Oman building 4 biogas plants and tackling food waste

In Oman, Oman Environmental Holding Services Company, more commonly known as Be’ah, is building biogas plants that run on food waste. Four plants are being set up to use up about 560,000 tons of food waste, which will save the equivalent of about OMR56 million (about $145 million) in costs each year for its disposal.

Fahad Ali Al Kharusi, head of Business Development at Be’ah told Times of Oman that studies are underway to determine how these biogas plants can exploit this organic waste in producing electric energy and that “In the Sultanate, food waste alone accounts for approximately 560,000 tonnes produced in households, due to the high consumption rates, which results in a loss of value amounting to OMR 56 million annually.”

According to Be’ah, this project would be the first of its kind in the Sultanate. Al Kharusi told Times of Oman, “The aim of the biogas plants is to be used to produce electricity. However, biogas has many uses, such as the creation of bio-fuel in vehicles, or using its heat energy in heating and cooling industrial areas. It can also be used domestically as cooking gas.”