Green Future Innovations to build P6-billion ethanol plant in Isabela

MANILA, Philippines -  Green Future Innovations Inc. (GFII) is putting up a P6-billion bioethanol plant and cogeneration project in Isabela.

GFII has officially launched recently what is believed to be one of the country’s biggest renewable energy (RE) projects in the Philippines.

Reynaldo P. Bantug, GFII president, said the bioethanol plant in San Mariano, Isabela, is an offshoot of the partnership among top RE investors in Asia.

“This is the brainchild of GFII, a newly formed venture among Japan’s Itochu Corp. and JGC Corp., the Philippine Bioethanol and Energy Investments Corp., and Taiwanese holding company GCO.

Bantug said the multi-billion mega project will have a capacity of 54 million liters of bio ethanol and produce 100,000 MW of energy annually.

The GFII executive said “right now, we import our fuel needs, and foreign exchange goes to the rich Middle Eastern nations, this project will grow biofuel in the field,” he said.

The project will grow sugarcane in 11,000 hectare of idle and underdeveloped land for use as feedstock. Its massive infrastructure will produce enough bioethanol to displace 54 million liters of imported fossil fuel.

Apart from the economic benefits of the project, GFII reiterates the socio-economic impact this will bring to the farmers in the north. 

To be able to source 700,000 tons of sugarcane per year, GFI shall be signing growership contracts with about 4,000 farmer families thus having direct impact on the lives of about 20,000 Filipinos. 

GFII estimates it will need to spend about P1.6 billion per year for its feedstock, which shall have tremendous impact on the local economy of San Mariano.

The company official also said that more than 15,000 Filipinos will be employed by this project. 

The bio-ethanol plant is expected to be operational by the second quarter of 2012.

Senator Miguel Zubiri, who authored the Biofuels and Renewable Energy Acts, led the launching of the GFII project along with Isabela governor Faustino Dy III. 

The Biofuels Act of 2006 passed into law on Jan. 12, 2007, mandates that at least five percent of the total gasoline sold in the country be blended with five percent bioethanol by February 2009 and upon the recommendation of the National Biofuels Board and the Department of Energy, increases this mandated blend to 10 percent by 2011.