RP renewable energy firm to build biomass plant for giant soft drink maker

Solutions Using Renewable Energy, Inc. (SURE), will install a state-of-the-art and environment-friendly power facility for Pepsi-Cola Products Philippines Inc. (Pepsi Philippines), in support of the soft drink maker’s program to assure a supply of cheap electricity and fight global warming.

Officials from SURE and Pepsi Philippines recently signed the agreement for SURE’s construction inside the bottling company’s complex in Rosario, La Union, of a 1.2-megawatt, rice husk- and wood chip-fired cogeneration power plant at a cost of $2.7-million.

Once completed in January 2011, the project will mark the first time that a soft drink bottling plant in the country will integrate a green cogeneration power facility to its complex.

SURE is a Philippine firm with the widest portfolio of local renewable energy projects. Its projects include the biggest integrated waste-to-energy project in Vietnam.

Pepsi Philippines, one of the biggest soft drink companies in the country, operates 11 production facilities spread around the country.

Lawyer Clarence de Guia, SURE spokesman, said that the cogeneration project for Pepsi Philippines earlier earned an award from the US Agency for International Development (USAID) as one of two clean energy investment opportunities in the country that show the most promising prospect.

SURE won the award at the end of the first USAID-Private Finance Advisory Network Clean Energy Investor Forum, where five other renewable energy firms were selected finalists in the business plan competition.

According to de Guia, Pepsi Philippines now taps two sources of electricity for its La Union bottling complex. The Luzon grid provides the bottling complex’s main supply of electricity, while a diesel-fired generator, which consumes 620,000 liters of bunker fuel a year, produces steam for cleaning soft drink bottles.

“The cogeneration power plant will replace both existing sources of electricity of Pepsi Philippines’ La Union production line, while cutting down by 20 percent the facility’s expenses for electricity and steam production,” De Guia explained.

Unlike a conventional power generator, which produces only electricity, a cogeneration plant allows the production of heat and electricity in one single process.

In traditional power stations, exhaust gases are uselessly discharged through the chimney. In contrast, the gases produced by a cogeneration plant are first cooled to release their energy into useful hot water or steam circuit. In a tri-generation plant, the process goes one step further by capturing the cooled gases for other uses.

“The use of rice husk and wood chip will translate to the avoidance of 2.7 million liters of fossil fuel equivalent per year,” de Guia added. “The avoided fossil fuel would have spewed into the atmosphere more than 3,000 tons per year of carbon emissions.”

The cogeneration project, therefore, is Pepsi Philippines’ support to the global campaign against greenhouse gas emissions and global warming. At the same time, the cogeneration plant will assure Pepsi Philippines of a stable supply of electricity.

De Guia also said that Pepsi Philippines will save on construction cost, because SURE will deliver the facility for free under a 10-year build-own-operate-supply-and transfer arrangement.

Under the arrangement, SURE shall operate the facility to generate electricity and steam, which shall be used and paid for by Pepsi Philippines on a guaranteed take-or-pay basis during the 10-year cooperation period.

SURE will sell the electricity and steam at prices that are at least 20 percent cheaper than the indexed prices of electricity and steam.

During the 10-year cooperation period SURE shall retain title to all fixtures, fittings, plant and equipment that it will construct, fabricate, install and paid for. At the end of the cooperation period, SURE shall transfer to Pepsi Philippines all its ownership rights, title and interest in and to the fixtures, fittings, plant and equipment and to all improvements comprising the facility.

The transferred assets shall be free from any lien or encumbrance, and their transfer shall be done without requiring Pepsi Philippines to pay any additional compensation for SURE.

published in: http://www.mb.com.ph/articles/251163/rp-renewable-energy-firm-build-biomass-plant-giant-soft-drink-maker

San Miguel Pure Foods Vietnam produces power from biogas

The Saigon Times Daily 11/6/2009 2:29:36 PM

HCMC – San Miguel Pure Foods Vietnam Company Limited in the southern province of Binh Duong is cooperating with the Philippines-based SURE Company to install a power generating facility to convert biogas collected from the company’s wastewater reservoirs, said an official of the province’s Department of Planning and Investment.

