Treñas non-committal on PhilBIO's proposal
City Mayor Jerry Treñas has yet to give his nod on the proposal of Philippine Bio-Sciences Company Inc. (PhilBIO) to put up a plant that would convert biodegradable wastes from the city's dumpsite in Calajunan, Mandurriao into energy.
Treñas said one more company is set to present their proposal regarding alternative energy for the city other than the PhilBIO. The mayor, however, refused to name or give a background of the other company.
PhilBIO is proposing to put up Restore Biogas Cogeneration Facility (ReStore), which could turn biodegradable wastes in Calajunan dumpsite into energy.
Based on PhilBIO's presentation 50 tons of biodegradable waste can generate one megawatt of power.
In the PhilBIO's proposal, the city does not have to spend for the installation of the facility. The local government unit should only provide the site. The interested local government unit could use Special Purpose Vehicle (SPV) through a build-operate-transfer (BOT) scheme or a joint venture with private investors.
For the Calajunan dumpsite, PhiBIO proposes to use 5,000 square meters of the dumpsite's area for the project. The site would have a Cigar, park, a modular landfill area and a treatment facility. The remaining portion of the property can still be used for the Material Recovery Facility (MRF). The project will last for 25 years.
The action to recollect and reuse the non-biodegradable waste would be taken cared of by the local government or any other interested party that will do business with the PhilBIO. The company could only process biodegradable wastes. They do not have technology to process hospital and hazardous wastes.
The city government is open to hear proposals from different companies involved in the power industry. As to date, Treñas is non-committal about PhilBIO's proposal until all the terms of reference are clearly defined by the proponent.
PhilBIO is the second company to offer a proposal to the city to help address its power problem. Metrobank's Global Business Power Corporation earlier offered to put up a 100 megawatt coal-fired power plant in Brgy. Ingore, La Paz district.