110 likes | 125 Views
MIDA BIOMASS CONFERENCE 2015 9 JUNE 2015 Driving the National Biomass Agenda - Power Generation Perspective. Ir Dr Ali Askar Sher Mohamad Chief Operating Officer SEDA Malaysia. Renewable Energy Development in Malaysia. Biomass target for 2015 is 330 MW. Increased to 1.6 % on Jan 2014.
E N D
MIDA BIOMASS CONFERENCE 2015 9 JUNE 2015 Driving the National Biomass Agenda - Power Generation Perspective Ir Dr Ali Askar Sher Mohamad Chief Operating Officer SEDA Malaysia
Biomass target for 2015 is 330 MW Increased to 1.6 % on Jan 2014 RE Act gazetted in June 2011 FiT introduced in Dec 2011 Solar PV target for 2015 is only 65 MW
Targets and more targets • ASEAN Energy Minister’s meeting in Oct 2014 decided to: • Redefine large hydro and off-grid hybrid as renewable • 2. Target 30 % of installed capacity to come from RE by 2020 Shortfall: 3000 MW
Points to Ponder • 2015 Target under REPAP is 985 MW • 30 April 2015 achieved only 285 MW • Today is about 300 MW • Best case scenario is 400 MW by end 2015 – only 40 % of target • 2015 Target for PV was 65 MW • Today achieved almost 200 MW • Expected to hit 300 MW by end 2015 • 2015 Target for biomass was 330 MW • Today achieved only about 63 MW from 6 plants • If lucky, another plant will be commissioned this year, bringing the total to 7 plants and installed capacity of 75 MW • 6 biomass plants achieved COD so far • All 6 plants were already approved under SREP, then migrated to FiT • 3 plants had already COD under SREP • 3 plants COD under FiT but 1 plant already under receivership now
Problems facing biomass RE developers Most of these issues are not faced by PV developers! • Feedstock issues • Most biomass RE developers do not own the feedstock, they’re neither plantation nor mill owners • They are at the mercy of the feedstock owners who can raise the price anytime or withhold the supply • At least 2 plants at present are running at less than 50 % capacity due to feedstock issues • Long term feedstock contracts are a must for plants to be viable, but most feedstock owners will not sign for more than 1 or 2 years • Best case scenario is for feedstock owners to go into the RE business, or at least part of the feedstock should be their own
Plant technical issues • Problems with boilers • Most boilers used in the plantation industry are designed to provide steam, and some power for internal use; they’re not designed to be efficient • Most imported boilers designed to generate power are designed for wood chips or other feedstock with low moisture and high calorific value • Boilers specifically designed to be highly efficient using EFB as feedstock with minimum maintenance are still being improved • Fuel handling • Critical to have effective fuel handling system with sufficient storage, shredding and drying, and proper feeding into the boiler • Many plants do not have sufficient space for storage, or an effective drying system, resulting in fuel with high moisture content being fed into the boiler
Grid connection issues • Distance from Grid; most plantations located away from the Grid, making it uneconomical for grid-connection • Even when grid is available, remote location of the biomass plants, away from the load centres, lead to technical issues like voltage rise and reverse power flow, making grid-connection difficult. In some places, the utility existing fault current is too high to allow any more generator to be connected. • When everything else has been settled, there are often delays and other problems with utility connection at the local level • Finance • Some pioneer failed and failing biomass plants have given a negative perception of biomass RE • Long lead time and security of feedstock issues, leading to higher risk • Most commercial banks shy away from financing biomass plants, leaving only institutions with a specific mandate, like MDV, to provide the finance
Steps taken by SEDA to promote biomass RE • FiT rates for biomass (and biogas) • All degression in FiT rates has been set to zero since 2014 • Introduction of new bonus rates, e.g. locally fabricated boiler gets additional 5 sen/kWh • New higher rates have resulted in many new applications • Biomass quota is exhausted as soon as its released • But no guarantee that any plants will commission and run successfully if they still make the mistakes described earlier. • Grid connection issues • Ongoing discussions with utilities to allow for reverse power flow back to Transmission levels • Proposal to developers to cluster their biomass plants together so that total capacity exceeds 30 MW • Facilitate connection to Transmission line
Some parting remarks • Based on the 1.6 % contribution to the RE Fund, Seda has set an annual new quota release of 20 MW for biomass and 15 MW for biogas until 2025. • This quota should be sufficient to provide for most of the plants that can be economically grid-connected • However, potential developers must be aware of the problems mentioned earlier, especially the feedstock and plant technical issues, before they rush into applying for quota • If the quota is exhausted, and there are still more plants to be connected, we’ll need to increase the contribution to the RE Fund to 2 % THANK YOU