Energy Regulatory Commission okays San Carlos Bioenergy certificate

MANILA, Philippines - The Energy Regulatory Commission (ERC) has approved the Certificate of Compliance (COC) for the bagasse-fired cogeneration power plant of San Carlos Bioenergy Inc. (SCBI).

A COC is required before any generation company can commence commercial operations. Bagasse is the fibrous residue remaining after sugarcane or sorghum stalks are crushed to extract their juice and is currently used as a renewable resource for electricity power generation.

SCBI’s biofuel generator units have an 8.3 megawatt (MW) installed capacity while its two black-start diesel engine generator sets have an installed capacity of 1.6 MW, a total of 9.9 MW in installed capacity.

These facilities are located at the San Carlos Ecozone San Carlos City, Negros Occidental.

 Recently, SCBI delivered its first production of ethanol to oil giant Petron Corp.

A COC is issued to a generation company or a self-generating facility to certify its compliance to technical, financial and environmental standards that are specified in the ERC’s guidelines.

Pre requisites to the grant of a COC include certificates or documents from other concerned government agencies such Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR), Department of Energy (DOE) and Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), among others.

SCBI is a new independent power producer (IPP) that registered with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) on March 29, 2006 to engage primarily in the production, marketing and sales of bio-ethanol fuel.