By Juzel L. Danganan
MANILA, June 14 (PNA) – Mackay Green Energy Inc. Chairman and Chief Executive Officer (CEO) James Mackay said the company will develop 32 Megawatts (MWs) of biomass projects in Mindanao.
”We’ll build three projects in Mindanao, two 10 MW and one 12 MW,” Mackay told reporters.
Both Bukidnon-based Kalilangan Biomass Energy Corp. and Don Carlos Biomass Energy Corp. will serve as the subsidiary for the two 10-MW projects, while Misamis Oriental Biomass Energy Corp. would develop the 12 MW project.
Mackay Green Energy Inc. will have an 80 percent stake from the companies, while the local electric cooperative will get 20 percent.
It will also finance the USD 96 million projects and supply the bana grass crop, which was initially discovered in Africa.
Mackay said the firm will initially plant the crop first, which could grow up to 28 feet in four months.
It has already planted bana grass in Negros with 3,000 hectares, Leyte with 1,000 hectares, Nueva Ecija with 130 hectares. It is also seeking more land in Cebu and Mindanao.
For the power plant, Mackay estimates the 10 MW projects will take nine months to complete construction and is targeted to start commercial operations by the middle of 2016.
The three projects will also avail of the Php 6.63 per kilowatthour (kWh) Feed-in-Tariff (FIT) allowance.
Aside from using bana grass as a biomass fuel, Mackay pointed out coal-fired power plants could also utilize the bana grass that will shrink its carbon emissions.
He added the company is talking to generation companies for its potential supply of bana grass to coal-fired power plants. (PNA)