“The palm oil plantations powering communities and tackling climate change”, 15 Sept 2015

...The rapid expansion of palm oil cultivation has resulted in the creation of vast wastewater lagoons beside plantations in countries such as Indonesia and Malaysia, the world’s two dominant producers. These murky ponds, containing the brown-hued detritus from processed palm oil fruit, release a huge amount of methane into the atmosphere – a gas so potent it traps around 34 times as much heat as carbon dioxide…“If you can take that methane and burn it to [produce] carbon dioxide you’re immediately reducing the climate impact 34-fold. It’s a huge climate saving, but unless there’s the economic incentive to do so, it won’t happen"[says researcher Philip Taylor]…Only a small amount of this methane is currently being captured, but several palm oil businesses are starting to realise there is a more environmentally and financially sustainable use for wastewater than simply leaving it to fester…REA Holdings has struck an agreement with Indonesia’s state-owned grid to power a nearby community. The joint venture began in April this year and will supply more than 8,500 households with methane-generated electricity…[Also refers to PT Musim Mas]