Discovering market opportunities for future CDM projects in Asia based on biomass combined heat and power production and supply of district heating

Highly-efficient and renewable energy technologies in Asia are required in the future, in order to supply the amounts of energy needed in the growing economies and to reduce greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. Combined heat and power (CHP) from biomass with supply of district heating (hot water) to households in Denmark makes the Danish energy sector one of the most efficient in the world. Efficient biomass-fuelled CHP technologies adopted in the North can be implemented in Asian countries with substantial environmental benefits. This article analyses opportunities for setting up such efficient energy supply systems in hot Asian countries, which lack heat demand in their households. The article identifies alternative “heat markets” by exploring opportunities for efficient supply of district heating to the industrial sector. Through a case-study conducted in small and medium enterprises (SMEs) in Thailand, the article shows how this can be established technically, and be financially supported in practice through the Clean Development Mechanism (CDM). The article further analyses options for local manufacturing of CHP technologies, etc., in countries in the South (exemplified by Thailand), to support the implementation of biomass-based CHP with supply of district heating in the future energy supply of Asia.