July 2, 2015
Sugaronline | http://goo.gl/WtpRbm
Universal Robina Corp. (URC) said it has commissioned its 46-megawatt (MW) biomass power facility in Negros Occidental, marking the Gokongwei-led conglomerate's maiden foray into power generation, according to the Philippines' Business World.
Half of the facility's output will be used to power its sugar mill, while the remaining will be dispatched to the country's electricity grid.
The listed food giant -- which makes consumer food, animal feeds, flour and sugar -- has at least three sugar mills in Negros from which it produces molasses it uses for a separate fuel ethanol plant.
The company said in a statement yesterday that the newly commissioned biomass power plant forms part of its efforts "to help meet the country's pressing need for both food security and renewable energy."
Energy Secretary Carlos Jericho L. Petilla said the biomass project puts value into bagasse, a by-product of URC's 9,000-tonne-per-day sugar mill in the municipality of Kabankalan.
The new facility, according to the Energy chief, also contributes to the country's "good power mix."
"This is a welcome news that we have the new power plant here... This is an additional 46 MW," Petilla was quoted as saying in the statement.
The project is expected to add value to URC's sugar mill, according to URC President Lance Y. Gokongwei.
URC spent PHP2.52 billion (US$55.8 million) to construct the biomass power plant. The company is also building a US$35 million ethanol distillery plant that will produce some 30 million litres of ethanol fuel a year.
URC is the food and beverage arm of conglomerate JG Summit Holdings, Inc.