Electrical engineering

Business

Investment (military)

Politics

Engineering

Return on investment

Political science

Net present value

Bioenergy

Economics

Geography

Microeconomics

Natural resource economics

Renewable energy

Electricity

Benefit–cost ratio

Scale (ratio)

Production (economics)

Agricultural economics

Cartography

Agricultural science

Internal rate of return

Environmental science

Waste management

Biogas

International Journal of Sustainable Energy

Energy usage disparity is burgeoning across the world. Therefore, biogas can be promising towards energy solution in bucolic regions of Bangladesh. Exploiting small-scale plants (3.45, 2.4, 2.7, 3 and 3.3 m3), this study elucidates the economic congruity of gasification through cost–benefit analysis. The estimated mean investment cost was BDT 39260/plant, whereas an average BDT of 8792.85 and 6856/year/plant return obtained from biogas and bio-fertiliser. All plants yielded positive net present value (NPV) in both 10% and 15% discount rates. Complacent internal rate of return (average 33.2%), positive benefit–cost ratio and lower PBP (average 2.5) debunk the feasibility of a capital-intensive investment like biogas. Sensitivity analysis elicits discount rate as the most sensitive and endorses inverse relationship between cost items and NPV. The average value of the biogas/plant is approximately tantamount to 1650 kWh electricity/year/plant which is sufficient for the energy demand of seven people. Therefore, this study espouses galvanising rural households to confide more on renewable energies like biogas.

Can small-scale biogas projects mitigate the energy crisis of rural Bangladesh? A study with economic analysis