Le Viet Dung, deputy director of the department, said related agencies of the province had agreed for San Miguel and SURE to invest some US$10 million into the power generation project in a move to help treat wastewater discharged from pig breeding-farms in Lai Hung Village, Ben Cat District.

Dung told the Daily that San Miguel Pure Foods Vietnam and its Filipino partner were completing final procedures to benefit by selling carbon credits from developing this project in accordance with the Kyoto Protocol’s clean development mechanism.

“Electricity generated from biogas will be sold back for San Miguel Pure Foods Vietnam’s production activities, and this project will also help the company limit bad smells into the nearby environment,” Dung said.

In July, local environmental inspectors discovered a broken embankment of a wastewater reservoir of San Miguel Pure Foods Vietnam and some 230,000 cubic meters of wastewater in nearby Ben Suc Spring and Thi Tinh River.

HCMC-based Saigon Agriculture Inc. (Sagri) is investing some US$1 million to install electricity generators using biogas collected at its Phuoc Long pig breeding farm in Pham Van Coi Ward in HCMC’s Cu Chi District.

Bui Ninh Son, manager of Sagri’s Office of Projects Management, told the Daily that the Phuoc Long pig breeding farm was breeding some 17,000 pigs. Wastewater at the farm releases large amounts of biogas every day that could be collected for power generation.

Huynh Kim Tuoc, director of the HCMC Energy Conservation Center, said the city had a potential source of biogas from pig farms in Hoc Mon and Cu Chi which could be collected to produce 50 megawatts.

However, Tuoc told the Daily the city had no overall project to collect biogas for power production.

http://saigonvrg.com.vn/svi/?module=newsdetail&newscode=818

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August 2009

Sure wins big ‘green’ project in Vietnam

Written by Paul Anthony A. Isla / Reporter

BusinessMirror Thursday, 16 July 2009 20:44

RENEWABLE energy company Solutions Using Renewable Energy Inc. (Sure) won a contract to construct and operate the biggest integrated waste-to-energy project in Vietnam.

In a statement, Suresaid it bested other bidders from Japan and Singapore to win the contract from San Miguel Pure Foods (VN) Co. Ltd. (SMPFV), a Vietnam-based joint venture between US meat manufacturing giant Hormel Foods Corp. and Philippine diversified conglomerate San Miguel Corp.

Clarence de Guia, Sure spokesman, said the decision of the Vietnam government allows the company to form a 100-percent foreign-owned subsidiary.

The subsidiary, to be named Sure Vietnam Joint Stock Co. (Sure-VNJSC), will serve as the vehicle to implement the renewable energy (RE) project for SMPFV, which will be implemented via the build-operate-transfer (BOT) scheme. Sure controls 60 percent of the joint-venture company, while Japan’s MGL Leasing Corp. keeps the remaining 40-percent interest.

“As far as we know, the project marks the first time a Philippine company won an overseas bidding for a waste-to-energy contract,” de Guia said.

The Sure spokesman said this is, by far, the biggest waste-to-energy project venture in Vietnam and that it will be integrated into the largest single-site hog farm in that country.

The renewable energy facility, expected to cost $4.4 million, will be located in Cau Sat Hamlet, Lai Hung Village, Ben Cat District, in Binh Duong Province, where SMPFV operates a hog farm.

The renewable energy project will convert waste from this hog farm into biogas to run a 2.3-megawatt power plant.

Aside from converting waste into fuel, de Guia said Sure also committed to construct a facility that will convert sludge into fertilizer, as well as a zero-discharge waste treatment plant that will recycle used water from the farm into 100-percent bacteria-free water.

In exchange for all the benefits it will get from the facility, the SMPFV will pay Sure a service fee for every kilowatt-hour of electricity that will be generated by the power plant.

The service fee will last for only eight years, corresponding to the effectivity of the BOT contract.

At the end of the contract, de Guia said Sure will turn over the entire facility to SMPFV for free.

Aside from power and fertilizer sales, expected income from the project includes proceeds from selling certified emission reductions (CERs) under the Clean Development Mechanism (CDM) of the Kyoto Protocol on stabilizing unwanted greenhouse gases. De Guia said Sure has committed to secure on behalf of SMPFV the necessary approvals for the accreditation of the waste-to-energy facility as a CDM project.

