BDO Unibank Inc. partners with Surallah Power Generation, Inc. in developing a power generation plant in Palawan using biomass technology.
“BDO is very supportive of our endeavor. The bank provides technical advice on how to efficiently and effectively manage and operate the power plant. Our credit facilities, lease lines and term loans are readily available and tailor-fit to our corporate requirements.” said Rio Balaba, spokesperson of Surallah, in a statement.
Surallah did not disclose the project cost as well as the capacity of the power plant it is currently developing.
Apart from the Palawan project, the company in 2021 was also tasked to develop a 6-megawatt (MW) biomass power plant in South Cotabato.
Surallah said it approached BDO given its reputation as a pioneer in sustainable finance in the country, adding that biomass power plants benefit various stakeholders including farmers, farmers’ cooperatives and millers, by selling their agricultural waste from rice and corn husks as raw material for the biomass-fired power plant.
The company also said the power plant were to benefit residents and entrepreneurs as it helps lower electricity rates in the province.
BDO owns lead expertise in biomass energy financing as it funded the first biomass power plant in 2013 and now has 15 biomass projects in its funding portfolio.
Data from the Department of Energy show that as of end-November 2022, the total installed capacity of grid connected biomass power projects in the country stands at 603 MW equivalent to 2.1 percent of the total.
