Finland’s peat soil harvested, turned into energy
KUCHING: Finland is now able to harvest its vast peat soil and turn it into energy as well as for horticulture, thanks largely to the ability of Peatmax in producing innovative machines, says its managing director Juhani Lehti.
He said his company had so far sold many of the machines to Indonesia but had yet to enter the Malaysian market.
“Peat soil in Finland is like a thick carpet which can be as thick as two metres (deep). We are harvesting our peat soil for energy which is very environmentally-friendly,” Juhani said on the sidelines of the 15th International Peat Congress ( IPC) here yesterday.
He said the peat soil harvesting industry employed about 300,000 people which was considered large in a country of 5.5 million people.
According to him, a Peatmax machine carried a tag price of between US$ 2,500 and US$ 250,000 each.
“The beauty about peat soil is that after we have harvested them, they will grow back again. That’s sustainability in the long run,” he said.
Juhani was optimistic that Peatmax machinery could be used in Sarawak, albeit, perhaps with some modification as most of the peat soil here is watery, compared to Finland, where peat soil is mostly dry.
He said he was thankful that he had the chance of coming here for the first time.
“The weather is hot but it’s ok, I enjoy it. And I love the people and the food is very nice,” he said.