17 December in Manila Standard Today (Online)

$1-b biomass investment up

Global Green Power PLC Corp., partially owned by Global Green Power PLD of the UK, plans to invest around $1.03 billion for the production of 420 megawatts of biomass electricity over the next eight years.

David de Montaigne, Global Green president, told reporters during a groundbreaking ceremony for one of its biomass plants, that the company would build 12 biomass power plants with a capacity of 17.5 MW each.

“We will invest $1.035 billion for the entire 420 MW. All of the feasibilities are being done for all of the projects. Each of the project are 17.5-MW [units] but are expandable to 35 MW,” De Montaigne said.

He said each biomass plant would provide around 900 direct and indirect jobs.

Each plant is expected to deliver an estimated P200 million in the first year of operation and P9 billion over 25 years to the local farming and host community through the purchase of local fuels and associated ancillary services such as transport and operations.

Global Green is 40 percent owned by Global Green Power of the UK and 60 percent by local investors.

Global Green on Wednesday inaugurated its 17.5-MW biomass plant here through unit Green Power Nueva Ecija Philippines Inc.

The biomass facility is estimated to cost $43 million.

“It will take 18 months to construct the plant upon financial closing. So we’ve done all the preliminary bidding for all of the equipment now,” De Montaigne said.

Green Power Nueva Ecija will utilize agricultural waste and food processing wastes as fuels that are currently burned in the field or left to rot.

The company expects the plant, which can be expanded up to 35 MW, to come on stream by December 2011.

De Montaigne said the company would tap local lenders such as Land Bank of the Philippines and Development Bank of the Philippines to provide financing to the power plant.

“We have several lenders offering us the funding. We’re just negotiating the best terms for our customers,” he said.

The Ambassadors of the United Kingdom and Finland lead the groundbreaking ceremonies at San Leonardo, Nueva Ecija.

British Ambassador to the Philippines Stephen Lilly, Finnish Ambassador Heikki Hannikainen, Energy Undersecretary Ramon Santos and Agriculture Undersecretary Bernie Fondevilla joined the ceremony.