Climate & Carbon Appendix
Climate & Carbon Appendix
Provincial Biomass Valorization Platform - Korat
Provincial Biomass Valorization Platform - Korat
The Nakhon Ratchasima Provincial Biomass Valorization Platform is a cluster-based, infrastructure-scale solution designed to convert agricultural residues—primarily rice straw and sugarcane leaves—into dispatchable renewable electricity, organic compost fertilizer, and verified climate impact.
With 2.41 million tons of biomass per year currently under-utilized and often openly burned, the platform addresses one of Thailand’s most pressing environmental challenges: PM2.5 air pollution and agricultural emissions. By organizing the province into five operational clusters, each supported by localized composting facilities, optimized biomass logistics, and power generation assets, the platform delivers both environmental outcomes and long-term economic value.
At full scale, the project supports 150.84 MW of renewable power capacity, creates recurring income for rural communities, and establishes a replicable provincial model aligned with climate finance, clean-air policy, and sustainable agriculture objectives.
This appendix quantifies climate mitigation and air-quality benefits generated by the provincial biomass platform in Nakhon Ratchasima Province, Thailand.
System boundary includes:
Agricultural residues: rice straw and sugarcane leaves
Avoided open-field burning
Renewable electricity generation from biomass
Organic compost production and soil application
Excluded (conservative):
Upstream machinery manufacturing
Indirect land-use change (ILUC)
Long-term biochar or advanced soil carbon stacking (future upside)
Item Value
Total biomass utilized 2,413,363 tons/year
Renewable electricity capacity 150.84 MW
Composting capacity 5 × 500,000 tons/year
Baseline practice Open burning / unmanaged decay
Primary mitigation source.
Conservative emission factors (IPCC Tier 1):
Rice straw & sugarcane residue open burning
≈ 1.50 tCO₂e per ton of dry biomass
(CO₂ + CH₄ + N₂O, excluding short-lived climate pollutants)
Formula:
Avoided GHG (tCO₂e) = Biomass diverted (t/yr) × EF_burning
Result (province-wide):
≈ 3.62 million tCO₂e/year avoided
Assumptions:
Net capacity factor: 75%
Thailand grid emission factor (conservative): 0.55 tCO₂e/MWh
Annual electricity generation:
150.84 MW × 8,760 h × 75%
≈ 991,000 MWh/year
Avoided grid emissions:
≈ 545,000 tCO₂e/year
Conservative accounting (partial credit only):
Compost replaces synthetic fertilizer
Improves soil organic carbon (SOC)
Credited impact:
≈ 0.20 tCO₂e per ton of compost input
Assuming full utilization of composting plants:
2.41 million tons × 0.20
≈ 480,000 tCO₂e/year
3.4 Total Annual Climate Impact (Base Case)
Source tCO₂e/year
Avoided open burning ~3,620,000
Grid electricity displacement ~545,000
Soil carbon & fertilizer substitution ~480,000
Total (conservative) ~4.65 million tCO₂e/year
Note: Black carbon reduction, methane oxidation benefits, and long-term SOC permanence are intentionally excluded from this base case and represent upside.
Conservative factor:
≈ 8–12 kg PM2.5 per ton of biomass burned
Applied 8 kg/ton (lower bound)
Formula:
PM2.5 avoided (tons) = Biomass diverted × EF_PM2.5
Province-wide result:
2,413,363 tons × 0.008
≈ 19,300 tons of PM2.5/year avoided
This directly targets Thailand’s seasonal haze crisis and aligns with national Clean Air policy priorities.
Cluster Biomass (t/yr) GHG Reduction (tCO₂e/yr)* PM2.5 Avoided (t/yr)
Bua Yai 425,986 ~820,000 ~3,400
Dan Khun Thot 588,409 ~1,130,000 ~4,700
Pak Thong Chai 415,254 ~800,000 ~3,300
Chaloem Phra Kiat 447,772 ~860,000 ~3,600
Phimai 535,939 ~1,040,000 ~4,300
Total 2,413,363 ~4,650,000 ~19,300
*Includes avoided burning + grid displacement + compost benefits, allocated proportionally.
The platform is designed to be MRV-ready and compatible with:
Verra (VCS) – Avoided burning & renewable energy
Gold Standard – Clean air & sustainable development co-benefits
T-VER (Thailand) – Domestic credit issuance
Article 6 / ITMO-ready (future)
DFI climate impact accounting (ex-ante & ex-post)
Carbon stack design:
Base case: Avoidance credits (burning + grid)
Upside: Removal credits (soil carbon permanence, future biochar)
This appendix directly supports:
GHG ex-ante justification for DFIs and concessional lenders
Results-based finance (RBF) eligibility
Clean air + health co-benefits (PM2.5 monetization narratives)
Scope 3 reduction claims for industrial off-takers
The project delivers measurable, reportable, and verifiable (MRV-compliant) climate outcomes at provincial scale, with replication potential across Thailand and ASEAN.
Black carbon reduction (high short-term climate forcing)
Long-term SOC (Soil Organic Carbon) sequestration (>10 years)
Biochar integration
Carbon-linked electricity tariffs (PGT / CBAM-aligned)
This platform is not a single power plant, but a provincial-scale biomass infrastructure system that transforms open-burning risk into bankable clean energy, soil restoration, and measurable climate benefits.
By integrating power generation, large-scale composting, and disciplined biomass logistics, the project delivers ~4.65 million tCO₂e per year of conservative climate mitigation and avoids approximately 19,300 tons of PM2.5 annually, while generating stable, long-term revenue across multiple value streams.
Designed to be MRV-ready, DFI-aligned, and highly replicable, the Nakhon Ratchasima platform demonstrates how agricultural residues can be elevated from an environmental liability into a strategic climate asset, supporting Thailand’s clean-air transition and offering scalable investment opportunities across the region.