A TEAM of engineers from Myanmar and Thailand has started a project to set up a rice husk power plant to bring electricity to Taguntaing village in Twante township, Yangon Division, U Win Khine, the general secretary of the Myanmar Engineering Society, said last week.

The 8 million baht project – which will result in the construction and installation of a 30-kilowatt rice husk power plant in the village – is expected to be finished in December, he said.

“The aim is to develop the socioeconomic conditions of the village,” he said.
The Study and Demonstration of Biomass Gasification for Electricity Project, funded by a grant from Thailand, will not only bring electricity to the village but also help facilitate the development of research and technological specifications for rice husk power plants, he said.

“Even though there are more than 500 rice husk power plants in the country we have no standardised technical or equipment specifications that can guide us in their construction,” U Win Khine said. “This project will help us develop these standards for future projects.”

The project is being conducted with help from researchers and equipment from Chiang Mai University.

“They have also invited two local technical engineers involved in the project to attend the university for postgraduate degrees. They will conduct research during the project and write theses about it,” U Win Khine said.

He said the power plant would be built in Hlaing Tharyar Industrial Zone in Yangon and moved to the project site when it was finished.

“After the project is done a committee will be formed to manage the power plant,” he said.

U Win Khine said MES also suggested that the university install power-saving light bulbs in Taguntaing: "If they use power-saving bubs, an additional 100 households can get electricity,” he said.