case studies
Rice husk to keep rural Cambodia growing Rice mills turn power generators for own consumption and sale MoU signed with Japanese company to carry out demonstration project
By G Danapal
Rice husk, a valuable source of “green energy” sourced from paddy farmers, is packed for transportation to husk-powered rice mills
A furnace is where the process of husk-power generation begins •
Rice is a valuable source of energy; it keeps us growing and going. Its husk, on the other hand, is a source of another form of energy – electricity. Cambodia’s rice milling operation produces 1.1 million tonnes of husk – about 22% of the rice milled annually – that could be used in rice husk gasification plants to produce 155,550 tonnes of oil equivalent (TOE) to generate electricity for up to 30% of Cambodia’s current electricity demand. With research showing that burning six kilograms of rice husk can generate as much electricity as a litre of diesel in an oil-powered generator, rice husk generators look set to become a replicable trend in rural Cambodia to help power rice, brick, textile and ice industries and also to provide access to electricity to the people. This is not surprising, considering that Cambodia, in addition to being a net importer of fossil fuels such as gasoline, diesel, heavy oil, fuel oil and kerosene, also has one of the lowest electrification rates in Asia with only
12% of its population of 13 million connected to power supply. Its electricity tariffs are among the highest in the world, and outside the capital, Phnom Penh, the tariffs of the Rural Electricity Enterprises (REE) are even higher – one of the most critical issues facing the development of commercial and industrial sectors. Under the Renewable Electricity Action Plan (REAP) 2002–2012, the Cambodian government has been encouraging private sector investments in renewable and more affordable power resources, including support for rice husk power generation plants. Meng Sak Theara, director of the Department of Industry of the Ministry of Industry, Mines and Energy (MIME), says rice husk-powered electricity machines will help increase the kingdom’s productivity because it is cheaper to run such technology compared with alternative power sources. “I think using an electric machine powered by combustion of rice husk will enable rice exports to have more competitive prices,” he adds. In November 2011, MIME signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with a Japanese energy company, New Energy and Industrial Technology Development Organisation (NEDO) in Phnom Penh, under which they agreed to carry out a demonstration project on the rice husk power generation systems. The project, following a one-year study, involves the setting up of a rice mill fuelled by rice husk in Daun Keo town, Takeo province, where there are ten large oil-powered rice mills. Due for completion in June 2012, and slated for production in 2013, the mill, according to NEDO chairman Kazuo Furukawa, “will set the standard for quality and efficiency in rice milling and become an example for rice millers throughout the country.” The project also aims to increase crop yields, including rice, by applying biochar from rice husks – the waste from electricity generation – as soil conditioner. While local rice millers in Takeo province are enthusiastic about the project, elsewhere in Cambodia, major rice millers and exporters have been quick to grab the plus-points