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The palm oil industry has been seen as less than perfect in a number of areas recently, one aspect of concern has been the worry that palm oil plantations are big fossil fuel energy consumers. In more than one nation as we can see from the video below, a biogas project gives a positive image for oil palm industry. Once again Anaerobic Digestion is being brought forward as a force for good, and the AD process is adopted yet again. Please visit the original article website after reading our excerpt:
TAWAU:
Sabah Chief Minister Datuk Seri Musa Aman is confident that the biogas project being explored by the plantation sector in the state, can create a positive image for the oil palm industry.
He said it would be seen as an environment friendly industry which gave serious consideration to the protection of the environment.
He said the technology for biogas production from oil palm waste was not just environment friendly but also helped in the electricity generation for the plants and in the process, reduce the dependency on fossil fuel which is a source of air pollution.
“Previously, the disposal of waste from oil palm and the oil palm mills, posed a lot of problems for us. Now, it has become a source of electricity,” he added.
Musa said this in his speech while officiating the opening of the Biogas Plant at the Sawit Apas Balung mill owned by Kumpulan Sawit Kinabalu here yesterday.
The biogas plant project is the first for Kumpulan Sawit Kinabalu, a state government agency, and in line with its aim to create sustainable wealth while taking into consideration the protection of the environment in economic operations.
Musa, who is also the Finance Minister, said the state government was committed to development without sidelining environmental protection.
“We hope this commitment will receive strong support from oil palm plantation companies in Sabah,” he added.
He also hoped that more companies would explore the production of environmental friendly energy and at the same time, contribute to the renewable energy sector in the state.
“We need to be more creative and innovative to continue the quest for new ways to drive the search for energy from sources which were previously considered useless,” he added. — Bernama
A new German renewables law will create new biogas funding hurdles, however, the effect will only effect certain biogas plant sizes and types, and shouold be seen against a strong biogas market in the country. In the long-term delivering value to the taxpayer is essential and hopefully these measures will help do that. here is the original press release/ article:
Germany's amended renewable energy sources law (EEG 2012), which came into force in January, is unlikely to provide a significant boost to biogas capacity because stricter rules have made it more difficult to fund investment, the German Biogas Association told Platts.
The association represents around 4,600 members including biogas producers, plant makers, as well as agricultural and industrial biogas plant operators.
"In general, feed-in tariffs are lower than in the past, and some provisions make it more difficult to obtain credit," association spokeswoman Andrea Horbelt said. "We assume that a lower number of plants will be built because of stricter conditions which hamper rather than promote capacity expansion."
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However, the impact of the changes varies within the biogas sector and the new rules were influenced by the federal government's change in energy policy last year, which entailed green energy a prominent role in the future energy mix.
From 2012, biogas plant operators have to meet certain criteria to qualify for feed-in fees that are fixed for a 20-year period. Feed-in tariffs are usually well above the market price and the difference is passed on to end- consumers in form of a surcharge, although energy-intensive users are exempt.
Certain plant operators, for instance, will forfeit the feed-in fee if they fail to prove that at least 60% of heat from a block-unit power station has actually been used. This creates uncertainty and makes banks reluctant to provide loans, Horbelt said. Under the previous system, which was more complicated but more generous, biogas companies were certain of receiving a fixed feed-in fee and could claim various extra bonuses for meeting additional criteria.
Medium-sized biogas plant projects are likely to be those most affected by the combined effect of lower feed-in fees and tighter eligibility criteria, Horbelt said.
By contrast, higher feed-in fees for small plants with a capacity of up to 75 KW could encourage growth in this sector which so far attracted little investment because costs per installed KW are generally higher than for larger plants, Horbelt said. Fees in this segment have risen to 25 euro cents/KWh (32 US cents/KWh) from around 22 euro cents/KWh.
Operators of large plants of 750 KW and over will also see a rise in fees, though future business will very much depend on feeds into gas networks after biogas has been treated to adjust its methane content to that of natural gas.
"We expect that capacity will be added [in this area],? Horbelt said.
But owners of new large plants which will be connected to the grid from 2014 onward will face an additional challenge: They will have to market biogas directly to power traders and receive revenues at exchange-based, market prices instead of feed-in fees. The government will, however, compensate them for the difference between the fixed feed-in tariff and the market price.
"The system is more complicated and carries more risk," the spokeswoman said. "The [old] EEG was tried and tested; it created a functioning market system, and there is the risk that the [spirit of the] EEG is being eroded, that this will lead to a development away from the EEG and the investment certainty it previously offered."
Existing plant operators still qualify for fixed feed-in tariffs but can opt to shift to the market premium-based model -- a move that would only be lucrative if market prices were to rise to above the fixed feed-in tariff.
In 2011, the use of biogas for power production expanded by around 21% year-on-year to 17.5 TWh, according to preliminary data from the Working Group on Renewable Energies (AGEE). A further 16.5 TWh was used for heat production.
The government plans to boost biogas-based injections into the national gas grid to 6 billion cubic meters/year by 2020 and to 10 Bcm/year by 2030. By the end of 2010, grid injections from 44 biogas plants amounted to nearly 270 million cu m, based on data by the grid regulator BNetzA, which last summer forecast biogas feeds in 2011 would reach 436 million cu m.
At least 5.5m tonnes of feedstock could be required to supply the UK biogas industry by 2013, according to a study launched at Cereals 2011.
The survey of anaerobic digestion projects by Enagri estimated there could be around 150 on-farm and waste-fuelled biogas plants in the UK in two years' time. It said there were currently around 35 operational on-farm biogas plants, with another 13 under construction or granted planning permission and 20 or so announced or going through the planning process. In addition, the report included 83 waste treatment AD plants.
The number of on-farm AD plants identified was higher than figures often quoted in the media, but remained well below the 1,000 farm and waste plants 2020 target suggested by the NFU and Anaerobic Digestion and Biogas Association, Enagri's Richard Crowhurst said.
"Anaerobic digestion in the UK is even more fragmented than the biomass power sector, and it's only when you start to look in depth that you see it's in better health than some people believe. That isn't to say there aren't challenges, and more support is needed for on-farm schemes. As with other renewable technologies, the main challenges continue to be planning, financing and the need for consistent government support."
Municipal solid waste and food waste were likely to make up at least three-quarters of total feedstocks, while energy crops grown specifically for use in digesters accounted for just 5%. Waste from animal husbandry, including slurry, manure and poultry litter, accounted for around 6%, the report said.
Energy crops were most popular in the East Midlands, while animal wastes were more widely used in Dorset and the south-west. There was particularly strong demand for municipal waste in the urban north-west and south-east England. Potential demand in Kent could see the county treat the greatest quantity of waste, with demand forecast to reach 750,000t.
