Regional Seminar on Commercialization
of Biomass Technology
Guangzhou, China, 4-8 June 2001
To review the present penetration
of modern biomass technologies in the ESCAP region, to identify barriers
for their commercialization, and to recommend policies for their wider
application in the region, a Seminar on Commercialization of Biomass
Technology was held in Guangzhou, China, from 4 to 8 June 2001.
The Seminar was generously sponsored
by the Chinese government and was jointly organized by the Guangzhou
Institute for Energy Conversion and ESCAP. It was attended by representatives
from Bangladesh, China, India, Indonesia, Nepal, Pakistan, Sri Lanka,
Thailand and Viet Nam. Resource persons from the region and from other
United Nations Organizations also participated and facilitated discussions
during the Seminar.
During the week, the following sessions
were held - click on the links to get more information on each subject:
A presentation on biomass energy technologies
and their applications in the Asian and the Pacific region was made
by the consultant, Dr. Bhattacharya. The resource person from UNDP,
Mr. Rene Andersen, made a presentation on non-technical barriers for
increased utilization of biomass technology. Based on these two presentations,
the participants discussed barriers existing in their countries
and measures for removal of those barriers. The outcome of the discussions
have been included in the conclusions and recommendations.
Paper
(171 KB): Commercialization options for biomass energy technologies
in ESCAP countries by Mr. S. C. Bhattacharya, Asian Institute of
Technology
Presentation
(15 KB): Non-technical barriers to introduction of biomass energy
systems by Mr. Rene Andersen, UNDP Thailand
Based on the background
paper (171 KB), Dr. S.C. Bhattacharya made a presentation on the
policy options for promoting commercialization of biomass energy technologies.
Existing barriers were grouped into technical, institutional, information,
financial, and market related. The big challenge is to remove the
barriers to enable biomass to play a significant role in meeting the
energy requirements of the developing countries, which have these
resources at their disposal.
Mr. Alan Dale Gonzales, COGEN showed
examples of industrial and utility-type biomass energy projects that
have been implemented or are being implemented on a commercial basis
in South-East Asia. Areas for improvement of such projects, including
long-term, stable policies, joint ventures between project developers
and industries, and different set-ups for power purchase agreements
were suggested.
Mr. Auke Koopmans, RWEDP/FAO looked
further into the grassroot level by reviewing the import role that
woodfuels play in the provision of rural energy in developing countries.
The flows and channels used in the supply of woodfuels in different
countries were analyzed, which may help in identifying policy gaps
with regards to the supply side of woodfuels from both forest and
non-forest sources.
Paper
(101 KB): Wood Fuel Sources and Markets by Mr. Auke Koopmans, Regional
Wood Energy Programme, FAO
Presentation
(136 KB): Policy options for promoting commercialization of biomass
technologies by Mr. S. C. Bhattacharya, Asian Institute of Technology
Presentation
(620 KB): Options for commercialization of biomass technologies by
Mr. Alan Dale Gonzales, COGEN
Presentation
(99 KB): Wood Fuel Sources and Markets by Mr. Auke Koopmans, Regional
Wood Energy Programme, FAO
Based on their country papers, the
participants made presentations on the situation pertaining to their
countries with respect to the present status of biomass utilization,
policy incentives in place, existing barriers and institutional set-up.
In groups, the presentations were reviewed, analyzed and discussed.
Each group made a presentation in the plenary on the findings from
these discussions focusing on similarities and differences between
the countries represented.
Mr. Yuan Zhenhong, the China Biomass
Development Center, also described the current research and policies
on biomass energy development in China, including recommendations
for increased regional cooperation and technology transfer.
The main findings of the session are
included in the conclusions and recommendations.
Country papers
| Bangladesh
(22 KB) |
by Mr. Md. Aminur Rahman |
| China
(141 KB) |
Research and development of biomass
energy in China by Mr. Yuan Zhenhong, China Biomass Development
Center |
| India
(68 KB) |
by Mr. J. R. Meshram |
| Indonesia
(24 KB) |
by Ms. Indarti |
| Nepal
(48 KB) |
by Mr. Santosh K. Ojha |
| Pakistan
(30 KB) |
by Mr. Khurshid Anwer |
| Thailand
(58 KB) |
by Mr. Boonrod Sajjakulnukit |
| Viet
Nam (28 KB) |
by Ms. Nguyen Thi Kim Lien |
| Presentation
(807 KB) |
on India by Mr. J. R. Meshram |
The participants visited the Zhuhai
Municipal Solid Waste Power Project and the Sanya Timber Mill Biomass
Gasification Project.
Descriptions of the sites are included
in the report of the Seminar; lessons learnt
from the site visits are included in the conclusions
and recommendations.
Paper
(66 KB): A new type of municipal solid waste (MSW) comprehensive utilization
technology: Energy self-supported MSW composting system by LI Haibin,
WU Chuangzhi, CHEN Yong and LIU Kexin
Presentation
(1.2 MB): Brief introduction to the Municipal Solid Waste treatment
technology by LI Haibin, Guangzhou Institute of Energy Conversion
Based on his experiences from the
Indian Renewable Energy Development Agency Ltd. (IREDA), Mr. K. B.
K. Reddy made a presentation on good practices for institutional set-up,
financial incentives and stakeholder involvement for the promotion
of widespread use of biomass energy technology.
Mr. Li Junfeng, State Development
Planning Commission, China, presented experiences on biomass demonstration
projects from the UNDP/GEF project on "Capacity-building for
Rapid Commercialization of Renewable Energy" currently undertaken
in China. The project found that barriers faced by project developers
are primarily financial, political and awareness related rather than
technical. He stressed the important role that energy companies
play in operation and management of biomass projects, as well as the
need for making micro-financing attractive for financial institutions.
Paper
(92 KB): IREDA profile
Presentation
(807 KB): Stakeholders in biomass energy development - IREDA experience
by Mr. K. B. K. Reddy, IREDA
Mr. Alan Dale Gonzales presented a
stake-holder analysis of medium- and large-scale biomass energy projects,
and pointed out the barriers faced by project developers due to inadequate
financial legislation and institutional set-up.
Based on a country-wide project on
dissemination of household biogas systems in Nepal, Mr. Auke Koopmans
informed about the different types of stakeholders involved in small-scale
biomass projects. In particular he stressed the need for information
and training at the local level, and the importance of constant follow-up
and evaluation at the country level.
Paper
(67 KB): Biogas in rural household energy supply: The Nepal biogas
supply program by Matthew S. Mendis and Wim J. van Nes
Presentation
(10 KB): Illustration of stakeholders in biomass energy development
by Mr. Alan Dale Gonzales, COGEN
Presentation
(49 KB): Stakeholders in commercialization of biomass energy technology
by Mr. Auke Koopmans, Regional Wood Energy Development Programme,
FAO
Below please find the conclusions
and recommendations as adopted by the participants during the closing
session of the Seminar, as well as the final report of the Seminar.
Conclusions
and recommendations (16 KB)
Report
of the Seminar (34 KB)
