Seaweeds to energize the countryside

MANILA, Philippines - The lowly seaweed can help save the Philippines from the looming power shortage while helping develop the coastal communities by attracting investments for sea farming.

This is according to Sen. Edgardo J. Angara, principal author of R.A. 9513 or the Renewable Energy Resource Act, who disclosed that the Korean Institute for Industrial Technology developed seaweeds as biofuel two years ago.

Angara, who chairs the Congressional Commission on Science, Technology and Engineering (COMSTE), said seaweeds proved to be more cost efficient and advantageous than other sources of biofuel.

“Seaweeds grow faster than other biofuel sources such as sugarcane and wood, and allows for as much as six harvests per year,” he said. “And because seaweeds do not have lignin, pre-treatment is not necessary before converting them to fuel.”

Thus, Angara said, seaweed ethanol is cheaper to produce than other fuels.

He said seaweeds have two collateral advantages:

Their cultivation is not politically sensitive as producing them do not encroach on lands used for food crops; and

Seaweed ethanol absorbs seven times more carbon in the atmosphere and, thus, has greater contribution to climate change.

Angara said there is now a tie-up with South Korea, through its Green Growth Initiative, in building a regional network in Asia and the Pacific in promoting seaweeds as biofuel source.

He said COMSTE and the Department of Science and Technology are currently fine-tuning details of partnership with the South Korean government to develop seaweeds for biofuel.

The seaweed biofuel cooperative venture will be initiated in Aurora, Quirino and Isabela in Luzon and Bohol in Visayas, said Angara, adding there is already a facility in Bohol to jumpstart the project.

Angara said seaweeds have also many other useful byproducts, such as animal feed, fertilizer, soil conditioner and cosmetics. At present, the Philippines is the world’s top producer and exporter of processed seaweeds.

“These are fertile source of livelihood and agri-business investments,” he said. “The potential for energizing and invigorating rural communities – the historic sites of abject poverty – is both tremendous and tantalizing.”

The former agriculture secretary said “a mini agro-industrial complex can spring close to the seaweed farm: poultry and piggery, fruit orchards and vegetable gardens, biopharmaceutical facilities and ecotourism destinations.”

“This project with Korea is just the beginning of many more international ventures on green energy,” Angara said. “I look forward to the day when the Philippines becomes an important player in clean technologies and renewable energy.”