Waste to Energy for the Rice Milling Sector in Cambodia
(Room Jupiter 7)
02 Sep 15
9:00 AM
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10:30 AM
Nexus Carbon for Development, based in Singapore and Cambodia have been developing small scale renewable energy projects at the household level for several years. The aim has been to assist people to switch to renewable energy from diesel or wood and potentially reduce the need for connection to the grid when it becomes available. The natural progression for Nexus is to move up in scale to the sector level which requires an innovative approach to resolving the more complex barriers to renewable energy access. Access to energy in Least Developed Countries (LDC) constrains development, and lack of development in turn constrains access to energy. Gasification technologies can assist by utilizing the renewable biomass that is widely available as an energy source. Gasification technology is not new to the South East Asian region but there have been numerous barriers to adoption such as: • High initial investment, and difficulty in accessing affordable finance • Price of imported gasifiers are high and the trust in locally manufactured gasifiers is low • Limited capacity to operate and maintain the technology • Inadequate environmental management. If the barriers to energy access can be overcome, there is strong potential for growth in the agrifood sector in South East Asian LDCs such as Cambodia, Laos and Myanmar. All three countries suffer from a lack of energy access as well as infrastructure. The objective of the project is to positively impact the agrifood value chain through provision of affordable, clean energy. Barriers as listed above, will be overcome through partnerships with organisations in the agrifood sector and sourcing affordable finance for hardware investment through interested donors. The development of a small-scale Programme of Activities (PoA) under the Clean Development Mechanism (CDM) will support the application of clean energy technologies for mechanical and electrical energy generation in agrifood, through climate finance.