By Danny Estacio
CANDELARIA, Quezon — A US$9.7 million chicken manure, rice, and corn silage biogas facility, the first commercial biogas plant in the Philippines, will soon rise at Sitio Pulong Gubat, Barangay Sta. Catalina Sur, following the official ground breaking on Friday, in this town.
Led by Singapore Ambassador to the Philippines Kok Li Peng, officials of First Quezon Biogas Corporation (FQBC) headed by Albert Alquiros, YMT Technologies and Ventures Philippines Inc. led by Taher Bokthier, national, municipal, barangay and environment officials, broiler raisers in Quezon and Batangas and Quezon Governor David C. Suarez, represented by Provincial Veterinarian Dr. Flomel Caguicla, formally announced the start of construction of the 1.2 megawatts plant.
Alquiros, president of FQBC explained that the biogas power plant will use chicken manure and other agricultural wastes, including rice straws, as fuel to produce electricity supporting the Luzon grid, with the partner company in Quezon of Yamato Technologies, the Japanese company based in Singapore.
Alquiros added that the Yamato Technologies will provide the technology while FQBC will manage the building and operations of the biogas plant.
He added the plant will require 20 tons annually of agricultural wastes which Alquiros dubbed "by-products" that will considerably lessen the problems previously encountered by poultry operators and eventually realize zero waste program in this town “in waste-to-energy, wastewater, and biogas projects”, he added.
He added that that the host village, 22 families residing near the plant, will be provided free electricity of 50 kilowatts per month, aside from jobs, livelihood and other business opportunities upon the plant’s operation.
Ambassador Peng, on the other hand, expressed support for the project, citing it's ironic that Singapore supports such project and yet it does not have poultry farms, only vegetable farms.
On the part of the local government, Caguicla read the message of Suarez that Quezon has many sources of poultry wastes to operate the biogas plant. He said Suarez is a supporter of projects that aim to improve the economy of the province and at the same time protect the environment.