In Pangasinan, Indon firm eyeing green power plant

BANI, Pangasinan—An Indonesian company is eyeing this agricultural town to be the site of a power plant that will utilize agricultural wastes as fuel.

Kaltimex Energy Philippines, the local affiliate of Kaltimex Energy Indonesia, chose this town for its P100-million biomass power plant project because of the availability of rice hull and straw, considered farm wastes here, Mayor Marcelo Navarro said.

Agricultural wastes generated in the town will be collected to serve as feedstock or fuel for the plant that will produce green energy, Navarro explained.

Bani produces 17,500 tons of agricultural wastes annually, which is 500 tons more than what the plant needs to produce 1 megawatt of power.

The town needs 1.5 megawatts, but the company plans to eventually expand the plant’s generating capacity to 5 megawatts.

With the expansion comes the need for more fuel, so the municipality will buy agricultural wastes of neighboring towns, Navarro said.

The local government of Bani is also set to implement its sweet sorghum planting project that will cover around 1,000 hectares of land.

A hectare can produce 50 tons of sweet sorghum and the bagasse (stalks) will be used as biofuel to run the power plant, Navarro said.

The sweet sorghum juice may be turned into syrup. If fermented, it can be converted to ethanol that may be added to diesel fuel.

“An agronomic study was conducted in the town last year, which showed that sweet sorghum farming is feasible here. Once the plant is operational, farmers will be encouraged to plant it,” Navarro said.

During a recent public consultation, representatives of various sectors in the town expressed their apprehension over the plant’s impact on the environment and resources, like water.

But members of the technical group assured them that since the plant would use a radiator-type cooler, water consumption would be minimal, Navarro said.

“Since it will be using pyrolysis or slow burning method, the byproduct will be carbonized rice hull that can be used as fertilizer,” he said.

The power plant will mean reduced electricity bill for residents, Navarro added.

“Since the power will be directly passed on to the Pangasinan Electric Cooperative I (Panelco I), there will be less transmission costs and the savings will be passed on to the consumers. Also, it is expected that the plant will be subsidized by the National Grid Corporation of the Philippines,” Navarro said.

Kaltimex is the second green-energy company that has expressed interest in establishing a biomass plant in Bani.

Last year, Global Tech Engineering, which is based in Spain, proposed to put up an 8.5-MW plant, but the project was shelved due to the economic slowdown in Europe.

The National Economic and Development Authority has issued a resolution declaring the biomass power plant in Bani as a priority project, Navarro said.