Burning rice husks yields environmentally sound energy in Thailand
06/04/2004
A.T. Biopower burns rice husks to generate electricity and also to produce special ash for industrial use. Ground breaking ceremony took place on 30 March.
Rice is Thailand’s most important agricultural product, but the husks that are separated out from grains of rice have become a major environmental problem for the country. Properly treated, the by-products of grain production can nevertheless also be a viable and environmentally friendly source of energy.
The business idea of A.T. Biopower, a Thai joint venture, is based on making use of husks to generate electricity. The company is owned by Chubu Electric Power Company of Japan, local Flagship Asia Corporation, Al Tayyar Energy Ltd. of the United Arab Emirates and Britain’s Rolls Royce Power Ventures. The Finnish partners in the company are Private Energy Market Fund, which finances investment projects in the energy sector, and Finnfund, with an interest of about ten per cent.
The company is presently building a 20 megawatt biofuel power plant in central Thailand near the city of Pichit. Electrowatt-Ekono, a part of the Jaakko Pöyry Group, is in charge of delivering the power plant, which will cost about 20 million euros.
Burning husks in a modern power plant is an environmentally sound way of generating electricity. The even-quality ash that arises in the process is sold to industry as a raw material. Apart from its environmentally friendly aspects, the use of husks also brings additional income to the poor rural population. A.T. Biopower will pay rice mills the fair price for the husks and the incineration plant and transporting of the husks will furthermore offer new jobs.
The construction of the power plant started in December 2003 and the ground breaking ceremony took place on 30 March 2004. The Chairman of the ceremony was M.R. Thep Devakula, Privy Councilor. He noted that he was pleased to see that many foreign companies are interested in joining hands to develop this green project. Although the project may be small for some investors but it is large in its importance to the development of renewable energy for Thailand as it relates to the conservation of the natural resources and environment.
According to Dr Thawat Watanatada, founder and CEO of ATB, it’s almost an axiom that power plants are among the most difficult projects to develop. To succeed, power plant projects have to not only be economically and financially feasible, but also technically and environmentally sound. And most importantly, they must also be accepted by the local communities.
For further information please contact Ms Helena Korhonen, tel. +358 9 3484 3307, email firstname.lastname@finnfund.fi
