Renewable energy from biomass surplus resource: potential of power generation from rice straw in Vietnam

Biomass, one of the renewable resources, is expected to play an important role in the world’s energy future. In Asia, rice straw is an abundant agricultural surplus because rice is one of the leading staple food crops in the region. Often, rice straw is burned directly in the field via uncontrolled combustion methods that emit large amounts of short-lived air pollutants, greenhouse gases, and other pollutants. In Vietnam, the energy and environment protection sectors are facing great challenges because of rapid urbanisation and industrialisation. A national strategic choice is to exploit renewable energy, including biomass-derived energy, to achieve energy security and CO(2) emission reduction. This study investigates the potential of rice straw as an energy source for power plants at a local scale in Vietnam using data derived from satellite Sentinel-1 images. The results show that Vietnam can produce 2,565 MW from rice straw, for which 24 out of 63 provinces have a potential capacity higher than 30 MW, and the Kien Giang province has the highest capacity (245 MW). The study also analyses limitations and obstacles overcoming which can promote the biomass energy sector in the country.