Methodology for optimizing geographical distribution and capacities of biomass power plants in Sabah, East Malaysia

Purpose – Biomass waste can be used as fuel in biomass power plants to generate electricity. It is a type of renewable energy widely available in Malaysia because 12 million tons of the biomass waste is produced every year. At present, only 5 per cent of the total biomass waste in Sabah, one of the states in Malaysia, is used to generate electricity for on-site consumption. The remaining 95 per cent of the biomass waste has not been utilized because the transportation cost for shifting the waste from the plantations to the power plants is substantial, hence making the cost of the biomass generated electricity to be high. Therefore, a methodology is developed and presented in this paper to determine the optimum geographic distribution and capacities of the biomass power plants around a region so that the cost of biomass generated electricity can be minimized. The paper aims to discuss these issues. Design/methodology/approach – The methodology is able to identify the potential locations of biomass power plants on any locations on a region taking into account the operation and capital costs of the power plants as well as the cost of connecting the power plants to the national grid. The methodology is programmed using Fortran. Findings – This methodology is applied to Sabah using the real data. The results generated from the methodology show the best locations and capacities of biomass power plants in Sabah. There are 20 locations suitable for biomass power plants. The total capacity of these biomass power plants is 4,996 MW with an annual generation of 35,013 GWh. This is sufficient to meet all the electricity demand in Sabah up to 2030. Originality/value – The methodology is an effective tool to determine the best geographic locations and sizes of the biomass power plants around a region.