4 October 2016: Indonesia plantations need fiscal incentives to invest in the biogas power 

31 October 2015: Malaysia - 113 palm oil mills with the potential to generate electricity from palm oil biogas

113 palm oil mills identified to generate electricity from biogas October 29, 2015; KUALA KUBU BARU: The government has identified 113 palm oil mills with the potential to generate electricity from palm oil biogas for the national grid Fit-in-Tariff programme.  Minister of Plantation Industries and Commodities Datuk Amar Douglas Uggah Embas said the palm oil mills were situated near electricity power sub-stations and can absorb the electricity generated.  "There is already 12 palm oil mills that are already connected to the power grid network while 79 others are in the process of being connected," he told reporters here after opening the first Bio-Compressed Natural Gas (Bio-CNG) commercial production plant using palm-based biogas. The Bio-CNG plant, located at FELDA Sg Tengi palm-oil mill in Selangor, is the first commercial Bio-CNG plant project based on palm oil mill effluent in the world undertaken by a joint venture between the Malaysian Palm Oil Board, Felda Palm Industries Sdn Bhd and Sime Darby Offshore Engineering Sdn Bhd....Malaysia: "All palm oil mills that planned to increase the supply of their fresh fruit bunch were required to install biogas trapping facilities since January 2014.    http://www.dailyexpress.com.my/news.cfm?NewsID=104175

18 September 2015: Biogas projects at REA and Musim Mas. Indonesia new regulations.

The palm oil plantations powering communities and tackling climate change - Palm oil mills are generating electricity using waste methane to the benefit of local communities and company profits Sponsored by: RSPO  By Oliver Milman Tuesday 15 September 2015 14.15 BST; The rapid expansion of palm oil cultivation has resulted in the creation of vast wastewater lagoons beside plantations in countries such as Indonesia and Malaysia, the world’s two dominant producers. These murky ponds, containing the brown-hued detritus from processed palm oil fruit, release a huge amount of methane into the atmosphere – a gas so potent it traps around 34 times as much heat as carbon dioxide....A typical lagoon emits the equivalent of 22,000 cars’ worth of greenhouse gases every year, according to a University of Colorado study published last year. Methane emitted from these lagoons accounts for more than a third of the greenhouse gas emissions created by the production of palm oil....Given the remote nature of most palm oil mills, it’s hard for businesses to sell this energy to the electricity grid, but REA Holdings has struck an agreement with Indonesia’s state-owned grid to power a nearby community. The joint venture began in April this year and will supply more than 8,500 households with methane-generated electricity.“We’ve experienced conflict with some local villages in the past over land compensation, so this is a good way of creating mutual interest,” says Sophie Persey, head of sustainability at REA Holdings. “[It] helps show the community the benefits of our operations, to improve their standard of living. We want to be there for 25, 50, 75 years, so we want to have good relationships and for everyone to benefit.” There is a financial upside for REA, of course – the company hopes the electricity sold will bring in $230,000 (£149,000) in the first year. What’s more, having slashed its diesel use from 2.8m litres a year to fewer than 500,000 litres, REA is better protected from fluctuations in the global oil price....... Other firms are seeing the potential, too. Indonesian company PT Musim Mas, headquartered in Singapore, is installing methane capture in its eight mills in Kalimantan and Sumatra, with an initial outlay of between $3-4m....The main hurdle – aside from upfront costs – has been a perceived lack of government backing. But Persey believes this is changing in Indonesia, with new regulations stipulating that the government must buy any renewable energy produced by palm oil mills. A further rule on mandatory methane capture may follow..... http://www.theguardian.com/sustainable-business/2015/sep/15/palm-oil-plantations-climate-change-electricity-generation-methane-capture


19 May 2015: Asian Agri completes two biogas plants soon, to build another 15 with total 30MW capacity within 10 years

Economy in brief: Palm oil mill effluent used to generate power The Jakarta Post, Jakarta | Business | Tue, May 19 2015, 8:56 AM; The Asian Agri plantation group will soon inaugurate the operations of two power generation plants fired by biogas from palm oil mill effluent (POME) which has mostly been emitted into the atmosphere, thereby contributing to greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions and global warming.“We have been building five POME-based biogas power generation stations in North Sumatra, Jambi and Riau, each with an installed capacity of two megawatts, and two of them are scheduled to start up operations later this month or early June,” Asian Agri managing director Kelvin Tio told The Jakarta Post.Tio said green activists had attacked the conversion of land into oil palm estates and POME as among the biggest emitters of GHG.“But by processing POME into biogas to generate electricity, we cut GHG emissions and at the same time develop a new source of renewable energy which is suitable for rural electrification.” Asian Agri, Tio said, conducts GHG calculations for all of its mills and estates annually to enable them to identify crucial areas in their production chain and thereby provide guidance on emission reduction. Auditors verify the GHG calculations for international sustainability and carbon certification (ISCC) and Roundtable on Sustainable Palm Oil (RSPO) certifications. Assuming households in rural areas each use 900 watts for 24-hour supply, each of the five biogas power plants can meet the electricity needs of 2,000 houses, he added. According to Tio, a palm oil mill with an hourly capacity of 60 tons that requires fresh-fruit bunches from 15,000 hectares of oil palm trees can supply enough biogas to generate two MW of power. “Asian Agri, which manages 160,000 ha of oil palm plantations, of which 60,000 ha are owned by smallholders, plan to build 15 more biogas power stations each with a 2-MW capacity within the next 10 years,” Tio added. - See more at: http://www.thejakartapost.com/news/2015/05/19/economy-brief-palm-oil-mill-effluent-used-generate-power.html#sthash.ZklUCQkO.dpuf


