Oil Palm Biomass as a Sustainable Energy Source: a Malaysian Case Study

The latest scientific data confirmed that the earth's climate is rapidly changing. Therefore, it has been widely accepted worldwide that global warming is by far the greatest threat and challenge in the new millennium. The main factor that causes global warming is the release of greenhouse gases to the environment. In order to reduce the emission of these greenhouse gases and to promote sustainable development, renewable energy is the perfect solution to achieve both targets. Besides, latest report has shown that the world, including Malaysia can no longer turn away from renewable energy as fossil fuel reserves can only last for the next 30 to 40 years. On the other hand, presently million of hectares of land in Malaysia is occupied with oil palm plantation generating huge quantities of biomass. In this context, biomass from the oil palm industries appears to be a very promising alternative as a source of raw materials including renewable energy in Malaysia. Thus, this paper aims to presents the current scenario of biomass in Malaysia covering the availability of feedstock as well as current and possible utilization of oil palm biomass. This paper will also discuss some ongoing projects in Malaysia related to the utilization of oil palm biomass as a source of renewable energy. Based on the findings presented, it is definitely clear that Malaysia has position herself in the right path to utilize biomass as a source of renewable energy and this can act as an example to other countries in the world that has huge biomass feedstock.