Global watch

Kampala, Uganda

Pamoja Cleantech aims to increase energy access in rural homes

Pamoja builds and operates micro-grids for direct electricity distribution. These micro-grids are powered by solar energy as well as biomass fuels that are mainly derived from agricultural residue such as corn cobs, ground nut shells, rice husks and coffee husks. These residual products are converted into fuel pellets for industrial and domestic use. To meet its goals, the company will scale up its operations from two to 100 microgrids, sourcing the additional biomass fuels from 15,000 small-scale farmers in East Africa beginning in Uganda.

Xianhe, China

DVO installs modern anaerobic digester

Both installation and commissioning are complete on a Chilton, Wisconsin-based DVO Inc. anaerobic digester at Austasia Modern Dairy Farm in Xianhe, located in Shandong Province, China. This is DVO’s first installation in China and the country’s first modern, operational anaerobic digester, according to the company.

The digester currently processes the manure from approximately 5,600 milking cows at Austasia Farms. Biogas, one of the many valuable byproducts of the anaerobic digestion process, powers a boiler which creates hot water. The hot water is used to heat the digester and various on-site facilities at Austasia Farms. Future plans for the biogas include creating renewable natural gas (RNG) or producing renewable electricity.

Samut Sakhorn Province, Thailand

DPCleanTech completes biomass power plant

DPCleanTech Group Ltd., Copenhagen, Denmark, announced the completion of the first high temperature high pressure biomass power plant, which is specifically designed for the simultaneous combustion of all forms of coconut waste, such as husk, shell, bunch, fronds, leaves and trunk, as well as conventional biomass, such as wood residues and rice husks, to produce electrical renewable energy.

In early April, the Mahachai Green Power Co. and plant in Samut Sakhorn Province, Thailand, passed a 24-hour, full-load test, thereby obtaining the necessary permit for entering into commercial operation by feeding 8 megawatts electric into the national Provincial Electricity Authority grid.

This 9.5-megawatt electric project represents a significant technological milestone in the combustion of complex, tropical biomass fuels that were long considered as too difficult to exploit for energy.