EnMass Energy develops new approach to renewable energy for Pakistan

EnMass Energy, a US-based green biomass start-up founded in 2015, is commencing its first large-scale biomass energy development project.

EnMass, headquartered in Durham, North Carolina, takes crop waste and turns it into clean and sustainable electricity for rural communities, helping them 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 represents a “perfect storm” of both economic need for reliable power and biomass potential, the company says.

Pakistan faces a 6GW supply gap, meaning the electrical grid fails to meet 40% of its domestic demand on average, and businesses, homes, and factories are without power sometimes 12 hours a day.

EnMass’ solutions to the power crisis in Pakistan have already prompted four bulk electricity purchasers to sign contracts for development and off-take of a total of 50MW power capacity.

The first EnMass Energy projects are expected to break ground in early 2017, with an additional 200MW 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 and serve as important stakeholders in the EnMass Energy supply chain network,” said EnMass founder and CEO Andrew Joiner.

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, which is primarily due to the fragmented nature of the agricultural sector in the country.

EnMass Energy will utilize cotton stalks that are routinely burned 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 in relatively high quantities.

In fact, biomass as a fuel source can economically generate at least 3.4GW of power in the stable Punjab region alone, EnMass forecasts.