogas), leaving rural women particularly burdened with traditional biomass use—which drives health issues, time poverty, and limited economic opportunities. In addition, inequal access to electricity throughout the territory reinforces economical inequalities, with a strong correlation between access to electricity and poverty peaking in rural areas (11, 15).
Investment opportunities introduction
Senegal targets 40% renewables by 2030 and full electrification by 2029, with untapped theoretical solar PV irradiation potential averaging 5,798 kWh/m²/day and offshore wind capacity estimated at 45 GW—13 GW fixed and 32 GW floating (3, 11).
Key bottlenecks introduction
Despite strong solar and wind potential, Senegal faces several renewable-specific challenges such as high financing costs, weak storage capacity, grid congestion, slow regulatory implementation, limited technical competencies, and heavy reliance on imported equipment and materials (3, 16, 17, 18).
Biofuels
Pipeline Opportunity
Biogas production from organic waste for auto-consumption
Build, distribute and install domestic and industrial biodigesters for biogas production and ensure the maintenance to reinforce a circular economy approach and enhance access to electricity in rural, remote areas or to decrease the energy costs for industries.
Business Case
Market Size and Environment
USD 100 million - USD 1 billion
The NDC aims for the installation of 27,000 biodigesters by 2030 (5).
The Nationally Determined Contribution (NDC) is aiming for the installation of 27,000 biodigesters unconditionally and 48,000 conditionally. The estimated budget for the domestic fuel actions, including biodigesters, is reaching USD 324 million and USD 114 million unconditionally (5).
Indicative Return
5% - 10%
The ROI for commercialization of biodigester for biogas production is between 5 and 10%. If the business model includes other activities such as training or project feasibility study on biogas, the expected ROI can reach around 20% (20).
Investment Timeframe
Long Term (10+ years)
The expected timeframe for the investment is above around 10 years, considering stakeholders experiences (20).
Ticket Size
< USD 500,000
Market Risks & Scale Obstacles
Business - Supply Chain Constraints
Impact Case
Sustainable Development Need
Senegal faces challenges in achieving universal access to clean and affordable energy. The Government aims to accelerate access to clean cooking at 11.3% per year, compared to the current 2.9% growth rate, to reach universal, equitable access to sustainable and affordable clean cooking energy by 2035. Inaction costs the country an estimated USD 7.9 billion annually (13, 14, 15).
Final energy consumption remains dominated by biomass (wood 45% and charcoal 36%), while butane gas accounts for 19%. This contributed to the forest cover loss of 15,530 ha yearly (14).
Waste management is a challenge in Senegal. The waste sector is one of the largest emitters of GHG emission. The sector is projected to reach 2,575 giga grammes of CO₂ equivalent by 2030, representing a 41% increase compared to current levels (3, 5, 24).
Gender & Marginalisation
The majority of women rely on biomass as their main source of household energy for cooking and heating, increasing health risks. Smoke inhalation from wood fuel and indoor air pollution cause respiratory illnesses affecting women and children disproportionately (25).
Women provide most of the labor in the household energy system, spending long hours collecting firewood and water. This obligation creates time poverty, limiting opportunities for education, training, and rest while reducing women’s participation in income-generating activities (25).
Access to clean cooking solutions in Senegal remains unequal between urban and rural areas. In urban areas, charcoal remains the most used cooking fuel (41%), followed by butane gas (39%) and firewood (20%). In rural areas, however, firewood dominates (51%), with charcoal (25%) and gas (22%) (26).
Expected Development Outcome
Expanded production of biogas, as outlined in Senegal’s clean cooking fuels strategy, will contribute to increase clean cooking methods. In that regard, the strategy aims to distribute 800,000 improved cookstoves per year and install 27,000 biodigesters by 2030 to fuel them (15).
Biogas offers an alternative to wood as a household energy source, reducing pressure on forests and strengthening energy security for low-income households. In Senegal, energy poverty contributes to the poverty cycle (15, 25).
As outlined in the NDC, biodigesters will reduce CO₂ emissions by promoting renewable and clean energy in the energy mix and improving waste management. In addition, biodigesters offer organic fertilizer as a byproduct that will contribute to the establishment of a sustainable agriculture in rural areas (5).
Gender & Marginalisation
Clean cooking solutions primarily benefit women by reducing the time they spend collecting firewood, while improving indoor air quality, therefore, lessening health risks, creating opportunities for improved well-being, education, and livelihoods (15).
Expanding biogas access in rural areas helps close the rural–urban energy gap, as over 50% of rural households still rely on firewood compared to 20% in urban areas, promoting equitable access to modern energy and reducing the reliance on traditional fuels (26).
Primary SDGs addressed
7.1.2 Proportion of population with primary reliance on clean fuels and technology
In 2022, 33.5% of the population had primary reliance on clean fuels and technology. In rural areas, this rate was around 8.2%. The main fuels used for cooking are wood (45.2%, of which 32.8% is collected wood and 12.4% is purchased wood), gas (34.0%) and charcoal (18.7%) (26, 27).
Senegal aims to achieve universal, equitable access to affordable, clean, and sustainable cooking energy by 2035. It seeks to distribute 800,000 improved cookstoves annually and installation of 27,000 biodigesters by 2030 (14).
13.2.2 Total greenhouse gas emissions per year
Carbone dioxide emissions excluding LULUCF were of 0.7 tons per capita in 2023 (28).
