Sumitomo Japan invests in Philippine’s renewable energy projects
Posted on March 26th, 2009
More projects are being undertaken by private groups to further cultivate, develop, enhance and commercialize renewable energy. These projects once fully developed and in commercial use, will help the Philippines be free from its dependency on oil-producing countries.
The latest project that is being undertaken to handle renewable energy utilization is a joint venture between local firm Solutions Using Renewable Energy Inc. (SURE) and Sumitomo Mitsui Finance and Leasing Corp. and Marubeni Corp. through its subsidiary MG Leasing Corp.
Clarence de Guia, SURE corporate secretary said the joint venture would assume several waste-to-energy projects currently being undertaken under the SURE portfolio. Sure Eco Energy Philippines Inc., the name of the new joint venture that was formed is 60-percent owned by the Japanese group and 40 percent by SURE.
Included in the projects of SURE that will be assumed by the joint project is the waste-to-power facility of San Miguel Corp.’s Monterey hog farm in Sumilao town in the southern province of Bukidnon. Aside from the hog farm, SURE also have ongoing biomass-fired power plants that will be assumed by the joint venture. These plants are located in Silangan Farms in Lipa City, Batangas; Holiday Hills Stock and Breeding Farm Corp. in San Pedro Town; and Santos Farms in General Natividad town in the northern province of Nueva Ecija.
MG Leasing’s participation in the joint venture is the provision of additional funds needed to set up and run these projects. A funding infusion, which De Guia disclosed, as amounting to more than $3 million. The joint project could also prompt the Japanese firm to put a Philippine office.
Presently, SURE holds a wide range of renewable energy projects for companies that handle huge amounts of biomass waste, these companies include those in the poultry and hog business. Their technology is developed in-house, which they use it to serve clients on a build-operate-transfer scheme and saves them the extra expenditure of constructing a facility just to dispose of or treat their waster materials.