Under the Kyoto Protocol, rich countries must cut greenhouse-gas emissions by an average of 5 percent by 2012, compared with levels in 1990. These countries can make up for their commitments under the treaty by funding greenhouse gas-reduction projects, like waste-to-energy facilities, located in poor countries.

These environment-friendly projects earn CERs or carbon credits, which represent the amount of carbon dioxide avoided by these clean projects. The value of global trading for carbon credits topped the $60-billion mark last year.

Newslink: http://businessmirror.com.ph/home/companies/13305-ginebra-san-miguel-expects-improved-earnings-this-year.html

Japanese-backed group to run SMC’s energy project in Vietnam

Philstar.com By Donnabelle L. Gatdula Updated July 17, 2009 12:00 AM

MANILA, Philippines – The Japanese-backed firm Solutions Using Renewable Energy Inc. (SURE) has bagged the contract to construct and operate San Miguel’s biggest integrated waste-to-energy project in Vietnam.

SURE said the deal was entered with San Miguel Pure Foods (VN) Co. Ltd. (SMPFV), the Vietnam-based joint venture between US meat manufacturing giant Hormel Foods Corp. and San Miguel, the largest food and beverage conglomerate in Southeast Asia.

SURE spokesman Clarence de Guia said the Vietnamese government has allowed the company to form a 100-percent foreign-owned subsidiary.

Thus, SURE Vietnam Joint Stock Co. will be the vehicle to implement the renewable energy (RE) project for SMPFV under the build-operate-transfer (BOT) scheme.

SURE controls a 60-percent stake while Japan’s MGL Leasing Corp., keeps the remaining 40-percent ownership in SURE VNJSC.

“As far as we know, the SURE project marked the first time a Philippine-based company has won an overseas bidding for a waste-to-energy contract,” De Guia said.

“SURE is also honored to find out that the waste-to-energy project is so far the biggest venture of that nature for Vietnam, and it will be integrated into the largest single-site hog farm in that country,” he added.

The renewable energy facility, costing $4.4 million, will rise at Cau Sat Hamlet, Lai Hung Village, Ben Cat District in Binh Duong Province, where SMPFV operates a hog farm.

The project will convert to biogas waste from the hog farm to fuel a 2.3-megawatt power plant.

De Guia said aside from disposing and converting waste into fuel, SURE also has committed to construct a plant for converting sludge into fertilizer, as well as a zero-discharge waste treatment plant that will recycle used water from the farm into 100-percent bacteria-free water.

In exchange for all the benefits it will get from the facility, SMPFV will pay SURE a service fee for every kilowatthour of electricity to be generated by the power plant. The service fee will last for only eight years, corresponding to the effectivity of the BOT contract. At the end of the contract, SURE will turn over the entire facility to SMPFV for free.

Aside from power and fertilizer sales, income from the project includes expected proceeds from selling certified emission reductions (CERs) under the Clean Development Mechanism (CDM) of the Kyoto Protocol on stabilizing unwanted greenhouse gases.

Under the Kyoto Protocol, rich countries must cut greenhouse gas emissions by an average of five per cent by 2012, compared with their levels in 1990. These rich countries can make up for their commitments under the treaty by funding greenhouse gas reduction projects, like waste-to-energy facilities, located in poor countries. These environment-friendly projects earn CERs or carbon credits, which represent the amount of carbon dioxide avoided by these clean projects.

The value of global trading for carbon credits topped the $60-billion mark last year.

According to De Guia, SURE has organized a multinational group of partners and suppliers to package the Vietnam project. Aside from MGL Leasing as equity partner, SURE has tapped companies from India and China as equipment suppliers.

SURE has also partnered with two Danish firms, AEM Engineering and Gosmer Biogas, for the design of the Vietnamese facility, and with Philippine-based AV Garcia for the project’s power component.

MGL Leasing, one of Japan’s biggest leasing firms, is also SURE’s partner for a joint venture company that operates several renewable energy ventures in the Philippines.

SURE was organized by a group of RE and environment experts that include retired officials and consultants from the Department of Environment and Natural Resources. De Guia himself headed the legal department of the DENR when Elisea “Bebet” Gozun was the agency’s head.

