By Leslie D. Venzon
MANILA, Feb. 18 (PNA) — Listed sugar group Roxas Holdings, Inc. (RHI) and Global Business Power Corporation (GBPC) are gearing up to roll out the 40-megawatt cogeneration facility in Negros Occidental that aims to contribute to the national grid.
In a disclosure to the Philippine Stock Exchange, RHI said it is on its final stages of discussions with GBPC, the power generation arm of conglomerate GT Capital Holdings Inc., to award the front-end engineering design (FEED) for the biomass project.
The FEED is part of a memorandum of agreement signed by RHI and GBPC in December for the cogen facility that they will be constructing.
Slated for completion in 2018, the facility will rise in RHI’s complex near its Central Azucarera de la Carlota, Inc. plant in La Carlota City.
RHI Group Chairman Pedro E. Roxas said the awarding of the FEED is a significant development for the joint venture’s 40-MW facility.
Early last year, Pöyry Energy Inc., an international consulting and energy company, carried out a feasibility study for the project.
“RHI and GBPC are confident that they can meet the 2018 completion target of the project,” he said.
Roxas added that with the projected power outages this year and the expected doubling of global energy demand by 2050 given the high growth levels in populations, the cogen facility will equip RHI to have stable power supply and contribute to the national grid.
“We hope to get the facility up and running in three years’ time and that we can help address the growing concern on energy supply,” RHI president and chief executive officer Renato C. Valencia said.
Valencia said the cogen facility will help RHI cut down its production costs and optimize its efficiency. (PNA)