Release
Clenergen Corporation announced that the company’s wholly-owned subsidiary, Clenergen Philippines Corporation, have now commenced installation of its first 2MW/e gasification biomass power plant on the island of Romblon, Philippines under the terms of its agreement with National Power Corporation (NPC). In tandem, the company has signed a Memorandum of Agreement with Romblon University to supply up to 400 acres of land to cultivate Beema Bamboo as the energy crop to provide fuel (wood chips) for the gasification power plant, along with the use of its facilities for nursery and tissue culture production of Beema Bamboo plants to supply surrounding islands with saplings for similar installations. The company is targeting up to 50 similar installations over the next 36 months.
Currently most remote islands in the Philippines rely upon diesel generated electricity from leased gensets, where the average cost per KW/e is in excess of US 26 cents. As a result, NPC have had to provide up to US 13 cents per KW/e subsidies in order to supply affordable electricity to rural communities. Romblon Island, with a population of 250,000 people, currently experiences up to 8 hours a day of blackouts, due to the acute shortage of electricity.
Due to the fertile soil and abundance of rain, the Philippines offers an ideal location to cultivate Beema Bamboo both for domestic supply and for export as wood pellets to both the Korean and Japanese coal fired power plants. Bamboo is a natural species on most Philippines islands where there exists vast supplies of biomass feedstock generated both from bamboo as well as agricultural waste (coconut shells, rice husks, sugar cane tops and trash). Furthermore, field trials have proven positive with regards to intercropping Beema Bamboo using unproductive land occupied over 1 million hectares of coconut plantations.
To support the human resource requirements of both the Philippines, as well as its projects in Africa, Clenergen signed a Memorandum of Agreement (MOA) with NPC to re-deploy their human resources of over 1000 qualified process, electrical, transmission, chemical, plantation management, biotechnologists and other senior management employees in order to provide experience personnel to support these projects. Due to the privatization of the Philippine utility marketplace, NPC have been forced to address the needs of its employees as well as diversify into off-grid renewable electricity power projects with Independent power producers, of which Clenergen is the first company to have signed such an agreement. Already NPC has invested extensively into the redevelopment of the watershed areas effecting hundreds of locations throughout the Philippines.
Commenting on the project, Mark Quinn, Executive Chairman of Clenergen said "Romblon Island represents the first of over one fifty similar installations required to support the energy requirements of the 7000 islands that comprise the Philippines. Ankur Technology gasifiers can easily be installed within 6-8 months and fully operational, using existing power distribution and transmission channels installed for diesel generated electricity. Our partnership with NPC provides us an umbrella secured Power Purchase Agreement to rapidly expand installations which will be supported by Beema Bamboo energy crop plantations. The negative emission generated from gasification biomass power plans will support the Philippine Government’s target of lowering emissions by up to 20% over the next 10 years".
President Jeter S. Sespense, Ph.D of Romblon University said "Clenergen offers of a turn-key solution to support our infrastructure expansion programs for the University as well as supply sustainable and secure electricity throughout this island economy. With the additional power available, it will transform our fishing economy through the installation of cold storage facilities and advance the prosperity of this islands economy. By utilizing our natural resources, we hope to support the cultivation of energy crops throughout the remote island economies, many of which have limited or no access to electricity"
About Clenergen Corporation
Clenergen Corporation is a publicly-listed company with its common stock quoted on the OTC-BB (Symbol: CRGE). Clenergen offers strategic clean energy generation and sustainable fuel supply projects to address the requirement for renewable and sustainable source of power. Clenergen has developed a unique supply of fuel for use with gasification, combustion steam, Pyrolysis oil and pelleting technologies.
Clenergen Corporation intends to use proprietary and mixed biomass feedstock to implement sustainable supplies of clean energy for regional, captive end users, remote islands, and mining companies and, through government- or privately-owned power grid systems, other end users, including private homes. Offering a turnkey solution using proven technology and agronomy, Clenergen intends to have installed over 500MW/e of power generation facilities by 2014, along with the export of wood pellets and liquid fuels to the industrialized markets of North America, Europe and Asia. . www.clenergen.com
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