News Link: http://www.philstar.com/Article.aspx?articleId=487364&publicationSubCategoryId=66

2 Filipino firms win top USAID energy awards

By: Madel R. Sabater
Manila Bulletin
19 June 2009 p.12

The United States Agency for International Development (USAID) has conferred the Clean Energy Financing Award on a Filipino independent power producer in recognition of its energy products in the country.

ASEA One Power Corp. (AOPC) won first place in the USAID-Private Finance Advisory Network (PFAN) Clean Energy Finance Award category. The AOPC is an independent power producer in several islands in the country , perticularyly in Palawan and Siquijor.

Winning second place was the Solutions Using Renewable Energy (SURE). It is also a Filipino-owned company with renewable energy (RE) projects in Southeast Asia.

The two bested for other finalists, namely: Clean Tech Energy Systems, Cleansave Waste Corporation, Solarco, and Longogan Holdings.

The six were chosen by PFAN as finalists during the Philippine Business Plan Competition.
All six projects had a total investment velue of more than US$500 million, comprising debt and equity financing.

The six were chosen for their potential to reduce greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions by more than 1.5 million metric tons (MT) of carbon dioxide per year, according to USAID.

“The fact that they are winners make the projects more recognizable, especially to investors,” USAID regional environmental advisor Orestes Anastasia said in a phone interview with Manila Bulletin.

Bundle 1 PDD on UNFCCC Website

*SURE Eco Energy Bundle 1 Philippines Swine Waste to Energy Project

Host party(ies)： Philippines, SURE Eco Energy Philippine Inc.

Other paty: Marubeni Corporation、MG Leasing Corporation

Methodology(ies):  AMS-I.D. ver. 13、AMS-III.D. ver. 14 Estimated annual reductions*:  36,776

DOE/AE:  SGS United Kingdom Ltd.

Period for comments:  09 Jun 09 – 08 Jul 09

【PDD】

http://cdm.unfccc.int/UserManagement/FileStorage/KPTJM9Z2EC1NLSHVAQ54YRG70ODFIB

Solar power lights up Kalinga villages

Written by Paul Anthony A. Isla / Reporter

Tuesday, 12 May 2009 18:36

USING energy the sun radiates, Japanese-led Solutions Using Renewable Energy Inc. (Sure) has energized three remote communities in Kalinga province.

In a statement, Sure said it was tapped to use solar power for the energy needs of the three barangays in Pinukpuk, Kalinga, as the mountain villages are far from the nearest transmission lines.

Sure has implemented the Pinukpuk lighting program in coordination with Kapit-bisig Laban sa Kahirapan–Comprehensive and Integrated Delivery of Social Services (Kalahi-CIDDS), a nongovernment organization involved in poverty alleviation.

Connecting barangays Asibanglan, Limos and Ba-ay in Pinukpuk to the Luzon power grid “is not feasible at this time due to the huge cost involved,” lawyer Clarence de Guia, Sure spokesman, explained.

Pinukpuk is a municipality in Kalinga province, 530 kilometers north of Manila and three to four hours’ drive from the provincial capital of Tabuk. The nearest transmission line to Pinukpuk is about 7 km away.

“Solar power offers the best alternative in this situation, because the barangays are off-grid locations. Moreover, solar energy is environment-friendly; it creates no toxic carbon emissions, which may upset Kalinga’s ecosystem,” said de Guia.

Early this month Sure completed the first phase of its program for the barangays, which required the immediate distribution of 440 units of 12-watt solar panels. Each carries a 7-watt compact fluorescent lantern and a 12V/7AH battery.

Sure said the distribution comes under a subsidized financing program.

The second and last phase of Sure’s contract requires the firm to set up a solar-powered recharging station in each of the three barangays, which will allow the recharging of cellular phones, laptops, television sets, flashlights and handheld radio sets, powered by rechargeable batteries.

“Most of these gadgets are considered rarities in the barangays, and their absence contributes to the area’s isolation,” pointed out Roderick Dumallig, a Kalahi-CIDDS community worker, adding that the use of modern devices will break the isolation of the villages from the rest of the world.

Sure said both phases of the project cost only P2.93 million, which is a fraction of the investments needed to connect the barangays to the Luzon power grid.

“The use of lanterns has an immediate impact on the barangays by extending the productive hours of the residents, many of whom are farmers and handicraft makers,” Dumallig said.

