Ukraine firm to set up power plants fueled by coconut husks

An energy company based in Ukraine will set up power plants around the Philippines using the country’s leading produce – coconuts, the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) announced yesterday.

Philippine Ambassador to Moscow Ernesto Llamas said Sukhin Energy, Inc. (SEI) has finalized an agreement with the Philippine National Oil Co. (PNOC) to initially install a 2.5 megawatt synthesized gas station that could generate 10-12 megawatts of electricity for the island of Masbate using coconut husks.

The project, valued at $7 million is the first joint venture between the Philippines and Ukraine. It will serve as a pilot project with 75-percent Ukrainian financing.

Llamas said the project will provide sustainable environment friendly electricity for Masbate’s 600,000 residents and utilize a waste product from a bountiful Philippine resource. The low capacity autonomous stations are especially useful in a country of 7,107 islands, he added.

The invention, RGV-2000M gas synthesizer was publicly unveiled on June 26 by prominent Ukrainian scientist and SEI president Yevgeny Sukhin, using 20 tons of coconut husks shipped from the Philippines.

The demonstration was held for a Philippine congressional delegation who went to Ukraine recently.

The RGV-2000M produces synthesized gas through the process of pyrolysis from agricultural, mining or household by products and vegetable waste such as saw dust, stone and brown coal, peat and lignin.

The fuel gas is used in the production of thermal and electric energy.

If supplementary equipment will be used, the station could also double as an ice production plant.

Sukhin said his invention boasts of transportability and high efficiency at low cost.

The RP-Ukrainian project is the third in a series of innovations developed recently for Philippine coconut products.

Coconuts are abundant in the Philippines and constitute one of the Philippines’ biggest export products.