Thailand: Wastewater to power industry

Thailand: Wastewater to power industry

Technology for producing power from wastewater is set to generate more
electricity for industrial estates and communities soon, says a
waste-to-power producer.

Supraween Wiratchapornrawee, the president of Supraween Energy One Nine Co,
said her company has partnered with an American firm to invest in power
generation from industrial and agricultural wastewater, as well as raw water
and seawater.

The power plant project has been approved by regulators, and the company
hopes to sign a power purchasing agreement (PPA) with the Provincial
Electricity Authority by October.

"It is an eight-megawatt plant producing power from wastewater from
industrial factories and agricultural activity," Ms Supraween said.
"Construction is expected to take around eight years and commercial
operations are due by mid-2017."

The project is set to cost 1.6 billion baht.

Ms Supraween said the first prototype waste-to-power plant is planned for
Phetchaburi province, where the company has joined with a local seafood
exporter that can provide 500 cubic metres of wastewater a day.

It will be the first time plasma gasification technology, which generates
gas from wastewater, has been used in Asia, she said.

"This technology will help produce more gas as a power-generating source,"
said Ms Supraween. "The more gas we produce, the more power we generate."

The company also plans to develop another two such plants with
power-generating capacity of 90MW each.

One plant is expected to be located on an industrial estate in the Eastern
Seaboard, where power demand from industrial factories is due to rise
substantially. At the same time, many PPAs for existing power plants are set
to expire over the next several years.

"This provides room for our company to grow as all those expiring PPAs are
for gas-fired power plants whose power-producing costs are around 40% higher
than our cost," Ms Supraween said, adding that up to 240MW of power is due
to be cut off when those PPAs expire.

Another new 90MW power plant is set to be located on Koh Samui, where the
growing tourism industry has generated a rise in power demand.

Ms Supraween said the company also wants to expand its business in
neighbouring countries like Myanmar and Cambodia, where demand for power is
due to rise quickly in line with their growing economies.

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Ref:
http://www.bangkokpost.com/business/news/1077380/wastewater-to-power-industr
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John Diecker
APT Consulting Group Co., Ltd.

www.aptthailand.com