Conglomerate San Miguel Corp. said Wednesday its energy unit will replace coal with rice husks as fuel for two new circulating fluidized bed power plants to help boost farmers’ income.
SMC Global Power Holdings Inc. said it would convert existing power plants using CFB clean coal technology into biomass power facilities. SMC Global operates two new clean coal power facilities in Limay, Bataan (600 megawatts) and Malita, Davao (300 MW).
“Instead of burning or dumping rice husks, we want to fully utilize this agricultural waste product both as energy source for our power plants and income source for our rice farmers,” SMC president and chief operating officer Ramon Ang said in a statement.
“This way, we reduce our emission further, encourage more farmers to increase rice production, make their lives better and help address a perennial food security challenge,” Ang said.
SMC’s new clean coal plants in Bataan and Davao utilize the circulating fluidized bed combustion technology. It is among the world’s most advanced pollution-mitigating technologies for power plants, yielding significantly lower emissions.
SMC said while emissions of these power plants were way below the limits set by the Department of Environment and Natural Resources and even the standards set by the World Bank, “emissions from rice-husk based fuel are expected be even lower.
“This way, we reduce our emission further, encourage more farmers to increase rice production, make their lives better and help address a perennial food security challenge,” Ang said.
Ang said using rice husks as fuel could also boost rice farming in the country.
“If we encourage more farmers to plant rice by providing them additional sources of income, our rice sufficiency and food security improves. At the same time, we use palay husks to generate more environment-friendly energy,” he said.
Ang said SMC was willing to invest and put up the necessary infrastructure and facilities needed to support rice farmers to collect husks that would be acquired from them.
Ang earlier said SMC could go into rice importation to help address the current rice shortage if a proposed scheme that imposes tariffs on imports but lifts quantity limits was passed.
SMC operates grains terminals and silos nationwide which could be used to stockpile rice to help ensure the country’s food supply and provide Filipinos with high-quality rice at low prices.
SMC said the tariffs to be imposed on importing rice could be used to support local farmers and boost the agriculture sector.
“Ultimately, what we want is for our farmers to get the support they need; for farming to be a viable option again for many Filipinos and, maybe someday, for our country to be able to produce what we need and more,” Ang said.
Ang said he expected “fuel” supply for power facilities using rice husks would be steady with rice being a staple food of Filipinos.
“This can even bring down electricity prices, as we will no longer be subject to price fluctuations and other cost and supply pressures associated with coal,” he said.