According to Dumallig, residents usually stop working at dusk as kerosone lamps and candles did not provide sufficient lighting.

That was before the solar-powered lanterns arrived. Dumallig said the solar panels also helped residents save on expenses for candles and kerosene.

“Before the introduction of solar power, the recipients, who earn between P500 to P1,000 a month, spent half of their income on kerosene and candles,” he added.

“Now, they devote more time to their handicraft business, and they save more of their income from the cottage industry for their other needs,” Dumallig noted.

“The solar-powered lanterns also have allowed the children to focus longer on their home works. And we expect the kids to learn their lessons faster than before with the use of the solar lanterns,” Dumallig said.

Business Mirror:http://www.businessmirror.com.ph/home/regions/10170-solar-power-lights-up-kalinga-villages.html

Japanese firm completes first solar power project in Kalinga

Updated May 13, 2009 12:00 AM MANILA, Philippines – PHILSTAR

A Japanese-affiliated renewable energy firm has completed the first solar power project in Kalinga province.

Solutions Using Renewable Energy Inc. (SURE), an affiliate of Japan’s MG Leasing Corp., said the project will provide electricity to the barangays in Pinukpuk, Kalinga which are too far from the nearest transmission lines.

SURE spokesman, Clarence de Guia said the Japanese-backed power firm saw the need to put up the solar panels in the area as connecting to the Luzon power grid the three Pinukpuk barangays – Asibanglan, Limos and Ba-ay – is not feasible at this time due to the huge cost involved.

Pinukpuk is a municipality in Kalinga province, located 530 kilometers north of Manila and about three to four hours drive from the provincial capital of Tabuk. The transmission line nearest the three Pinukpuk barangays is about seven kilometers away.

“Solar power offers the best alternative in this situation, because the barangays are off-grid locations,” De Guia said. “Moreover, solar energy is environment-friendly; it creates no toxic carbon emissions, which may upset Kalinga’s ecosystem.”

SURE, a firm with the most diversified mix of local renewable energy projects, earlier affiliated with MG Leasing, one of Japan’s largest leasing firms, by forming a joint venture company, SURE Eco Energy Philippines Inc. (SURE Eco). The joint venture will serve as the corporate vehicle in implementing several renewable energy projects in the country.

SURE is implementing the Pinukpuk lighting program in coordination with Kapit-bisig Laban sa Kahirapan – Comprehensive and Integrated Delivery of Social Services (KALAHI-CIDDS), a non-government organization involved in poverty alleviation.

SURE said the first phase of the project required the immediate distribution to the residents of 440 units of 12-watt solar panels, each with a seven-watt compact fluorescent lantern and a 12V/7AH battery. This is being undertaken under a subsidized financing program.

The second and last phase of SURE’s contract requires the firm to set up a solar-powered recharging station in each of the three barangays.

The stations will allow the residents to recharge other gadgets, like cellphones, laptops, television sets, flashlights and hand-held radio sets, powered by rechargable batteries.

“Most of these gadgets are considered rareties in the barangays, and their absence contributes to the area’s isolation,” Roderick Dumallig, a KALAHI-CIDDS community worker, pointed out. “The use of these modern devices will, therefore, break the isolation of the villages from the rest of the world.”

Both phases of the SURE project cost only P2.93 million or just a fraction of the investments that otherwise would have to be raised to connect the barangays to the Luzon power grid.

“The use of the lanterns has made an immediate impact on the barangays by extending the productive hours of their residents, many of whom are farmers and handicraft makers,” said Dumallig.

“Before the distribution of the lanterns, most residents stopped their handicraft work once it got dark, because kerosone lamps and candles did not provide them sufficient lighting,” he added.

The solar panels also helped the residents save on expenses for candles and kerosene. Before the introduction of solar power, the recipients, which earn only between P500 to P1,000 a month, spent half of their income just for kerosene and candles, Dumallig said. – Donnabelle Gatdula

LINK:http://www.philstar.com/Article.aspx?articleId=466927&publicationSubCategoryId=66

Sumilao Biogas Project on UNFCCC

See link:

http://cdm.unfccc.int/Projects/Validation/DB/KZA201WM31SK5XH2KHK112SW8O3VOX/view.html