(The Philippine Star) | Updated October 31, 2016 - 12:00am
MANILA, Philippines –
The Aboitiz Power Group is now undertaking commissioning and testing for its
first biomass power plant in Lian, Batangas targeted under the feed-in tariff
(FIT) scheme.
Aseagas Corp.’s
8.8-megawatt (MW) biomass plant has started undergoing commissioning, which
could take a couple of months before it operates commercially, said Danel
Aboitiz, Aboitiz Power Corp.’s executive vice president and COO for its oil
business unit.
“(It’s) hard to say,
(but commercial operations) should be in the next two months or so.
Commissioning is very difficult to predict especially in that technology where
it’s our first time to commission that kind of power plant,” he said.
The power plant
produces 8.8 MW — which could power up 22,000 households — by processing
wastewater directly from Absolut Distillery Inc. in the same location.
Since this is the
company’s first biomass plant, AboitizPower will focus first on the existing
plant before expanding it, the company official said.
“This is our first
biogas plant and at the moment we are focusing on commissioning that first
phase,” Aboitiz said. “Generally, we like to enter into the technology,
complete the commissioning and if all goes well then we look at expanding in
that fuel.”
The biomass technology
is unlike that of mini hydropower plants, where the AboitizPower group has
experience in developing.
“Unlike for example our
mini hydros where we’ve been doing that for decades now, we are willing to
start and develop multiple projects in different parts of the Philippines all
at the same time,” Aboitiz said.
Originally planned as a
liquid biomethane plant, it was then converted into a biomass plant, using
methane to run offer capacity to the grid through the FIT scheme. Under the
mechanism, biomass has an allocation target of 250 MW and a FIT rate of P6.63
per kilowatt hour.
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