RP-European consortium to put up P3-B power plant in Negros

A consortium of Filipino and European investors is planning to put up in Victorias, Negros Occidental a P3-billion power plant that will use bagasse as fuel.

The consortium, called Victorias Bionergy Inc. (VBI) was formed by Filipino-owned Venture Factors Inc. and UK-based Bronzeoak Ltd.

VBI project director Jose Maria Zabaleta Jr. said the group will construct a 54-megawatt power plant that will run on bagasse, a by-product of sugarcane milling. The plant will be located in Victorias City in Negros Occidental.

Zabaleta said they intend to sell the electricity to be produced by the power plant to Victorias Milling Corp., the biggest integrated sugar operation in the country. He said they also plan to sell to residential/commercial customers and electric cooperatives in the area.

He said they have an existing 30-year power supply contract with Central Negros Electric Cooperatives (Ceneco), the largest power distributor in the area with 92,000 members.

The official said they will be sourcing 80 percent of their bagasse needs from Victorias Milling while the remaining 20 percent will come from thrash left in the fields and other wood chips from local plantations.

According to Zabaleta, they expect to deliver power in time for the projected supply shortage in the Western Visayas area in 2004-2005.

Department of Energy data show that there have been no power plants constructed in the area in the past few years, indicating that a power shortage is in the offing.

DOE estimates that the area will need about 1,010 MW additional capacity in the next eight years or up to 2010.

Based on BVI data, the local sugar industry produces some 643,000 tons of bagasse every year, enough to run a 200-MW power plant.

Zabaleta said if they would be able to tap funds from banks middle of the year, BVI would start construction this year and complete the project in 2004.

The company official said they expect the project to attract some P1 billion worth of investments.