Sontirat plans renewed push for Napier grass energy plants

[rooster59]

Sontirat plans renewed push for Napier grass energy plants

By The Nation

 

 

Energy Minister Sontirat Sontijirawong is pushing for the use of Napier grass as a source of energy.

 

 

Speaking at a seminar on “Energy for Industries for a sustainable future” to mark the 20th anniversary of the Institute for Industrial Energy on Friday (August 9), he revealed plans to establish a committee to work with the industrial sector in order to review the plan to use Napier grass, also known as elephant grass, as an energy source. He said the review process was expected to be completed within a month.

 

He spoke of a plan for Napier grass farming to feed electricity-generating plants, which could provide electricity to nearby villages and also encourage people to take part in energy production. This will help secure energy for people at a lower cost.

 

“I met with industries who are using Napier grass as a source for electricity. We will cooperate with the businesses to review and improve the power development plan [PDP]. In 2018, the PDP plan de-prioritised Napier grass in the energy crop group. However, I have to hold a session in order to hear from businesses and agriculture experts,” Sontirat said.

 

The Energy Ministry source said that the review of the Napier grass farming project was looking at two ways:

 

1 Using the successful business model of UAC Global, which uses Napier grass and corn as sources for biogas electricity production in Chiang Mai.

 

2 Adjust the pattern from the past to promote biogas by bringing the grass to ferment production of gas to produce electricity. This approach may help to reduce the cost of producing electricity.

 

“Napier grass electricity plants have to be based near animal farms due to the fermenting process and the need for a large water source. They are still discussing these matters to discover the proper approach,” the source said.

 

The Napier grass farming plan was proposed in 2013 by the then-energy minister, Pongsak Ruktapongpisal, as part of bioenergy production. However, the plan was abandoned a year later due to lack of a budget. The industrial sector continued with the plan without financial support from the government.

 

Source: https://www.nationthailand.com/business/30374586

 

-- © Copyright The Nation Thailand 2019-08-11

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[khwaibah]

1 hour ago, rooster59 said:

Napier grass farming

 

We grow it as feed for over 100 head of cattle and there are many more with the Department of Livestock and Development that do the same.

[Chang_paarp]

If they captured all the hot air from parliament house, a plant could convert that into power to run more than a small village.

[Emdog]

“Energy for Industries for a sustainable future”

Should do wonders for CO2 emissions. I guess air pollution and climate change don't figure into sustainability here

[Dumbastheycome]

13 hours ago, Chang_paarp said:

If they captured all the hot air from parliament house, a plant could convert that into power to run more than a small village.

Join them as a  groupie  and increase  production !

[Takman]

12 hours ago, Emdog said:

“Energy for Industries for a sustainable future”

Should do wonders for CO2 emissions. I guess air pollution and climate change don't figure into sustainability here

While combustion of a renewable resource like plant and animal waste does create some smoke and CO2, it is sustainable because it is not burning fossil fuels that add to the net CO2 in the atmosphere and hence to climate change.  Burning either the waste or the methane made from the waste does not add CO2 over time as the feed stock plants are continuously grabbing the same CO2 back out of the air and using it to make new plants, unlike oil and gas from wells whose CO2 was sequestered millions of years ago and is now being dumped into the atmosphere with no way to recapture it fast enough to avoid CO2 levels rising.  The methane digestion is the better of the two methods environmentally as it produces an excellent and safe, natural fertilizer that replaces industrially made fertilizers that are produced using more fossil fuels.  Many airlines and militaries are funding large scale production of bio-based fuels for the same reason; they don't add to net CO2 and they can expand their fuel sources in cases of supply disruptions.