BiON shares update on biogas plants and expands into UK market
The company announced that two of its factories are now selling electricity to Tenaga Nasional Berhad (TNB), Malaysia’s largest integrated electricity company, and also revealed that it has expanded to the UK, opening an office in London.
Once fully operational, BiON’s current portfolio of biogas plants, which generate electricity from biogas produced in the treatment of palm oil mill effluents (POME), will have an installed capacity of 7 MW.
The company’s 2 MW Seberang Perak plant began commercial operations at the end of January following receipt of the Date of Commissioning (IOD) certificate from regulatory authorities. IOD allows BiON to sell electricity to TNB at a reduced rate. It expects to receive the Certificate of Business Operation Date (COD), which will allow it to receive the full feed-in tariff, later this month, subject to government restrictions related to the COVID crisis. 19.
The Malpom plant (2 MW) resumed supplying electricity to TNB in ​​December 2020 at a reduced initial capacity. Upgrading work is underway to allow increased power generation to reach maximum capacity.
Strong progress has been made in upgrading the works of the 2 MW Kahang power plant, with gas production nearing peak capacity in February. Kahang will resume supplying electricity to the grid after testing by TNB the electrical interconnection equipment, which is expected in the coming months.
The company’s Nasaruddin (1 MW) facility has resumed operations following a temporary shutdown of the adjoining palm oil plant following COVID-19. BiON is awaiting receipt of an IOD to allow electricity sales to start, which is expected to occur in the coming weeks, subject to government restrictions related to the pandemic.
BiON also took a key step in its global expansion strategy with the opening of an office in London – its first outside Malaysia – and the appointment of a country manager in the UK.
Establishing a presence in the UK should help BiON grow its business in the UK and Europe, a market which the company says offers ‘a lot of opportunities’ due to the relative maturity of the sectors. renewable energies and clean technologies in the region.
More specifically, the company intends to add to its portfolio of waste-to-energy assets and seek potential partners or customers for its EPCC services, or in the future, other products from the biomass.
Syed Nazim bin Syed Faisal, CEO of BiON, said: “I am happy that we now have two of our biogas plants that sell electricity to the grid – and I hope to export electricity from the four plants soon and at their maximum capacity.
“We also continued our work on the EPCC and took steps to execute our strategy. In this regard, I am delighted that we have now opened our UK office and appointed Elle Sia as UK National Director. She brings considerable experience in creating deals in this industry, which will be invaluable as we seek to expand our presence in the UK and Europe, as well as a deep understanding of the financial markets. We are thrilled with this opportunity and look forward to reporting on our progress. “