Sustainable biomass production for energy in Malaysia

This paper addresses issues on sustainable biomass production for energy in Malaysia. Three biomass demand scenarios, viz. incremental biomass demand, sustainable biomass demand and full biomass demand are introduced. In order to meet these demands, two surplus land availability scenarios (Scenarios I and II) are also introduced. In Scenario I, it is assumed that the area under plantation will remain constant and 100% of surplus land is available for plantation, while Scenario II considers a 25% increase of food production and a reduction of the potential surplus land available by the same proportion. The land area to meet the demands for fuelwood, sawn wood, and industrial wood are estimated and by deducting this area from total surplus land, the land area available for energy plantations are estimated. By subjecting these lands to different forestry and productivity options, sustainable biomass productions for energy are estimated. Each plantation option is also evaluated using the financial viability of the system. By identifying appropriate technologies for electricity generation, the energy potential of biomass produced is estimated. The annual electricity generation potential from incremental biomass demand under land Scenarios I and II are 1.66 and 0.38 TWhyr−1, respectively. There is insufficient surplus land for dedicated energy plantations for both the sustainable biomass demand and full biomass demand scenarios under the two biomass production (land) scenarios. This paper finally discusses the barriers and policy options for energy plantations and recommends some strategies to promote them.