Palm biomass power plants in Malaysia
Quicknote biomass residues
Elaeis guineensis, the African oil palm, is the world's most productive energy crop. Not only does its fruit bunches yield vast amounts of oil that can be used to make biodiesel, a plantation also delivers ligno-cellulosic biomass that can be used as a feedstock for second generation ethanol, and the oil-production process yields copious amounts of residues that find use in biogas production, as a bioenergy feedstock for co-firing with coal or as base chemicals for the production of bioplastics and a series of highly valuable biomaterials.
A Japanese company has now announced plans to use one such biomass stream in two biomass power plants in the eastern province of Sabah, Malaysia. The plants operate on empty fruit bunches which, when disposed as waste, release methane, a global warming gas. Per ton of palm oil produced, about 1 ton of empty fruit bunches becomes available.
The new biomass plants have an output of 10,000Kw each, which makes them rather small, but they're meant for local use, in an area that is not connected to the main grid.
Interestingly, the palm biomass power plants will fulfill CO2 emission trading standards, guidelines set up by EU in 2002 for a trading system for greenhouse gas emission allowances (falling under the Kyoto Protocol's so-called Clean Development Mechanism). It is estimated that the CO2 reductions will amount to 2 million tons annually, for which the company receives carbon credits which it can trade on the market.
Resources:
A Japanese company has now announced plans to use one such biomass stream in two biomass power plants in the eastern province of Sabah, Malaysia. The plants operate on empty fruit bunches which, when disposed as waste, release methane, a global warming gas. Per ton of palm oil produced, about 1 ton of empty fruit bunches becomes available.
The new biomass plants have an output of 10,000Kw each, which makes them rather small, but they're meant for local use, in an area that is not connected to the main grid.
Interestingly, the palm biomass power plants will fulfill CO2 emission trading standards, guidelines set up by EU in 2002 for a trading system for greenhouse gas emission allowances (falling under the Kyoto Protocol's so-called Clean Development Mechanism). It is estimated that the CO2 reductions will amount to 2 million tons annually, for which the company receives carbon credits which it can trade on the market.
Resources:
- JCN Network (Japan): Chubu Electric Initiates Palm Biomass Power Plant in Malaysia
- A similar CDM project filed by a British company - the Sahabat Empty Fruit Bunch Biomass Project - is awaiting approval as well.
- An overview of more than 250 related CMD projects can be found here.
- The NGO CDMWatch offers a critical look at the CDM system, mainly to see whether the sustainability criteria are stringent enough.
- Attempts to make palm oil production more sustainable are made by an industry led consortium of NGOs, science institutes and palm producers, united in the Roundtable for Sustainable Palm Oil.
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