Philippine JV to add 100MW of clean energy to grid

Deal will build the Philippines’ largest biomass power plant.

A subsidiary of the Swiss investment banking group ThomasLloyd Group plc and Bronzeoak Philippines Inc., a leading local ethanol producer, have entered into a joint venture agreement that will add 100 megawatts MW of clean energy to the Philippine grid in the next three years.

ThomasLloyd Cleantech Infrastructure Fund will invest in a US$500 million to launch San Carlos BioPower Inc. in Negros Occidental in the Visayas region.

ThomasLloyd Group Plc chair and CEO T.U. Michael Sieg said his group was also developing a series of biomass-based power plants with local partners. Their first of these will be an 18 MW biomass plant in San Carlos City, Negros Occidental that uses sugarcane stalks and other agricultural waste as feedstock.

Sieg said another three plants will also be built: two in Negros Occidental and one in Luzon. Total capacity of these plants will be in the region of 100 MW.

ThomasLloyd has committed US$50 million in development financing and construction equity to these projects. The projects will make Thomaslloyd the biggest foreign investor in biomass plants in the Philippines.