Renewable energy is becoming crucially important, as concern for the effects of burning fossil fuels is increasing and the oil price continues to rise. Dr David Fulford has been involved in this area for  over 30 years, waiting for the rest of the world to catch up.

 

David Fulford was part of a group working in Development and Consulting Services (DCS) of the United Mission to Nepal (UMN) that set up the Gobar Gas Company in 1977. The DCS project was funded by USAID from 1979 to 1984. The Gobar Gas Company was the forerunner of the Biogas Support Programme (BSP) set up by SNV (the Dutch Aid Group). BSP (now Biogas Sector Partnership) won an Ashden Award in 2006.

 

Before he went to Nepal, he worked with a team developing the Humphrey pump at the University of Reading.

 

Since returning to the UK in 1984 and completing a PhD, he taught on the MSc course on Renewable Energy at the University of Reading. As an academic, he has been involved in a wide range of consulting and project work related to renewable energy technologies in different parts of the world.

 

He also wrote a book: “Running a Biogas Programme: A Handbook” (1988), also available from Amazon (see review).

 

In 2007, he set up Kingdom Bioenergy Ltd to encourage the development of biogas technology. Based on the work he did in Nepal and that gained from his consulting work he is developing a new design of biogas plant. This will have the benefits of the designs used in huge numbers in China (12 million), India, Nepal (173,000) and elsewhere, of low cost and simple construction, without their heavy labour requirement. It will also work well in the colder UK and European climate.  

 

David Fulford is also updating his book on biogas for Practical Action.

Experience