January 24, 2014
South Korea''s pellet consumption is growing rapidly, reaching 174,000 tonnes in 2012, of which, 122,000 tonnes were imported in the year, jumping from 21,000 tonnes in 2010, according to a report by the Bioenergy International, a publication dedicated to renewable energy.
Driving the demand is the power sector. The report said since 2012 the South Korean government has imposed power companies with a generating capacity of 500MW or more to use renewable energy by 10% within 2022. To meet this target, a number of power producers in South Korea are turning to import biomass pellets as they are the most economical solution.
The sector used 55,000 tonnes of pelletsin 2012, and their use is expected to jump to 400,000 tonnes in 2013, the report said.
Russia was the biggest supplier of pellets to South Korea in 2012, supplying 34.1% of its total import, followed by Malaysia 25.1%, Vietnam 24.7% and Indonesia 7.3%.
With its abundance in agricultural by-products such as rice husks, corn stalks and cobs, straw and more, Vietnam has a great opportunity to produce pellet fuels serving the energy sector in South Korea and worldwide.
On April 10, 2014, the Bioenergy International will organise a conference on "Pellets & Biomass Update Asia" in Bangkok, Thailand. It will take place at the Bangkok International Trade and Exhibition Centre or Bitec. The conference is a part of VICTAM Asia 2014, FIAAP Asia 2014 and GRAPAS Asia 2014. They are related exhibitions dedicated to the feed, grain processing and bioenergyindustries in South and Southeast Asia. The three exhibitions will be held during April 8-10, 2014 at Bitec.