Myanmar opens first biomass power plant

Myanmar opens first biomass power plant

Myanmar has utilised Japanese know-how to open its first biomass
gasification power plant in its capital city Nay Pyi Taw.

The rice husk gasification power plant was developed over five months by a
Japanese consortium led by Yanmar Co. The group also includes Chiyoda &
Public Works Co, Chiyoda System Technologies Corp and Kanso Co.

The US$4.7 million undertaking is one part of the Integrated Rice Complex
Project being developed throughout the country by Myanmar Agribusiness
Public Corp, a private business established in 2012 to invest in the
country's agricultural and agro-based industries.

Full operations at the plant began on March 23 after an opening ceremony in
Nay Pyi Taw, attended by Myanmar's ranking government officials, including
Vice President Henry Van Thio.

Chit Khaing, chair of Myanmar Agribusiness, known as MAPCO, said the plant
has a 0.5-megawatt generation capacity and its power output will be used in
the operation of rice mills, which are located next to the plant.

"As we use the power generated from the rice husk, we will be able to reduce
our electricity consumption from the national power grid," he said, adding
that the company also expects to electrify five to 10 neighbouring villages
with the surplus power.

The chairman said MAPCO's second rice husk plant, which has a generating
capacity of 2.2 MW, will be opened in the delta region south and west of
Yangon on May 1 and the third with 1.6 MW output is set to open in the
region in 2018.

Aung Thu, minister for agriculture, livestock and irrigation, said
establishing waste-to-energy technology is beneficial for both the energy
and environmental conservation sectors of Myanmar, where only 30% of the
population is connected to the electricity grid, according to World Bank
statistics released in 2015.

Yanmar also plans to expand its innovative low-carbon emission technology to
other countries and estimates that 15 rice mills in Myanmar will adopt the
system by 2020 and 30 sites by 2030.

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Link to Original Article:
http://www.bangkokpost.com/news/asean/1223355/myanmar-opens-first-biomass-po
wer-plant

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John Diecker
APT Consulting Group Co., Ltd.

www.aptthailand.com