MAY-JUNE , 2023 | @ green
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Despite SEDA ’ s efforts , the development was far less than hoped for , particularly for the biomass , biogas and mini-hydro segments . The tables ( sourced from SEDA Annual report ) show the development proposals approved by SEDA and the installed capacity .
WHAT WERE THE REASONS FOR SUCH A DISMAL PERFORMANCE ?
Anecdotal evidence indicates that biomass RE developers who did not have self-generated feedstock ( mainly EFB ) from their palm oil mills ( POMs ) faced feedstock supply problems , both from the supply quantity requirements and the price their suppliers demanded .
Municipal Solid Waste ( MSW ) to energy ( W2E ) project developers also faced a similar problem , in not getting adequate combustible waste to fully utilise their plant capacity to generate enough electricity to earn the revenue needed to make their projects economically viable .
Some sample data of the RE plants ’ capacity and generation and energy export ( from the Suruhanjaya Tenaga [ ST ] reports for 2012 and 2014 ) are shown in the tables .
The late-comers in the biomass RE development projects were further burdened with much higher power plant capex due to the rapid escalation of commodity prices , of 30 per cent after the FiT rates were set for such RE developers .
In addition , they also faced high capital costs for the network interconnection , usually at 33 kV , to connect to the distribution supply systems as most of the POMs were not close to the existing relevant distribution supply systems .
Biogas projects were not immediately developed as the POMs didn ’ t have the desired biogas capture and use systems as the POME ( Palm Oil Mill Effluent ) was predominantly retained in open ponds in the earlier days before they were compelled to better manage their GHG ( Green House Gas ) emissions from the POME ponds .
Moreover , as the prospective biogas power plants were of a much smaller capacity compared with the biomass plants , their supply interconnection costs were even more of a handicap to feed their electricity generation into the utility grid .
Similarly , the landfill gas plants also didn ’ t get adequate gas generation as the landfills were not initially designed to capture the emissions for power generation ( or even flaring ).
More recently , Malaysian Economy Minister Rafizi Ramli commented , reiterating the commitment to the national energy transition . The policy statement is appropriate , but does Malaysia have abundant ( or even adequate ) biomass for substantial decarbonisation of the national energy system ?
He said : “ Malaysia should focus on producing alternative energy sources such as biomass , ammonia , and hydrogen to fulfil sufficient energy needs in the coming years .”
MYRER ( Malaysia Renewable Energy Roadmap ) has identified the following data ( right ) relating to biomass and biogas resources from the palm oil plantations in Malaysia .
Biogas projects were not immediately developed as the POMs didn ’ t have the desired biogas capture and use systems as the POME ( Palm Oil Mill Effluent ) was predominantly retained in open ponds in the earlier days before they were compelled to better manage their GHG ( Green House Gas ) emissions from the POME ponds .”
From the MYRER report , it would appear that Malaysia has abundant biowaste . So why has the local bio-fuelled RE generation capacity failed to match the planned capacity ?
One question is : “ Why haven ’ t the government-owned plantation groups taken the initiative to satisfy the government desired biomass and biogas RE development targets when the options were made available to them ?” – @ Green
On average , 95.5 million tonnes of FFB are processed by approximately 450 palm oil mills in Malaysia each year . The resulting residue of FFB is EFB , MF and PKS , which are usually sent for mulching or disposed of , incinerated and sometimes exported overseas .
Solar PV has , by far , the most significant resource availability of 269 GW . Large hydro comes in second at 13.6 GW , followed by bioenergy ( biomass from agriculture waste , biogas and solid waste ) at 3.6 GW , small hydro ( up to 100 MW ) close to 2.5 GW , and geothermal resource availability estimated at 0.23 GW .
ST 2014 Statistical report
Bil .
• No .
89 .
NAMA PELESEN DAN LOKASI • LICENSEE AND LOCATION
MAJU INTAN BIOMASS ENERGY SDN . BHD .
JENIS LOJI • PLANT TYPE
KAPASITI PENJANAAN YANG DILESENKAN
( MW ) • LICENSED GENERATION
CAPACITY ( MW )
PUNCA TENAGA ATAU JENIS BAHAN API • ENERGY SOURCE OR FUEL TYPE
JUMLAH PENJANAAN ( GWJ ) •
TOTAL GENERATION
( GWH )
3 . ACHI JAYA PLANTATIONS SDN . BHD . Biogas 1.25 POME 5.62 5.62
14 . BELL ECO POWER SDN . BHD .
15 . BELL ECO SDN . BHD .
27 .
CYPARK SURIA I SUN ( PAJAM ) SDN . BHD .
Turbin Gas • Gas Turbine
Turbin Stim • Steam Turbine
Solar PV 1.00
JUMLAH JUALAN GWj •
TOTAL SALES GWh
2.00 POME 5.15 4.30
11.00 EFB n / a n / a
Gas Tapak Pelupusan
• Landfill Gas
44 . FELDA PALM INDUSTRIES SDN . BHD Biogas 1.50 POME 2.44 1.41 45 . FELDA PALM INDUSTRIES SDN . BHD . Biogas 1.20 POME n / a n / a 46 . FELDA PALM INDUSTRIES SDN . BHD . Biogas 1.20 POME n / a n / a 48 . FTJ BIO POWER SDN . BHD . Biojisim • Biomass 13.50 EFB n / a n / a
64 . JANA LANDFILL SDN . BHD .
65 . JANA LANDFILL SDN . BHD .
78 . KUB-BERJAYA ENERGY SDN . BHD .
79 . KUB-BERJAYA ENERGY SDN . BHD .
94 . MHES ASIA SDN . BHD .
107 . RECYCLE ENERGY SDN . BHD .
134 . SUNQUEST SDN . BHD .
Turbin Gas • Gas Turbine
Turbin Gas • Gas Turbine
Turbin Gas • Gas Turbine
Turbin Gas • Gas Turbine
2.00
1.07
1.20
Gas Tapak Pelupusan
• Landfill Gas
Gas Tapak Pelupusan
• Landfill Gas
Gas Tapak Pelupusan
• Landfill Gas
Biojisim • Biomass 12.93 EFB 11.66 9.15
Turbin Stim • Steam Turbine
Turbin Stim • Steam Turbine
Turbin Stim • Steam Turbine
3.12
13.00
8.90
6.50
Gas Tapak Pelupusan
• Landfill gas
Sisa Sawit • Palm Oil Waste
Sampah Terproses • Processed Waste
Sisa Sawit • Palm Oil Waste
Note : n / a denotes that the plant did not generate or export energy to the grid .
n / a n / a
3.98 3.98
n / a n / a
5.15 5.04
19.18 18.97
n / a
n / a
n / a n / a
n / a
n / a