A waste-to-energy consortium is investing $200 million for its state of the art waste-to-energy (WTE) project in Clark.
In a statement, of Metro Clark Waste Management Corp (MCWM) and Plambeck-Emirates Global Renewable Energy LLC said the project will pave the way for waste-to-energy technology that aims to address shortage in waste problem capacity in the Philippines.
The project is a 50/50 joint venture between MCWM and Plambeck-Emirates Global Renewable Energy LLC, a partnership between a German technology firm and the Royal Family of Abu Dhabi.
The consortium has more than fifty years of combined experience in all aspects of waste management, spanning both developed and developing markets across the globe, and will also provide the funding for the entire $200-million project cost.
The WTE project will be built on Metro Clark’s existing 100-hectare site located in the Clark Special Economic Zone in Central Luzon, under the jurisdiction of the Bases Conversion Development Authority (BCDA).
The system will serve the entire Region 3, providing municipal solid waste transfer, treatment, and disposal services to LGU’s and industrial clients in the entire area, as well as producing up to 35-megawatts of power that can be fed back into the region’s distribution grid.
With Metro Clark’s planned system in place, up to 70 percent of waste that would find its way into the landfill, would be used as fuel for the WTE plant. The reduction in waste going into the landfill will expand the lifespan of Metro Clark’s 20-million ton waste facility for at least another 50 years.
“Waste reduction through these means has been proven an effective waste management strategy all
around the world, and our partners have been involved in many such projects in other countries,” said Holger Holst, MCWM chairman and technical director for technology.
“We are excited and encouraged that our leaders see the wisdom in WTE as a key component of a complete waste management strategy,” said Holst. “Metro Clark believes that the WTE plant is the most effective way to efficient and sustainable waste management for Central Luzon, and we look forward to working with BCDA to evaluate and consider our WTE proposal.”
For her part, Vicky Gaetos, MCWM Executive Vice President and General Manager Vicky Gaetos said, “There are many aspects to proper waste management, such as how to properly treat hazardous waste, how to transport it economically, and how to dispose of it while ensuring full compliance with the environmental guidelines laid out in RA 9003, or the Philippines Solid Waste Management Act, but the most pressing waste management issue we face as a country is the severe shortage in landfill capacity.”
MCWM is the country’s first-ever engineered sanitary landfill operating in Sitio Kalangitan, Clark Special Economic Zone. It is the exclusive developer of the solid waste management system of the Clark Freeport and Special Economic Zone, including New Clark City.
The 100-hectare landfill can handle waste of up to 4,000 tons per day, which services leading multinationals in the consumer products and petroleum industries as well as over 90 LGUs including the capital cities of Pampanga, Bataan, Nueva Ecija, and Pangasinan. Recently, Speaker Lord Allan Velasco and Senator Win Gatchalian have urged the Senate to pass the bill that will facilitate the use of WTE in solving the continuing growing problem of waste management in the country. Gatchalian has of course assured the public that any adoption of such technology will require all WTE facilities to strictly comply with environmental laws.