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Untreated sewage is a huge menace all over Delhi causing both health and non-health problems to households. One of the reasons is insufficient STPs in certain areas or because of lack of funds to maintain full capacity operation of existing STPs. With growing awareness that methane produced in STP can be used as a bio fuel using bio methanation techniques, several STPs has been upgraded to produce electricity from bio methane generated, to use in functioning of plant itself. But the problem of insufficient fund continues as a result of which even after getting upgraded many STPs still run under capacity. The given study talks about marketing biomethane generated in STPs as a cooking fuel so that additional revenue obtained can if not completely, at least partially fund the operational and maintenance cost.
Objective: To determine opportunities (potential benefits) and threats that can hinder higher level penetration of biofuel generated in sewage treatment, to decide whether such fuel should be marketed or not.
Research question: Whether inexhaustible cooking fuel generated from STPs with bio methanation is socially acceptable/adoptable by households and can be marketed as an alternative cooking fuel and what factors will affect household’s willingness to pay?
Methodology: Mixed method has been applied to the current study. SWOT analysis is used to ascertain marketability of CBM gas and within SWOT, ranking based conjoint analysis is used to determine household’s average WTP and cost estimates are obtained and compared with average WTP to check economic viability of the project. Apart from this, regression analysis is used to determine factors affecting WTP.
Finding: It is economically viable to market bio-fuel obtained in STPs for cooking purposes as expected revenue is sufficient to cover the additional variable cost incurred annually on marketing such fuel.
Limitation: The scope of the study is limited to determining marketability of the bio-fuel generated in STP for cooking purpose. However, this fuel can also be marketed as transportation fuel and electricity.
Significance: This study gives a glimpse to government how successful marketing of bio fuel generated in STP will be as cooking fuel and encourages further study to check marketability of this bio fuel as other fuels and evaluate marketing of this bio fuel in what form is more profitable.
Keywords: STP, cooking fuel, SWOT analysis, WTP, ranking based conjoint analysis, choice sets, economic feasibility
