Thailand's mining and power generation conglomerate Banpu plans to adopt biomass co-firing for all its combined heat and power plants (CHPs) in northern China.

It has fully implemented 10pc biomass co-firing at its coal-fired Zhengding power plant. The plant has a total installed capacity of 139MW electrical (MWe), including a power generation capacity of 73MW and steam production output at 370 t/hr. The type of biomass used at this plant could not be immediately ascertained, and Banpu did not respond to a request for comment.

Banpu's Zouping CHP, with a combined capacity of 233MWe, 125MW of power and steam output at 600 t/hr, is "undergoing commissioning", the company said.

Its plans to co-fire with biomass at the 246MWe Luannan coal-fired plant is in the "bidding phase," the company added. The plant has a power capacity of 150MW and steam production output at 538 t/hr.

The move to boost biomass co-firing at its operations in China is part of the company's plans to reduce carbon emissions and earn revenue from carbon emission allowances (CEAs)— a type of carbon credit or emission permit, giving rights to emit a certain amount of greenhouse gases within a carbon market. CEAs are part of a "cap-and-trade" system, designed to reduce overall emissions.

Higher earnings from CEAs from its Chinese plants and cost management in the coal business lifted its net profit in the first quarter. Banpu reported a net profit of 574mn baht ($17.3mn) before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortisation in the first quarter, up by 19pc from the same period in 2024.

By Nadhir Mokhtar