Waste-to-energy plant to rise in Sablan

BAGUIO CITY : A renewable energy company wants to put up a multi-billion waste-to-energy plant that aims to covert some 500 tons of garbage to 10 megawatts of power to be sold to the Benguet Electric Cooperative (Beneco), a local power distributor.

Robert John Sobrepeña, chairman of the Metro Global Renewable Energy Corp., said that the waste-to-energy plant will be constructed within an 8,000-square-meter private property in Sablan, Benguet to address the garbage disposal woes of the Baguio-La Trinidad-Itogon-Sablan-Tuba-Tublay (Blistt) local governments.

Currently, most of the local governments comprising the Blistt are hauling their generated residual waste from their respective areas of jurisdiction to Urdaneta engineered sanitary landfill in Urdaneta City, Pangasinan.

Sobrepeña said his company will submit to the city government the results of the pre-feasibility study it conducted for the proposed put up of the waste-to-energy plant to contribute in the overall efforts of the concerned local governments to come up with long-term solutions to their garbage disposal problems that have confronted them for more than a decade now.

However, Sobrepeña proposed there is a need for the company, the concerned local governments, and Beneco to discuss emerging issues and concerns surrounding the planned put up of the wasteto-energy plant to formulate the appropriate safety measures to solve the problem in case the local governments cannot provide the minimum volume of 500 tons to be able to produce the required 10 megawatts of renewable power.

According to him, the technology that will be used involves a combination of the latest technologies from various foreign companies that were proven to be environmentallyfriendly with the least emissions to address environmental issues that may be raised against the project.

He claimed that the private property where the waste to energy plant can be constructed has been found to be suitable for the purpose by the company, and can be the site of the plant once the people and officialdom of Sablan will agree to the multi-billion project.

The project could be undertaken through a joint venture with the municipal government of Sablan or whatever feasible agreements that will guarantee the smooth implementation of the put up of the waste to energy plant.

For his part, Mayor Benjamin B. Magalong requested the company to consider the 139-hectare cityowned property within the Mount Sto. Tomas area as a possible site for the proposed plant.