Central Azucarera to power up Panay
05/23/2007 | 05:05 PM
One of the first bagasse-run power firms in the country is set to start supplying an additional five megawatt (MW) of electricity to Panay by November, Energy Secretary Raphael P.M. Lotilla said Wednesday.
Lotilla said the Central Azucarera de San Antonio (CASA) electricity would stabilize power supply in the island.
"In Panay, that's important because any additional amount can displace the dispatch of oil-based power plants," Lotilla said.
He said “there will be an impact on the price if it is being sold to a distribution where the plant is embedded, then you don't need to pay the one-peso Transco transmission rate."
Lotilla said the P1.6-billion co-generation facility was built by the group of Steven Chan, brother of singer-composer Jose Marie Chan, who is also a native of Iloilo .
"The co-gen plant is ready to sell to the grid. It's available during the milling season, from November to March, and they can even extend it by an additional month," Lotilla said.
CASA's 14MW biomass co-generation plant in Passi, Iloilo has an excess capacity of about 5MW that can be offered to the distribution utilities in Panay .
"They put up a modern sugar mill and is a cogeneration facility as well, which produces its own power. But in addition to their needs, they will have excess capacity of five-megawatts that they can sell to the grid," he said.
CASA will supply additional power to its sugar mill factory of about 9MW as well as help supply local electricity requirements for Passi City and the towns of Dueñas and San Enrique in Iloilo .
The energy chief noted that facility will be powered by a 200 metric ton per hour suspension fired bagasse boiler and will use sugar cane bagasse, a refuse from its sugar milling operations, to fuel the plant.
CASA also foresees another 12 MW expansion for commercial dispatch in the midterm.
The power firm's investment not only increases renewable energy use in the country but also indicates a trend where large electricity users take steps to improve the cost efficiency of their operations and at the same time provide for their own power requirements.
Under the country's renewable energy policy framework, the contribution of biomass is expected to reach by 250 MW by 2013.
The Philippines generates substantial fuel potential from biomass resources, such as bagasse or sugarcane residue, fuel wood, rice hull, coconut residue and animal waste, coming from extensive agriculture, livestock and forestry industries.
For instance, the Western Visayas, Eastern Visayas and Southern Tagalog regions of the Philippines where the traditional sugar centrals are located generate abundant supply of sugarcane bagasse.
Based on research and field trials on biomass, it showed that integrating the collection and supply of sugarcane for sugar production and cane residue as fuel for energy production is an ideal method of utilizing cheap and widely available fuel resources for bagasse cogeneration projects in the Philippines. - GMANews.TV
Lotilla said the Central Azucarera de San Antonio (CASA) electricity would stabilize power supply in the island.
"In Panay, that's important because any additional amount can displace the dispatch of oil-based power plants," Lotilla said.
He said “there will be an impact on the price if it is being sold to a distribution where the plant is embedded, then you don't need to pay the one-peso Transco transmission rate."
Lotilla said the P1.6-billion co-generation facility was built by the group of Steven Chan, brother of singer-composer Jose Marie Chan, who is also a native of Iloilo .
"The co-gen plant is ready to sell to the grid. It's available during the milling season, from November to March, and they can even extend it by an additional month," Lotilla said.
CASA's 14MW biomass co-generation plant in Passi, Iloilo has an excess capacity of about 5MW that can be offered to the distribution utilities in Panay .
"They put up a modern sugar mill and is a cogeneration facility as well, which produces its own power. But in addition to their needs, they will have excess capacity of five-megawatts that they can sell to the grid," he said.
CASA will supply additional power to its sugar mill factory of about 9MW as well as help supply local electricity requirements for Passi City and the towns of Dueñas and San Enrique in Iloilo .
The energy chief noted that facility will be powered by a 200 metric ton per hour suspension fired bagasse boiler and will use sugar cane bagasse, a refuse from its sugar milling operations, to fuel the plant.
CASA also foresees another 12 MW expansion for commercial dispatch in the midterm.
The power firm's investment not only increases renewable energy use in the country but also indicates a trend where large electricity users take steps to improve the cost efficiency of their operations and at the same time provide for their own power requirements.
Under the country's renewable energy policy framework, the contribution of biomass is expected to reach by 250 MW by 2013.
The Philippines generates substantial fuel potential from biomass resources, such as bagasse or sugarcane residue, fuel wood, rice hull, coconut residue and animal waste, coming from extensive agriculture, livestock and forestry industries.
For instance, the Western Visayas, Eastern Visayas and Southern Tagalog regions of the Philippines where the traditional sugar centrals are located generate abundant supply of sugarcane bagasse.
Based on research and field trials on biomass, it showed that integrating the collection and supply of sugarcane for sugar production and cane residue as fuel for energy production is an ideal method of utilizing cheap and widely available fuel resources for bagasse cogeneration projects in the Philippines. - GMANews.TV
