Abstract:
Abstract: There is an increasing interest to search for suitable renewable fuels that are
eco-friendly in every country. In many parts of the developing countries like Ethiopia,
wood-based fuels will remain leading sources of energy. Dependence on biomass resulted
in a high pressure on forests for supply of domestic energy. To satisfy the basic need of
increasing population like housing and land for agriculture, let the forests to be cleared and
deforested. In this background, the role of liquid biofuels as substitutes for firewood and
charcoal, to help reducing pressure on woody biomass and contributing to a better energy
security of rural communities. One of the emerging energy alternatives being explored is
biodiesel, which has been produced from varieties of plant and animal resources which is
reliable and sustainable energy source. Similarly, in Ethiopia, lots of consideration were given
by the government to support foreign and local investors to produce biodiesel in a large
scale from jatropha curcas. This work assesses the potential of biodiesel extracted from
Jatropha curcas can replace domestic energy supply for cooking and lighting. Field survey,
interviews and structured questionnaires are applied to get responses from households
about energy consumption customs, cook and lighting devices, costs of fuel and burden in
entire family especially women and children to source firewood. This paper concludes that
jatropha curcas hedges have a significant potential for the substitution of kerosene or
paraffin for lighting. The data analysed using inferential statistics and recommendations are
formulated.
