2 firms eye ethanol plants

British firm Bronzeoak Phils. and Bukidnon Sugar Milling Corp. (BUSCO) are planning to construct their respective fuel ethanol plants in Bukidnon province in the next three years.

Bukidnon Rep. Juan Miguel Zubiri, vice chairman of the House committee on natural resources, said the two groups are in the process of completing their feasibility studies.

An ethanol plant with a 25-megawatt (MW) capacity requires about P1.5 billion in investment.

Ethanol is an alternative energy resource produced from crops such as corn, grain sorghum, wheat, sugar and other agricultural feedstocks. It can be used as a transportation fuel, as a blend to gasoline, a component of reformulated gasoline, or a primary fuel with gasoline as blend.

According to Zubiri, Bukidnon has enough sugar cane supply from Lanao del Sur and North Cotabato to provide the requirements for the two proposed plants.

Bills have been filed in Congress to provide the necessary framework for the promotion and use of ethyl alcohol or ethanol as alternative transport fuel.

The bills will prescribe the use of five percent blend of ethanol in the second year of implementation and, eventually, increase this to 10 percent in the fourth year and 100 percent in the fifth year.

The bills also provide for the institutionalization of the National Fuel Ethanol Program to reduce the country’s dependence on imported petroleum products through the commercial use of ethanol in the transport sector. To ensure the success of this endeavor, the government will revive the National Alcogas Program, a past initiative of the government in line with the production of non-conventional and renewable sources of fuel.

The program, which will introduce nationwide production of ethanol from sugarcane, corn and cassava, is seen to positively impact on the agriculture sector as this will generate employment and open another window of opportunity for the advancement of the country in agricultural engineering and technology.

On a larger perspective, the program is another means of addressing the country’s need for accessible, available and affordable fuel sources, particularly in light of the unpredictable oil price trends in the world market.

Zubiri said a 10 percent blend would result to a savings of 80 centavos to P1 per liter.

The Philippines needs about 400 to 500 million liters of ethanol if it will mandate the 10 percent blend or will require the construction of about 20 ethanol distilleries all over the country.

"We have to come up with ethanol mills or we defeat the purpose of energy independence. Otherwise, we will have to import," he said.

Zubiri said the sugar distillers and their co-generation facilities could be used in power generation.

He said that a 1,500-ton cane capacity per day could generate nine MW of power. Of the nine MW of power, only two MW will be utilized by the distillery while the remaining seven MW can be sold to the spot market or to the electric cooperatives that can light up two to three towns.

The lawmaker also assured the public that European car manufacturers, for instance, have proven that a 10 percent ethanol blend in gasoline-fed vehicles has no negative effect on the engine.

Zubiri said he will push for the approval of the ethanol bill because "nobody wants to start building the plants" unless the law is in place. The bill proposes the grant of fiscal and non-fiscal incentives and tax breaks to ethanol projects.