The Biomass Energy (earlier ICS) Component in ESAP phase II is started from 15 March 2007. The Biomass Energy program is for next five years (2007-11) with realigned development objective. During ESAP I and bridging, ICS component has been considered as one of the successful components on achieving its predefined objective and meeting targets of disseminating quality ICS, information awareness, and networking in targeted area.

In ESAP II, support to Improved Cooking Stoves (ICS), it has been perceived that a more comprehensive approach towards overall biomass energy development would help in achieving the long-term objectives of socio-economic, gender, poverty reduction, and empowerment of rural people. Contrary to the historical approach to disseminate ICS, which was limited to improving fuel wood efficiency and addressing gender education and health issues through ICS Programme in the mid-hills, the revised approach would address more general social and economic, environment issues including ICS. The component mainly relates its activities to decentralization, institutional capacity and policy, and socio-economic uplifting of rural people.

Unlike in Phase-I, which focused on dissemination of ICS, especially for households in the middle hills, this Component in Phase-II is designed to include all major biomass energy technologies as solutions to rural energy problems, e.g. stoves for institutions like hotels, restaurants, schools, army barracks, religious centers and piloting of stoves for High Mountain and Terai. Besides, the Component is also addressing introducing biomass briquetting, biofuel and gasification technologies. The component will also focus on providing appropriate information materials to fill the gap of information for a wider range of stoves and other biomass energy technologies.

Biomass Energy component is designed to include all major biomass energy technologies as solutions to rural energy problems, e.g. stoves for institutions like hotels, restaurants, schools, army barracks, religious centers and piloting of stoves for High Mountain and Terai. It is envisioned that by end of Phase II 4,34,000 ICS will be installed in Mid Hills and Terai, 10,000 household gasifiers disseminated through commercial market, 1,000 Institutional gasifiers disseminated on economic basis, 5,000 Institutional ICS installed as demonstration, 50,000 metal stoves installed in high hill.

Currently, the Component is working in 42 districts including 35 old districts and within five years it is targeted to reach all over Nepal.

Key Elements – The implementation of Biomass Energy solutions requires community development as well as strengthening capacity at local level and linking with other end uses.  The Component, have the following elements:

1. Assist AEPC to coordinate activities related to biomass energy technologies including ICS, Biogas and other new technologies, etc
   
   
2. Versatile and quality ICS promotion through effective monitoring for
   
   1. House holds cooking stoves
   2. Institutional stoves
      
      
3. Biomass solutions for efficient natural resource utilisation and income generation through promotion of
   1. Agro-processing stoves
      • Commercial/institutional Biomass gassifiers for drying purpose
   2. Non Timber Forest Products (NTFP) processing stoves
      • Improvement of stoves in distillation process as well as drying
        
        
4. Identifying and Compiling the range of cooking stoves suitable in the Nepalese context and producing a complete range of appropriate information materials, which includes information like which, how, where, etc.
   
   
5. Development of Information materials for all biomass technologies.
   
   
6. Capacity building on biomass technologies through Service Providers
   
   
7. Information campaign (awareness raising, orientation and demonstration and convention, focused on productive end-use)
   1. National level promotion (funding institutions, NGO’s).
   2. Local level training/promotion targeted at the Users groups in a new specific area to be done through the implementing NGO’s.
      
      
8. Indoor air pollution measurement study.