Philippine plant to produce 4MW from methane

Bacavalley Energy Inc., inaugurated the first landfill gas power plant in the Philippines to feature GE’s Jenbacher gas engines.

The San Pedro Landfill Methane Recovery and Electricity Generation project in the province of Laguna will help meet the Philippines’ growing energy needs while also reducing the emissions of methane, a harmful greenhouse gas.
By utilizing methane generated by the San Pedro landfill in Laguna to power GE’s Jenbacher gas engines, the project will reduce the landfill’s methane emissions about 70 percent. The new plant, located 35 kilometers south of Manila, will produce more than four megawatts of electricity for sale to the local grid. Full commercial operation of the new plant is expected by January 2011.

“Bacavalley Energy is pleased to be working with GE on the San Pedro Methane Power Plant project,” said Peregrino Fernandez Jr., president of Bacavalley Energy Inc. “We are confident in the performance of GE’s Jenbacher gas engines and we hope to further our partnership in the future waste-to-energy projects.”
GE supplied four containerized Jenbacher JGC 320 gas engine gensets. Together with DESCO Inc., the authorized sales and service distributor of GE’s Jenbacher gas engines in the Philippines, additional services for up to 60,000 operating hours will be provided.

“San Pedro is a milestone project for us, marking the first installation of our gas engines on a landfill in the Philippines,” said Prady Iyyanki, CEO-gas engines for GE Power & Water. “It is another example of how customers worldwide are turning to new ways of capturing and using waste gases to meet their energy needs. Many of these customers are using our technology to generate power reliably while cutting greenhouse emissions.”

The San Pedro project will be registered under the Clean Development Mechanism of the United Nation’s Framework Convention on Climate Change. It also supports the Philippines Department of Energy’s initiative to develop alternative sources of energy and promote cleaner energy sources over the next 20 years.