Business

Wednesday August 24, 2011

QL Resources plans to sell renewable energy

By THOMAS HUONG
huong@thestar.com.my


SHAH ALAM: QL Resources Bhd is looking at selling biogas-generated electricity from its palm oil mill in Tawau, Sabah, under the feed-in tariff system for Malaysia's renewable energy sector, which is due to be implemented in December.

The system will allow domestically produced electricity from renewable energy resources to be sold to power utilities at a fixed premium price for a specific duration.

QL's core divisions are marine products manufacturing, integrated livestock farming and palm oil activities.

Managing director Chia Song Kun said the biogas energy facility at one of the group's two palm oil mills in Sabah would be commissioned this week. The biogas comes from the effluent resulting from the milling process.

“A 50-tonne-per-hour mill can generate two megawatts of electricity.

QL Resources Bhd's palm oil mill in Tawau, Sabah.

“Every palm oil mill can sell electricity if they do this (biogas energy). If this project is successful, we may look at selling green power to the Sabah government,” Chia said after the group's EGM yesterday.

He added that the excess biogas-generated electricity could be used to power other utilities at each mill as well as for the the production of palm pellet biofuel, which is produced from palm oil mill by-products such as empty fruit bunches.

On the murky economic outlook, Chia said QL's performance in the near future might be affected slightly by potentially lower demand for its premium surimi (processed fish paste) products.

“We think there will be weaker demand for higher grade surimi,” he said.

About 30% of QL's marine product sales are from exports to countries such as Japan, South Korea, Singapore, China, Taiwan and Vietnam.

“We are still aiming for double-digit growth this year although the economic environment is not favourable,” Chia said.

For its first quarter ended June 30, the group posted a 3.7% year-on-year jump in net profit to RM27.8mil while revenue grew 18.2% to RM454.57mil.

QL attributed the growth in turnover to improved crude palm oil prices, better volume of palm oil fruits processed and higher unit value of feed raw materials.

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