Nypa project to bring US$92 million in annual royalties to Malaysia's Perak state
Quicknote bioenergy potential
More details have emerged on the interesting Nypa project in Malaysia's North-Western Perak State (earlier post). Malaysia's national news agency, Bernama, refers to Perak governor Datuk Seri Tajol Rosli Ghazali, who says the state is expected to earn 328 million rupiah (€69.4 million/US$92 million) in royalties from the bioethanol project, each year.
He said the royalty will be paid to the state government by a company that will produce ethanol from Nypa fruticans palms that will be planted on 10,000 hectares of state land in the Hilir Perak district. This is the first time Nypa will be used as a feedstock for bioethanol.
"We have so much nipah forest along the state's coastal areas, at last 35,000 hectares," the state governor said. At an estimated yield of 15,000 liters of ethanol per hectare, if all the state's existing palms would be tapped, it is looking at an annual production of 525 million liters, the equivalent of 2.3 million barrels of oil. But interestingly, the project involves the planting of new Nypa palms, which indicates that plantation cultures are feasible.
Nypa fruticans, also known as nipah, attap chee, or simply as the mangrove palm can be found in large quantities in almost all tropical mangrove ecosystems in South-East Asia (Papua New Guinea, Northern Australia, Indonesia, the Philippines, Burma, India, Bangladesh, Thailand) and Africa (Nigeria, Mozambique, Tanzania and Angola). Of all mangrove plant species, Nypa is the most robust and easily colonises vast tracts of the ecosystem, threatening other species and damaging the biodiversity of mangrove ecosystems. Therefor, it is seen as an invasive, destructive palm. (For more in-depth info on Nypa, see the chapter on Asia in the excellent book "Tropical Palms", of the Non-food Forest Products series published by the FAO).
The Malaysian state government adds that it has also approved an additional 400 hactares of state land as a site for bioethanol refinery, which is expected to cost 200 million rupiah (€42/US$56 million) and would be ready by mid next year. Malyasia's Prime Minister Datuk Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badawi is expected to officiate at the refinery's ground-breaking ceremony in April 2007. Last week, governor Tajol announced that Perak will be the world's first and so far only producer of bioethanol from the nipah tree.
Picture shows the traditional Nypa tapping technique as practised by mangrove communities in the Philippines, courtesy, FAO [entry ends here].
ethanol :: biomass :: bioenergy :: biofuels :: energy :: sustainability :: Nypa fruticans :: nipah :: mangrove :: Malaysia ::
Article continues
More details have emerged on the interesting Nypa project in Malaysia's North-Western Perak State (earlier post). Malaysia's national news agency, Bernama, refers to Perak governor Datuk Seri Tajol Rosli Ghazali, who says the state is expected to earn 328 million rupiah (€69.4 million/US$92 million) in royalties from the bioethanol project, each year.
He said the royalty will be paid to the state government by a company that will produce ethanol from Nypa fruticans palms that will be planted on 10,000 hectares of state land in the Hilir Perak district. This is the first time Nypa will be used as a feedstock for bioethanol.
"We have so much nipah forest along the state's coastal areas, at last 35,000 hectares," the state governor said. At an estimated yield of 15,000 liters of ethanol per hectare, if all the state's existing palms would be tapped, it is looking at an annual production of 525 million liters, the equivalent of 2.3 million barrels of oil. But interestingly, the project involves the planting of new Nypa palms, which indicates that plantation cultures are feasible.
Nypa fruticans, also known as nipah, attap chee, or simply as the mangrove palm can be found in large quantities in almost all tropical mangrove ecosystems in South-East Asia (Papua New Guinea, Northern Australia, Indonesia, the Philippines, Burma, India, Bangladesh, Thailand) and Africa (Nigeria, Mozambique, Tanzania and Angola). Of all mangrove plant species, Nypa is the most robust and easily colonises vast tracts of the ecosystem, threatening other species and damaging the biodiversity of mangrove ecosystems. Therefor, it is seen as an invasive, destructive palm. (For more in-depth info on Nypa, see the chapter on Asia in the excellent book "Tropical Palms", of the Non-food Forest Products series published by the FAO).
The Malaysian state government adds that it has also approved an additional 400 hactares of state land as a site for bioethanol refinery, which is expected to cost 200 million rupiah (€42/US$56 million) and would be ready by mid next year. Malyasia's Prime Minister Datuk Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badawi is expected to officiate at the refinery's ground-breaking ceremony in April 2007. Last week, governor Tajol announced that Perak will be the world's first and so far only producer of bioethanol from the nipah tree.
Picture shows the traditional Nypa tapping technique as practised by mangrove communities in the Philippines, courtesy, FAO [entry ends here].
ethanol :: biomass :: bioenergy :: biofuels :: energy :: sustainability :: Nypa fruticans :: nipah :: mangrove :: Malaysia ::
Article continues
Friday, December 08, 2006
European science institutes to participate more actively in public energy debate
The past few years have seen the development of a large number of alternative energy technologies. Given high fossil fuel prices, rapidly rising global energy demand and the threat of climate change, new (renewable) energy projects and investments are being initiated on a daily basis. However, this feverish activity has resulted in sharp public debates over which energy options are most favorable for the long term. Often, both the media and the public at large are left behind confused or fail to put the issues in a broader context. Scientific insights aren't easily understood or translated to broader audiences.
The Technical University of Delft has decided [*Dutch] do something about this. It has formed a knowledge platform with major energy research institutes with the explicit aim of actively participating in the public debate. The launch of NODE ('Nederlandse Onderzoeksplatform voor Duurzame Energievoorziening', 'Dutch Research Platform for Sustainable Energy') will first assess all the possible energy options at hand, then share the scientific knowledge with both the business community and the public at large. Educational outreach to schools is planned as well.
NODE unites three technical universities, the Energieonderzoek Centrum Nederland, and FOM-Rijnhuizen, who all have top-expertise on technologies ranging from hydrogen and nuclear physics to wind and bioenergy.
Meanwhile, in Birmingham, the SUPERGEN Bioenergy Consortium has created the Bioenergy Research Forum [*French], which also aims to share its research results with both industry and the public at large. Its main focus is on the use of biomass and organic waste streams as sources of clean energy. Experts in the field will regularly write for broader audiences and publish on a dedicated website [entry ends here].
bioenergy :: biofuels :: energy :: sustainability :: public debate :: policies :: information :: energy debate :: renewables ::
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