Study on the Biomass and Coal Co-Combustion in the ASEAN Region

Co-combustion of agricultural waste and coal could make a very significant contribution to reducing CO₂ emissions compared with simple coal combustion for power generation. Since the countries of ASEAN are generally rich in biomass resources, the co-combustion of biomass and coal could play an important role in combating climate change. For this study, we compared two cases: case 1 focuses on Indonesia as a biomass-rich and coal-producing country; and case 2 focuses on the Philippines as a biomass-rich and coal-importing country. The study also calculated the Levelised Cost of Electricity (LCOE) to check whether the electricity cost produced from the co-combustion of biomass and coal are economically feasible, compared with the electricity cost produced from coal-fired power generation only. The results show that biomass and coal co-combustion is not feasible under the current tariff situation; it will require putting into place the right incentives such as a feed-in tariff or other kinds of incentives. In the next study, therefore, further consideration shall be given to identifying tailor-made country-specific models with optimal capacity and technologies as well as appropriate incentives.