Private firm to put up biomass power plant

TAGBILARAN CITY, Philippines — Another newest addition to the growing number of investors that would supply power in Bohol is the CIMON Bago Bio-Power Plant, Inc. (Philippines), a multi-million business that would use biomass to generate power to the province.

The objective of the company “is to build biomass power plant in Bohol in stages with 100 megawatts and operate them online with Bohol grid. The proposal carries the integration of another renewable source of 30MW of solar farm energy capacity,” the company's technical director Wilfredo Magallano told The Freeman.

The company is one of the presentors of their respective power supply proposals during the meeting held recently in Tagbilaran City with the Bohol Energy Development Advisory Group.

The provincial government has been receiving almost 50 proposals to build island-based power supply following the power outages in the past months, especially after the earthquake and Yolanda that hit Bohol and Leyte provinces.

CIMON Bago estimated that the power demand of Bohol would likely be about 100 MW by year 2043 from the present need of almost 70MW, Magallano said.

Biomass is a fuel developed from organic materials, a renewable and sustainable source of energy used to create electricity or other forms of power. It is a stored energy from the sun, from organic animals and plants, he said.

Biomass power is carbon neutral electricity generated from renewable organic waste that would be dumped in landfills, openly burned or left as fodder for forest fires. When burned, the energy in biomass is released as heat. In power plants, biomass in plants produce steam that runs a turbine to make electricity or that provides heat to industries and homes.

CIMON Bago, in partnership with ICE Tech, Hamada and Lotus Engineering has been operating a similar power plant in Bais City, Negros Oriental, using the so-called giant grass (pennisetum perpurium) or bana grass or Uganda grass, Magallano said.

The company is eyeing to build the biomass power plant at Barangay Poblacion in Trinidad town of Bohol as its initial venture in a 9-hectare lot. Once completed, the plant will operate 7,920 hours in a year, with 35 days for overhaul, combustion reactor of 240 tons per day per unit, and a steam turbine, which is a condensing, multi-blade type.

Since it biomass, there’s a need to propagate the grass (which is a “carbon sink”) in some 25 hectares of unproductive lands located within the range of the plant. The company will buy from farmers their grass produce thru a supply contract to provide income to them. (FREEMAN)