The concept of sustainable biofuels is tricky but not impossible to prove, and biofuel manufacturers have to choose the right feedstocks, said experts at the Clean Energy Expo Asia.
Speaking to eco-Business.com on the opening day of the three-day conference, Elspeth Thomson, senior fellow of Energy Studies Institute of the National University of Singapore, said biofuels are considered cleaner and more sustainable at a time when oil is increasingly expensive.
“However, in this part of the world, we’re getting wary of the first generation of biofuels as it’s causing us all sorts of problems,” said Dr Thomson.
“If too much food goes into biofuel production as it is lucrative, it puts pressure on food prices and it becomes a socio-economic problem,” she added.
She cited a recent example of some Indonesians who were not able to afford cooking oil a few years back and had to resort to steaming and boiling all their food.
“To be sustainable, we need to go into the second or third generation of biofuels,” said Dr Thomson.
Unlike the first generation of green fuels, the second generation is produced from agricultural wastes, such as unwanted corn cobs, straw, bark, leaves, and would be free of the controversies that surround its predecessor.
Although there is a third generation of biofuels, which is produced from algae, the production technique is still at the research and development stage and is not ready for commercial use yet.
“The value of using second generation biofuels lies in fact that there is no need to open more land as the agricultural waste is already there,” said Dr Thomson, whose research interests are Asian energy security and economics.
She added that tonnes of agricultural waste are produced in almost every agriculture setting but only few are tapping on this energy resource.
DP CleanTech, a leading European biomass power producer, recognised this opportunity to harness energy from waste and has set up 19 biomass power plants in northern China in the last few years.
“China has 320 times more resources to produce biofuel than Denmark, and most if it comes from agriculture waste,” said DP CleanTech’s head of sales and business development Jeremo Le-Borgne, who oversees most of the business dealings in China.
“Given the amount of waste they have, the Chinese government is willing to push the biomass agenda,” said Mr Le-Borgne.
Regional sales manager of Caterpillar Asia, John Lee noted that Asia, being home to over 60 per cent of the world’s population, has immense potential for bio-fuel companies to develop more power plants.
The region is not only rich in agricultural and animal waste, but also has an increasing interest in green energy due to its growing appetite for fuel.
“For every megawatt you want to produce, you need to invest around US$200. The returns are favourable if you do it right,” said Mr Lee. “With everything in place, it is possible to break even in three years time.”
New Zealand has recently developed a new way to convert cellulosic biomass and lignite into high quality biofuel-diesel, said Chris Mulcare, investment manager of New Zealand Trade and Enterprise. He added that the production process has little negative impact on the environment.
“The demand for this type of biofuel is driven by our main aviation industry, Air New Zealand, which is looking for ways to reduce their dependency on oil;” continued Mr Mulcare, “The organisation is looking for strategic partners and investors to expand the use of our technology.”
However, retail manager of Asia Renewables, Shathan Selvakumar, highlighted that regardless of how advanced the biofuel technology is, most major biomass producers face the key challenge of securing their biofuel supply.
Mr Selvakumar shared one experience in which a power plant fed by rice husks was left temporarily without a fuel source when the government of Thailand encouraged its people to use rice husk in cement production. The result was a frantic search for an alternative source of biofuel to feed his power plant.
“It’s very important not to be held ransom by a local farmer who is supplying your fuel,” said Mr Selvakumar.
Eco-Business.com’s coverage of the Clean Energy Expo Asia 2010 is brought to you by Conchubar Capital Management.
Click here to read all stories from the Clean Energy Expo Asia 2010.
