Russians to build biomass power plant

Andi Hajramurni, The Jakarta Post, Makassar | Mon, 11/10/2008 11:15 AM  

The South Sulawesi provincial administration in cooperation with a Russian company JSC PromSviaz Automatika will build a biomass powerplant in South Sulawesi expected to produce between 20 to 100 MW of electricity. 

JSC PromSviaz Automatika's general director Vladimir Khusainov said the powerplant would use rice rice husks and straw as fuel. 

Khusainov, who met South Sulawesi Governor Syahrul Yasin Limpo here, said his company was interested to invest in the power sector in South Sulawesi as the province had good potential to provide a high volume of rice husks and straw. 

"We observe the quantity of straw and husks in South Sulawesi is abundant and of good quality," he said. 

"So there is good potential for this waste to be used as power plant fuel." 

Khusainov also said that the biomass powerplant would be cheaper to run than powerplants using other fuels such as coal or diesel. 

"Biomass is environmentally friendly because it uses waste materials as fuel," he said. 

"The ash from burning husks and straw can even be sold to the cement and crude oil industries." 

The Russian firm will cooperate with South Sulawesi Provincial Enterprise. 

The provincial enterprise director, Harris Hody, said electricity from a biomass powerplant would be more competitive as the fuel was cheaper. 

The enterprise would also cooperate with Tiara Energy and a Russian consultant, Bantry Corporation, to conduct feasibility studies to determine how much rice husk and rice straw would be needed and where the powerplant would be built. 

Khusainov disclosed that 1 million tons of rice husks could produce 100 MW of electricity, while 5 million tons of rice straw could produce 400 MW. 

"We will decide the powerplant capacity after we conduct the feasibility study," he said. 

"But it will be somewhere between 20 and 100 MW." 

Governor Syahrul hoped that the project could soon be built to help the province overcome the power crisis. There is a deficit of 50 to 80 MW with some 60,000 would-be customers queueing to get electricity. 

"There is no need to conduct research because the provincial agricultural services and other agencies have conducted such research. Just ask them for the results," he said. 

"We will prioritize the project because it also benefits the farmers in addition to generating electricity." 

Syahrul also guaranteed a steady supply of rice husks and rice straw as the province produces five to six million tons of rice every year. 

In response to Syahrul's request, Khusainov promised to speed up the feasibility study from nine to six months and construct the powerplant soon so it could become operational next year. 

Although supporting the projet, however, Syahrul had yet to sign a MoU, saying he would study its contents. 

The governor also said that the form of cooperation between the Russian firm and the South Sulawesi enterprise and its profit-sharing scheme was not yet clear. 

Meanwhile, President of Bantry Corporation, Vasily Tsarev, said the company was also constructing a number of biomass powerplants on Java Island and in North Sumatra province. 

JSC PromSviaz Automatika and the Serdang Bedagai regency administration signed an MoU in October to build a 10 MW powerplant, which can be increased to 20 MW.