The city is awaiting the findings and recommendations of the proponent of the multi-billion waste to energy plant on the feasibility of a portion of the 139-hectare city-owned property in the Sto. Tomas area that will serve as the site for the realization of the project.
City Administrator Bonifacio dela Peña stated that the company, Metro Global Renewables Corporation, already submitted its letter intent to push through with the project within a feasible portion of the city-owned property to help the local government and the neighboring communities of Benguet to effectively and efficiently address their respective garbage disposal concerns that is eating up a huge portion of their annual budgets.
However, he claimed that since the company submitted its letter intent to push through with the project even within the city-owned property, the city government is yet to hear from the proponent what is its assessment and evaluation on the feasibility of the property to host the renewable energy plant that will be using environmentally friendly technology that had been proven in other countries.
The city administrator disclosed that the proponent has to recompute the earlier projected cost of the put up of the renewable energy facility because one of the conditions imposed by the city government is for the company to construct the road leading to where the plant will be located.
Earlier, the company proposed that the waste to energy be built in Sablan town for private property purposes but it was compelled to abandon the project because of alleged mixed signals from the municipal government.
Under the proposed conditions for the realization of the said project, the local governments will be providing the feedstock for the renewable energy plant through the generated garbage to sustain the production of approximately 10 megawatts of renewable energy that will be infused to the grid.
The local government department head emphasized that the operation of the renewable energy plant will definitely permanently solve the garbage disposal problems of Baguio, La Trinidad, Itogon, Sablan, Tuba and Tublay because the generated waste from the said areas will be used to produce the required renewable energy.
Based on the company’s earlier presentation before city officials, it plans to invest more than P5.2 billion for the put up of the facility and the procurement of the necessary garbage trucks to ensure the effective and efficient collection of garbage from the said local governments that will be used as feedstock for the renewable energy plants.
Dela Pena asserted that the realization of the waste to energy plant will be the ultimate solution to the ongoing garbage disposal woes of most local governments which have difficulties in establishing long-term solutions to the same due to the absence of sufficient lands that will be used for the said purpose. By Dexter A. See
