Austria-based Gussing Renewable Energy Thailand is ready to tap into increasing demand for renewable energy in Asia with its unique technology, following the success of its first biomass power plant in Asia.
The firm earlier worked with SCG, Thailand's largest industrial conglomerate, to build a one-megawatt biomass power plant in Nakhon Sawan's Nong Bua district. The 200-million-baht facility is fuelled by cassava root and residues from factories.
Gussing chief executive Michael Messner said yesterday that the technology, called "dual fluidised bed" (DFB), can support a renewables-based power generation system and help many countries better deal with the smog caused by outdoor burning of farm waste and bush fires.
DFB, a gasification technology, works on a closed system, consuming 90% less water and 30% less fuel relative to similar technologies. This can reduce power bills to 2.50 baht a kilowatt from 2.80-3.00 baht.
The technology can also be used with various types of renewable resources, including garbage.
The company sells electricity to the Provincial Electricity Authority.
Mr Messner said Gussing plans to invest in 15-20 new renewable energy projects between 2020 and 2021 to increase its power generation capacity to 50MW in Thailand, where demand for renewable energy is rising.
The company also plans to open a second biomass power plant, based on DFB technology, in Japan by the end of 2020. A local operator will run the plant.
The Nong Bua biomass power plant serves as a prototype for the government's Energy for All scheme, which encourages communities to jointly invest in renewables-based power plants. They can sell farm residue to the plants as a way to earn extra income.
The power generator at the Nong Bua facility operates on an incomplete combustion principle that requires no burning, using only sand as a heat conductor in a process to convert farm residue to biogas. The gas is further used to produce electricity.
Mr Messner said Gussing plans to build a cold storage facility for villagers in Nong Bua by turning heat left over from electricity production into cold energy.