By Alena Mae S. Flores
Eco Enerhiya Ltd. plans to develop 24 biomass projects with a combined generation capacity of 240 megawatts over the medium term.
J. Antonio Lopez, Eco Enerhiya director for business development, told reporters the company planned to build 12 of the projects in the next five years. Investments in the projects are expected to reach $864 million.
Lopez said Eco Enerhiya would start with the 10-MW project in Bondoc Peninsula, Quezon using coco fronds and husks and wood chips as fuel.
“We have the sites for all 24 but different stages of development, the bulk of which will be in Mindanao,” he said.
Lopez said each project was estimated to cost around $36 million. Eco Enerhiya is negotiating with Banco de Oro to finance the Quezon biomass project to be undertaken by the newly created corporate vehicle, Unisan Biogen Corp.
“The total project cost is $36 million or around P1.7 billion. BDO is interested in giving a loan of P1.2 billion, which is 70 percent of the project cost, depending on the bank’s due diligence. Our consortium of investors will provide around P500 million, or 30 percent of the project cost,” he said.
Development Bank of the Philippines is financial adviser for the Quezon project.
Construction has started with commercial operations expected to start in June 2011. The company has signed a power supply agreement with Quezon Electric Cooperative.
Lopez said the company was in talks with possible partners, including PNOC Renewables Corp., for the Quezon biomass project. He declined to give more details.
“We are still in negotiations with all the investors. Even PNOC Renewables is not yet a sure thing. What I can say is that it will be a mix of Filipino and foreign investors,” Lopez said.
Eco Enerhiya’s investors include Lopez, and three partners, Avelino Garcia, Beverly Bollozos and Clima Alternative Investments.
“Our business model is we develop our plants, take minority stake and sell equity to other people,” Lopez said.
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