1 May 2015: Gas Malaysia in biogas tie-up with Sime Darby Offshore

Gas Malaysia partners Sime Darby unit in BioCNG distribution venture Published: 28 April 2015 3:03 PM Gas Malaysia Bhd has teamed up with Sime Darby Offshore Engineering Sdn Bhd (SDOE), a wholly-owned subsidiary of Sime Darby Bhd, to undertake biogas compressed natural gas (BioCNG) distribution business extracted from the palm oil mill effluent. In a filing with Bursa Malaysia, Gas Malaysia (fundamental: 2.1; valuation: 1.1) said it today signed a joint venture (JV) agreement with SDOE for the purpose. Under the deal, the two companies will form a JV company, in which SDOE will hold a 51% stake and Gas Malaysia the remaining 49%.........Gas Malaysia. It added that the JV will serve as a platform for the group to supply natural gas to new customers currently not serve by its existing pipeline. “The parties seek to optimise the combined strengths of each partner in their respective fields....SDOE is primarily involved in systems integration and marketing of products and services in the oil and gas/petrochemical industry. - See more at: http://www.themalaysianinsider.com/business/article/gas-malaysia-partners-sime-darby-unit-in-biocng-distribution-venture#sthash.AuLhMa2T.dpuf

Gas Malaysia in biogas tie-up with Sime Darby Offshore Wednesday, 29 April 2015; PETALING JAYA: Gas Malaysia Bhd has partnered with Sime Darby Offshore Engineering Sdn Bhd (SDOE) to distribute biogas compressed natural gas (BioCNG) extracted from palm oil mill effluent (Pome).
Pome is the voluminous liquid waste that comes from the sterilisation and clarification processes in milling oil palm. In its filing with Bursa Malaysia, Gas Malaysia said the rationale for the joint venture (JV) was to optimise the combined strengths of both parties in their respective fields. “The JV will serve as a platform for Gas Malaysia to supply natural gas to new customers currently not served by the company’s existing pipeline,” it said in a statement yesterday. The parties would form a JV company and have an eventual issued and paid-up capital of RM5mil divided into five million ordinary shares of RM1 each, with SDOE as the major shareholder with a 51% stake and Gas Malaysia, 49%. The JV company would be engaged in the provision of sale, supply and transportation of BioCNG as well as carrying out design, construction, installation and commissioning works, among others....... http://www.thestar.com.my/Business/Business-News/2015/04/29/Gas-Malaysia-in-biogas-tieup-with-Sime-Darby-Offshore/?style=biz

17 November 2014: I hear that the 2020 target is not being implemented. Only (a) new mills and (b) mills requesting licence for higher capacity must have methane capture.

Also note our recent posting: Wednesday, November 5, 2014, Sarawak biogas concerns
http://khorreports-palmoil.blogspot.com/2014/11/sarawak-biogas-concerns.html

1 April 2014: Malaysia regulations requires palm oil mills to install biogas facilities by 2020 and MPOB had proposed that from 1 Jan 2014, all new palm oil mills and existing ones should install full biogas capture or methane avoidance facilities.

So far, 60 out of 430 Malaysia palm oil mills have installed biogas production and only 4 are selling renewable energy to the grid. The problems at end 2013 included: a) high cost: At RM 9 million per MW, newer biogas plants can be set up for RM18 million– still a relatively high figure. FIT was non-competitive for some time: a 60 MT/hr palm oil mill installing a biogas power plant of about 1.8-2.0 MW capacity will gain about RM 3.34 million in revenue, RM 1.84 million net profit and a payback period of 9-10 years[1]; b) Low CER price: a 60 MT/hr palm oil mill will generate an estimate of 30,000-40,000 tonnes of CO2eq; with the current market price of EUR 0.60/tCo2e, the revenue generated for such a mill would be approximately RM 90,500 per year – not enough to cover the consultant fees! [2] Various less than favourable renewable energy policies should also be reviewed. (source: Green energy from palm-based biogas, BELL Group’s Experience On Biogas Capture by Liana Low, PIPOC, 19–21 Nov 2013 –  also refer to data updates and slides below).

