NCT to triple biofuel output in Cambodia

Cambodia’s NCT Jacam Energy Company plans to more than triple its production of biodiesel made from jatropha seeds by January next year, aiming for production of up to 2,000 litres per day.

Rising prices of traditional, petroleum-based diesel fuel in the Kingdom has resulted in growing demand for biofuels this year in order to help power the nation’s electricity generators, according to company president Chheuy Sophors.

The firm’s jatropha refinery in Kampong Speu province presently produces some 600 litres of fuel per day that fetches about 3,200 riels per litre from local consumers.

In comparison, petroleum-based diesel cost a minimum of 3,450 riels per litre at local markets yesterday, according to statistics from the Ministry of Commerce.

“Jatropha farmers and owners of generators will have an opportunity to increase their income when we increase our biodiesel production,” Chheuy Sophors said.

Jatropha is a quick-growing tropical plant. Its seeds can be crushed to oil for biodiesel production.

It has potential to produce a large amount of energy compared to the area required to grow, compared to other fuel-producing crops, according to a United Nations Food and Agricultural Organisation report issued earlier this year.

However, relatively little research has been done into the crop, and concerns remain about the toxicity of the plant’s seeds and the possibility that it may become an undesirable weed in certain growing conditions, according to the report.

NCT Jacam Energy Company first began daily production of 100 litres of biodiesel at its US$400,000 processing factory last October.

It does not own plantations, but instead purchases raw jatropha from farmers in Kampong Speu, Battambang, and Banteay Meachey for approximately $85 per tonne, Chheuy Sophors said.

Producing 1 kilogramme of biodiesel required three times the amount of unprocessed jatropha seed, he said, and added that the firm would require 6 tonnes of seed per day to meet its production goal of 2,000 litres.

“In three years, we hope that the company will be producing 5,000 litres of biodiesel per day as farmers grow the crop more and more,” he said.

Although NCT is ambitious in its expansion plans, other firms experimenting with the crop have experienced teething problems.

Mong Reththy Group has been growing the crop on 100 hectares in Steung Treng province since 2008, but company President Mong Reththy said yesterday that the firm had no plans to expand its plantation.

He said the plantation had encountered difficulties in recruiting workers to travel to the province, located more than 500 kilometres from Phnom Penh near the Laos border, a factor that stymied its growth plans.

The sector in Cambodia presently consists of three companies that produce between 100 and 500 litres of biodiesel per day, according to Ministry of Industry, Mines, and Energy.

Another 10 companies at least are studying the feasibility of producing the fuel in Cambodia.

The MIME secretary of state responsible for renewable energy said earlier this year that the government supported all biodiesel production because the fuels are more environmentally friendly than petroleum, and create jobs and economic activity.

Source: http://www.phnompenhpost.com (20 July 2010)

SME targets sales of green energy generators

SME Renewable Energy Ltd is planning to sell up to 10 renewable energy generators – which make electricity by burning rice husks, corn cobs and peanut shells – to Cambodia’s rice mill owners this year, according to the company’s managing director.

SME Renewable Energy MD Rin Seyha said Monday that his company hopes to sell between eight and 10 of the small-scale biomass-powered generators worth a total of US$1 million, after importing them from India.

“We hope to sell all the machines because there are many potential rice mills in Cambodia that are not receiving enough power supply from the state yet,” Rin Seyha said.

The company has already sold three generators this year, two to rice mills in Siem Reap and the one to a mill in Battambang province.

The machines are priced between $65,000 and $150,000 each, last for up to eight years, and are capable of generating between 200 and 600 kilowatts of electricity, according to the company.

Rin Seyha estimated buyers would recoup the amount they spent on a machine within two and a half years if they used the machine for 10 hours a day.

Ministry of Industry, Mines and Energy Victor deputy general director of renewable energy Victor Jona said that sales of these biomass-operated generators could help make Cambodia less dependent on oil to generate electricity.

“I think importing this kind of machine is a good project because it helps us reduce the expense on importing oil from other countries,” he said.

He said Cambodia currently spends at least $500 million importing oil each year, with most of it going towards electricity generation.

According to a technical study done by the company, burning 6 kilograms of rice husk generates as much electricity as a litre of diesel in an oil-powered generator.

SME Renewable Energy has sold 33 biomass generators since 2006, but unloaded only three last year during the global financial crisis.

Rin Seyha said that, with 400 rice mills currently operating in Cambodia, sales growth appeared promising, and that his company had plans to enter the garment sector.

“We hope to sell our generators to garment factories as well,” he said.

Source: Phnom Penh Post

Opportunities for Biomass Production in Cambodia

Located in Southeast Asia, Cambodia covers an area of 181 035 square kilometers, with a population of over 14 million (July 2008) of which about 85-90 percent lives in the rural areas (Ministry of Rural Development 2006, Central Intelligence Agency 2008). More than 80 % of energy derives from biomass (De Lopez, 2003). Fuel wood is the major source of energy for rural population and tile brick industries. According to De lopez, natural forests are the main source of fuel wood in Cambodia that lead to severely degradation of forest for the past twenty years. Currently, woody biomass also can be obtained from old rubber plantation by harvesting the old rubber trees (Hevea brasiliensis) (Abe, 2007). In addition, the biomass is not only the produce from woody plants but also the residues from agricultural crops such as rice, sugar cane and maize (ReCambodia, n.d.).

Tree plantations would be highly suitable for supplying biomass fuel for rural mini-grid electrification especially fast growing legumes such as Leucaena spp. and Gliricidia spp., farmers are able to harvest stems and branches one year after planting. There is about 111.3km² of tree plantations of Acacia spp. And Eucalyptus spp but the purpose of these plantations is generally production of wood chip materials for export (Abe, 2007). Furthermore, there is currently about 2500km² of grassland with scattered trees area in Cambodia, a substantial proportion of which is abandoned lands and previously cleared forest.Tree plantations for biomass production therefore have great potential for expansion, not only for rural electrification but also for main grid electricity supply (Abe, 2007).

Recently, the government has introduced the Economic Land Concession scheme which allows both domestic and foreign investors to gain access of state land especially wasteland areas for forestry and agro-industrial plantation. As a result, several large scale plantation of Jatropha (Jatropha curcas) are being established for bioenergy production and because Jatropha is a non food and non animal feeding crop, it has the advantage not to compete with food production within the country. In conclusion, Economic Land Concession scheme will provide the opportunities for both oil seed plants and woody tree plantation for biomass production to be established under this scheme. However, the low level of awareness in biomass production from tree plantation is still limited for the policy maker, private sectors and society compare to oil seed plant from Jatropha. The lack of bioenergy technology is also a major obstacle for the development of biomass production in Cambodia.

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