Nov 26 2010
Japan’s Itochu reveals its plans of establishing an Ethanol Project in Isabela with funding from a local bank to the tune of $120 Million.
Kenichi Hisatomi, General Manager, Itochu, revealed that this joint venture termed as Green Future Innovations (GFI) was waiting to be certified by the Philippine Economic Zone Authority, after which construction work on the ethanol facility would commence. He further stated that one third of the project would be financed by equity, and the other two thirds from a bank loan from BDO.
The plant is expected to have a production capacity of 50 million liters per year. It will also incorporate a 19 MW capacity biomass power unit, out of which 13 MW were to be supplied to the Luzon grid, which supplies power in the province.
Hisatomi also mentioned that the GFI would use sugarcane as feedstock by the year 2012. He disclosed that the company’s focus would be on the construction and then the commercial operations. Only then expansion programs would be considered. He observed that for the domestic ethanol industry’s development, the Department of Energy, must release the vitally important guidelines, for determination of the volumes of oil, companies could import. He also felt that these guidelines should protect the local ethanol industry. According to him, the nonexistence or lack of the importation guidelines was impeding dialogues for ethanol supply with oil companies. He divulged that even though GFI was negotiating with many oil companies, those firms were unable to source out their ethanol requirements from domestic producers, because of the absence of the guidelines.