BELL Group also points out that "energy from palm oil mill effluent / POME is a waste management issue and NOT just for ‘Power Generation Plants’. Methane could be upgraded to biomethane as a vehicle fuel. This could significantly reduce NGO criticisms & actually show governments in developed countries what renewable energy can achieve."  (source: ibid).

• Bonus tariff of 7.86 sen available for Biogas (Landfill/Sewage) has been opened to all sources of biogas by changing the definition to "use of landfill, sewage gas or agricultural waste including animal waste as fuel source".
• Bonus tariff for "locally manufactured or assembled gas engine" was raised from 1 sen to 5 sen. Caterpillar is presently the only local assembler.
• Bonus tariff for engines with at least 40% efficiency remains at 1.99 sen.
• Degression rate changed from 0.5% to zero, meaning that projects implemented in later years enjoy the same tariff as this year.

A review and calculation prepared by Mr Gan Tee Jin and shared with Khor Reports finds: With the new tariff structure, 50km distance from the grid is likely viable for a 2MW biogas power plant (typical 60 tph mill with 300,000 tpy crop intake can do 2MW, with gas to spare for the boiler, provided good biodigester technology is used). Economies of scale do not favour smaller mills/power plants, but I suspect a 1MW plant will be viable if connection distance is within 10km. However, there are two potential bottlenecks - network capacity and feed-in quota - so the system may not be able to accommodate everyone. My reasoning is as follows: several projects have already been developed based on old FiT rate of around 34 sen/kWh, so I assume the bonus rates of 7.86 sen (landfill biogas) and 5 sen (local engine) go entirely to pay for longer connection distance. Extra revenue is 2000kW x (365 x 24) hrs x 93% uptlime x $0.1286 = $2.095 mil/year. Further assuming 7 year payback, the extra revenue justifies a capex of up to $2.095 x 7 = $14.6 mil or 58km of cabling @ $0.25mil/km. As a rough guide, I understand from Tenaga Nasional that the cost of installing overhead 11kV cables to be $0.25 mil/km.

Khor Report's comment: The Malaysia palm oil industry seeks to boost it sustainability efforts and this policy would help on GHG emission reduction measures[3]. It is notable that in developed countries, large corporations are promising to buy renewable-energy credits, to reduce their carbon footprints by going "100% green energy" [4]. The idea of clean energy is therefore gaining much attention and having a palm-based renewable energy sector is possible for Malaysia. However, two potential bottlenecks remain: network capacity and feed-in quota. How far will Malaysia power generation accommodate everyone in the palm oil sector? Assuming a 2MW biogas plant per mill, might 800MW from palm biogas be reached? Any technology uncertainties also have to be ironed out. Certainly from a business political front, we must take note of the current over capacity in power generation and the clout of the independent power producers or IPPs which also benefit from subsidised gas from PETRONAS, the Malaysia state-owned oil & gas producer. The rise of Malaysia palm biogas may not be straightforward, but the improved feed in tariff is promising . Undoubtedly, the palm oil sector will hope this will be supported by sufficient quota availability. So, watch this sector for constrained development within the context of Tenaga Nasional's monopoly. Other countries might consider an approach to liberalize power generation and permit oil palm mills to generate electricity via new local microgrids to serve new areas or to compete [5].

[3] Controversial new default values created by the European Commission point to why Europe is going cold on crop biofuels, but also highlights the benefits of methane capture; http://news.mongabay.com/2012/0130-biofuels_eu.html  

[4] How much progress have corporations made on their 100% clean power goals? theguardian.com, Tuesday 25 March 2014;  http://www.theguardian.com/sustainable-business/gallery/sap-renewable-clean-energy-goal-intel-microsoft-kohls-walmart ; Software giant SAP on Monday said it plans buy enough renewable-energy credits to figuratively power 100% of its worldwide operations with clean energy. The company joins a growing number of businesses gunning for 100% green energy. Which corporations have made the most progress so far?

[5] Khor Reports' Palm Oil e-newsletter Nov/Dec 2013, "Time for New Strategies?": Reconsider the role of palm oil in local energy use. Malaysia’s biogas directive is a good starting point. Set for 2014 launch, it requires every mill to set up a biogas facility for methane capture; presumably to improve the greenhouse gas (GHG) profile for Malaysian palm oil. Aside from implementation and technological risks, there are obvious suggestions to improve Malaysia’s feed-in tariff for biogas power and allow easier grid connection. Khor Reports suggests a feasibility study on microgrids for remote areas. In the semi-urban zone this might challenge an incumbent power utility and it would work less well in countries with subsidized power. However, could this help firmly establish the localized use of palm biogas, biomass and biodiesel in new places? Many developing countries sorely need power in certain rural areas. They could encourage mills siting next to a mining facility or another energy hungry user. Economists might plan for processing clusters that could aid rural development.