Suwartanti Nayono, Satoto E. Nayono
The promotion of biogas becomes an important issue to improve public acceptance on renewable energy, as well as to catch Indonesia's target on the share of green energy. Many donor agencies assist the country's effort by constructing biogas digesters in rural areas massively. Unfortunately, some of those digesters are not functioning after certain period. This study is aimed to investigate socio-technical factors that hindrance the sustainability of biogas digesters in rural area. Technical examination was applied to reconstruct the operation failures. In depth interview with the users, village administrators, and technicians was conducted to obtain information concerning the problems. The results reveal that social factor, mainly users' unpreparedness to cope with the newly introduced technology becomes the main factor of the disfunction of the digester. In addition to that, resources availability plays an important role to keep the technology operating. Therefore, a complete information on the consequences of operating such technology as well as adequate training should be provided prior to the installment of the technology. Failures in technical design will greatly reduce the trust of the users on new technology. When technical problems occur and no technical assistance provided, users will stop using the technology. To overcome this, flawless design should be provided prior to the construction and technical assistance should be provided during the first months of operation. © 2023 Author(s).
Department of Civil Engineering and Planning, Faculty of Engineering, Universitas Negeri Yogyakarta, Indonesia
