“Technology assessment” (TA) refers to the systematic evaluation and analysis of the potential impacts, benefits, risks and challenges associated with the introduction, adoption or modification of a specific technology.

The goal of TA is to provide informed insights that can guide decision makers, policymakers and stakeholders in making well-informed choices regarding the development, deployment or regulation of technology. This process involves a comprehensive examination of the technological, economic, social, ethical and environmental aspects of a particular technology.

This technology assessment report was prepared under the United Nations Development Account Project 2124D: Technology assessment in the energy and agricultural sectors in Africa to accelerate progress on science, technology and innovation.

For a long time Zambia had been energy sufficient as the ability to generate power far outweighed the demand for that power. However, in the 2014/15 rainy season, a drought showed the inability of the country to produce enough energy to meet the demand of the local economy.

The situation led to massive load-shedding of up to eight hours a day and forced the government to make decisions on power imports at a huge cost to the national treasury to keep the economy and social services afloat. This undoubtedly raised questions among policymakers concerning security of supply and diversification of the energy sector.

In light of this problem, it was essential that the country began to understand what energy technologies it could employ to improve environmental safety, economic growth, national security and fuel choice by creating new and better ways of using and converting energy. Thus, as part of the TA exercise, Zambia selected small-scale biogas production as the technology for assessment.

As such, the objective of the present report is to highlight the current energy landscape, opportunities for biogas, and identify policy options that allow for actions to be initialized that lead to the implementation of biogas technology in the country.