The RE Act of 2011 incorporated the provision of attractive FiT ( Feed-in Tariffs ) for the known available RE resources and technologies in Malaysia in 2011 . The relatively attractive FiT rates were intended to be adequate to make the desired RE projects economically viable .”
20 COLUMN
@ green | JULY-AUGUST , 2023
Exploiting biomass waste abundance
On average , 95.5 million tonnes are processed by approximately 450 palm oil mills each year in Malaysia
MALAYSIA IS reported to have “ abundant biomass waste ”, particularly from the palm oil plantation industry and MSW ( Municipal Solid Waste ), which should give the country a substantial RE ( Renewable Energy ) power generation capacity to feed into the national power grid . How accurate is this assumption ?
MYRER ( Malaysia Renewable Energy Roadmap ) has identified the following facts relating to biomass and biogas resources from the palm oil plantations and MSW in Malaysia .
On average , 95.5 million tonnes are processed by approximately 450 palm oil mills each year in Malaysia . The resulting residue of Fresh Fruit Bunches ( FFB ) is Empty Fruit Bunches ( EFB ), Mesocarp Fibres ( MF ) and PKS that are usually sent for mulching , disposed of , incinerated and , in some cases , exported overseas .
Much of the EFB and MF are usually combusted to generate electricity and steam for the FFB processing at the palm oil mill ( POM ). Palm Kernel Shells ( PKS ) are too valuable to burn and have a ready market for other industries ’ thermal energy needs , such as cement kilns . EFB incineration has been prohibited , resulting in excess EFBs being sent to landfill dump sites unless the POMs can send them to plantations for use as mulch .
What has biomass / biogas RE power generation achieved since Malaysia launched its “ Five Fuel Policy ” in 2001 when adding RE to the original four fuel policy ( Hydro , Natural Gas , Coal and Oil )?
The “ Five Fuel Policy ” was predicated on a study conducted under Danish government support to consider the exploitation of polluting EFB waste from POMs piled up at the mills prohibited from incinerating the waste that contributed to environmental degradation .
The following charts show some of the Danish Study findings and recommendations .
OVERALL RE DEVELOPMENT
The “ Five Fuel Policy ” led to the formulation of the Small RE Power ( SREP ) Programme , with provisions for developing RE power plants to export up to 10 MW from each plant to the grid .
During 2001-2010 ) a UNDP / GEF ( United Nations Development Programme / Global Environment Facility ) supported “ Bio-Gen Demonstration ” project was initiated in Peninsula Malaysia to demonstrate the development of technologically up-to-date and economically viable biomass RE power plants .
The Bio-Gen Demo project took longer to implement than some commercial projects , especially in Sabah .
The following tables from SEDA Annual Report for 2020 show the approved and implemented projects ’ actual capacities .
LAL ‘ S CHAT
BY G . LALCHAND
The RE Act of 2011 incorporated the provision of attractive FiT ( Feed-in Tariffs ) for the known available RE resources and technologies in Malaysia in 2011 . The relatively attractive FiT rates were intended to be adequate to make the desired RE projects economically viable .”