Emergent trend for renewable energy stirs up financing interest
Friday, October 13, 2006
An emergent trend toward increased need to produce fuel or electricity from renewable sources is stirring up interest of financing institutions to pour in huge funds for such projects like wind power, compressed natural gas (CNG), and ethanol.
Renewable energy projects that are in the pipeline for financing are Petron’s CNG project, an ethanol project of San Carlos in Negros Occidental, and a wind project of the Philippine National Oil Company-Energy Development Corp. (PNOC-EDC).
The ethanol project in Negros of San Carlos Bioenergy Inc. and to be participated by UK firm Bronzeoak, is particularly flocked by seven potential financiers including the state-run Development Bank of the Philippines (DBP) as lead arranger and also state-owned Land Bank of the Philippines. Estimated project cost is at P2 billion.
"Hopefully, we will participate in this ethanol project because there are so many banks that want to participate," said LBP Senior Vice President Wilfredo Maldia in a press briefing.
The ethanol project seeks a P1.5 billion loan of which LBP may provide P400 million.
Cecilia C. Borromeo, Land Bank of the Philippines (LBP) senior vice president for account management and global banking, said that LBP has started talks with oil refiner Petron Corp. on a possible P150 million financing for CNG.
Since government gives incentives for importation of CNG-fuelled passenger buses, Petron has also planned to put up eight CNG stations in Luzon.
However, LBP Vice President Edward John T. Reyes said serious investments in renewable energy will depend much on the passage of the Biofuels bill and the proposed Renewable Energy law.
As the proposed Biofuels law designates LBP as a financier for renewable energy projects, Reyes said LBP has been asking multilateral financing institutions to beef up official development assistance fund to LBP.
"World Bank and JBIC (Japan Bank for International Cooperation) are funding renewable energy projects through DBP. But we also need this fund because we are an agricultural bank, so we have a predominant role in financing renewable energy projects," Reyes said.
posted by philpower @ 11:46 AM,
