EnMass Energy, a Green Start-up is Developing a New Approach to Renewable Energy that Benefits Consumers and Farmers in Pakistan
EnMass, a Green Biomass Start-Up founded in 2015, based in Durham, North Carolina announces that they are commencing their first large scale biomass energy development project.
EnMass Energy takes crop waste and turns it into clean and sustainable electricity for rural communities. EnMass Energy projects benefit communities by helping reduce energy poverty and mitigating climate change. Pakistan possesses significant biomass potential which is why it was chosen as the first location for an EnMass Energy project.
The country of Pakistan represents a “perfect storm” of both economic need for reliable power and biomass potential. The country faces a 6 GW supply gap, meaning the electrical grid fails to meet demand 40% on average, and businesses, homes, and factories are without power sometimes 12 hours a day. This is due to their multiple agricultural outputs such as corn, wheat, and rice grown in agrarian areas. Plus, the country is the 4th largest global producer of cotton. In fact, the innovative solutions to the power crisis in Pakistan provided by EnMass Energy have already prompted 4 bulk electricity purchasers to sign contracts for development and off-take of a total of 50 MW power capacity. The first EnMass Energy projects are expected to break ground in early 2017, with an additional 200 MW scheduled for development in 2018.
“EnMass Energy is set up and poised to provide thousands – and eventually millions – of farmers across Pakistan with the opportunity to almost double their incomes” said, EnMass Energy Founder and CEO Andrew Joiner, “and serve as important stakeholders in the EnMass Energy supply chain network.”
Biomass projects have been going on for decades in other parts of the world, but at this time there is no significant market for agricultural biomass in Pakistan. This is primarily due to the fragmented nature of the agricultural sector in the country. EnMass Energy will utilize cotton stalks that are routinely burnt in the fields as they presently possess little to no economic value to the respective Pakistani farmers. Consequently, this biomass is available for purchase at a low cost and is in relatively high quantities. In fact, Biomass as a fuel source can economically generate at least 3.4 GW of power in the stable Punjab region alone. For more information on EnMass Energy and their projects visit enmassenergy.com.
