By Dominique Gabriel G. Bañaga
Negros Occidental Governor Alfredo Marañon, Jr. led the groundbreaking ceremonies for a new 25 Megawatt (MW) Biomass power plant in Barangay Santa Teresa, Manapla, Negros Occidental, yesterday afternoon.
Marañon said the plant would add to the current power supply in Negros Occidental and characterized it as a “clean energy plant” that would help mitigate the effects of climate change.
Claiming an oversupply of power in the province, Marañon said it would not be a big issue since the plant will not be operational until 2020 or 2021 and, by then, the electricity needs would have changed.
He explained Bacolod City is experiencing a construction boom and, by the time they are completed, the reserved energy would be taken up by new call center companies, factories, and other business establishments.
The governor added, the extra power supply would also lower the cost of electricity.
He credited the project for assuring “reasonable” energy prices that would “no longer go up.”
North Negros BioPower, Inc. Chief Operating Officer Arthur Aguilar, meanwhile, said the Biomass plant was designed to meet the standards of the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) and the World Bank.
Aguilar said the plant will primarily run on “cane trash,” wood chippings, and other agricultural scraps.
He further explained the new plant would stop sugar farmers from burning their fields and provide them with extra income through the sale of cane trash.
Aguilar added, the new plant would also provide valuable income to the municipal government of Manapla and provide jobs./DGB, WDJ