Senegal targets 7% reduction in GHG emissions by 2030 (3, 5).
11.6.1 Proportion of municipal solid waste collected and managed in controlled facilities out of total municipal waste generated, by cities
In Dakar, 84% of municipal solid waste was formally collected in 2020. However, it was around 33% in regional capitals and only 22% in secondary municipalities (29).
Senegal Municipal Solid Waste Management Project aims to improve solid waste management services in selected municipalities and cover 6 million people. By the end of the project, the proportion of municipal solid waste collected and managed in controlled facilities in targeted municipalities is expected to reach close to 100% in project municipalities (29).
Secondary SDGs addressed
Directly impacted stakeholders
People
Gender inequality and/or marginalization
Planet
Corporates
Public sector
Indirectly impacted stakeholders
People
Gender inequality and/or marginalization
Planet
Corporates
Public sector
Outcome Risks
Poor adoption of biogas technology by households if awareness, training, affordability or access to clean cooking stove are insufficient.
Digestate mismanagement could cause localized pollution if not properly applied to farmland.
Gender inequality and/or marginalization risk: Women may not equally access training, financing, or ownership of biogas systems, reinforcing existing disparities.
Impact Risks
High upfront investment costs and limited access to credit could hinder scaling of biogas projects.
Limited users know-how and lack of training could hinder the biogas quality and production, therefore reducing the planned impact.
If demand for charcoal persists in parallel, deforestation pressures may continue despite biogas adoption.
Weak enforcement of municipal waste policies could limit waste-to-energy integration. Inadequate waste segregation at source may limit feedstock quality and reduce system efficiency.
Impact Classification
What
Transforming organic waste into clean energy and potentially in fertilizer reduces GHG emissions, enhances access to clean energy for households, lowers pollution, and improves health.
Who
Rural and peri-urban households, women, farmers, SMEs, and municipalities benefit from clean energy, organic fertilizer and improved waste management.
Risk
Limited technical know-how, high upfront costs, and poor maintenance could reduce adoption and long-term sustainability of biogas projects.
Contribution
Municipal solid waste accounts for over 70% of GHG emissions. Biogas production contributes to reduced emissions from the sector and to lower reliance on unsustainable fuels (30).
How Much
Biogas production through biodigesters will contribute to reduce GHG emissions by 7% in Senegal, and can reduce global emissions by 18 to 20% (5, 31).
Impact Thesis
Biogas production expands access to clean cooking energy and organic fertilizer, reduces pollution and deforestation, improves households and women's health, and creates inclusive economic opportunities.
Enabling Environment
Policy Environment
Stratégie nationale des combustibles de cuisson propre et des biocarburants 2025-2035: aligning with the NDC, it promotes the diversification of the sustainable cooking fuel offer and targets a universal access to clean cooking energies. It aims at establishing 27,000 biodigester by 2030 (14).
Contribution Nationally Determined: as part of the sectoral strategy for the energy sector, it highlights clean cooking and the development of biodigester as key actions to achieve the sectoral emission reduction target of 10% by 2030 (5).
National Programme on Bigas Senegal: aims at installing biodigesters to produce biogas, organic fertilizer to improve access to clean cooking, generate revenues for producers and households and support the development of sustainable agriculture (32).
Financial Environment
Financial incentives: Under the National Programme on Biogas Senegal, FONGIP can guarantee loans over maximum five years and up to USD 890,000 (XAF 500 million). Selected banks offer subsidized loans to operators approved by the Programme (23, 35).
Fiscal incentives: According to the law on biofuels, revenues from the exploitation of biofuels, including biogas, are exonerated from taxes for a period of five years, for companies producing for the local market and eligible for carbon credit (33).
Fiscal incentives: According to the environmental code, the import of material for activities contributing to the fight against pollution are exempt from fees and parafiscal taxes payable by the companies operating a classified installation (34).
Other incentives: The project IDBio, supported by AFD and established by the University Gaston Berger and Insa Toulouse, aims at developing a curriculum from bachelor to PhD on agricultural waste processing in bioenergy (36).
Regulatory Environment
Loi n° 2010-22, portant loi d’orientation de la filière des biocarburants: sets the need for a license to operate in renewable energy, that at least 50% of the production needs to supply the local market, prices are regulated, and the fiscal incentives and the eligibility for carbon credits (33).
Loi n° 2023-15 du 02 août 2023 portant Code de l'Environnement: sets the obligation to conduct an environmental evaluation for project of category 2 and an environmental and social assessment for project of category 1 (with major environmental risks), including for waste management projects (34).
Marketplace Participants
Private Sector
Methanizer, Greenexia, Sustainable Business For ALL (SB2-4ALL), Companie sucriere du Senegal, Veolia, SOGAS, Union des Groupements de Paysans et de Maraîchers (UGPM),
Government
The Netherlands, Switzerland, Ministry of Energy, Oil and Mining, Ministry of Health and Public Hygiene, Ministry of Environment and Ecological Transition, Institute de Recherche pour le Development, National Agency for Renewable Energy
Multilaterals
EU, African Bio-gas Partnership Programme (ABPP)
Non-Profit
Un enfant par la main, Enda Energie, Association Le Partenariat,
Target Locations
Senegal: Dakar
Senegal: Nord
Senegal: Centre
Senegal: Sud
References
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