Toyo Engineering eyes 600,000 hectares for coconut production in the Philippines
According to the Philippine Coconut Authority (PCA) Japanese firm Toyo Engineering Corp. is about to complete a feasibility study on an integrated coco methyl-ester (CME) manufacturing plant that it plans to put up in the Philippines' northern region of Ilocos. Coconut oil derived from copra is utilized in the production of biodiesel, whereas husks and shells are a solid biomass feedstock that can be co-fired with coal, used as such in dedicated biomass plants or transformed through gasification and pyrolysis into gaseous and liquid fuels.
The venture, which will require an investment of at least 60 billion pesos (€946 million/US$1.3 billion), plans for the establishment of around 600,000 hectares of coconut farms in new areas, says Carlos Carpio, deputy administrator of the PCA. The new farmlands will use high-yielding coconut varieties. At an average yield of 3000 liters of oil and 15 tonnes of residual biomass, one hectare of high yield coconut trees produces around 305 GJ of energy.
Toyo Engineering is considering developing new areas where coconut could be planted to supply the feedstock requirement of the CME plant. The company is considering areas in the provinces of Pangasinan, Ilocos Sur, Ilocos Norte and La Union.
However, the PCA says a more cost-effective and feasible option is to use the wide coastal areas of these provinces. In this case, typhoon risks must be taken into account, but the cost advantage is considerable: opening up new areas for coconut farms would demand an investment of about 1 million pesos (€15,755/US$21,405) per hectare, while using coastal areas requires only 100,000 pesos per hectare.
Under Toyo Engineering's plan, the entire output of the CME plant will be shipped to Japan to supply the country’s growing demand for biofuels, both for fuel-dependent industries and the transport sector. Japan’s total diesel requirement reaches 40 billion liters a year, and plans for a CME blend of five percent will create a huge demand for this additive:
energy :: sustainability :: biodiesel :: biomass :: bioenergy :: biofuels :: coconut :: plantation :: Philippines :: Japan ::
The Philippine coconut industry, which has yet to recover from devastating effects of major typhoons late last year, recorded a decline in output of 4.93 percent in the first half of 2007. But coconut prices have bounced back from last year’s slump and increased by 23.97 percent this year.
The increase in copra prices has triggered demand for matured coconut, which in turn pushes up prices at the farm level.
Demand for Philippine agricultural land has been surging with the interest especially among Chinese companies looking for biofuel production overseas. Among the companies from China, Nanning Yong has firmed up negotiations with three local companies for the construction of three separate bioethanol plants worth a combined $105 million.
Documents from the Department of Agriculture show Nanning Yong is pursuing partnerships with SB Integrated Biofuels Co., Negros Southern Integrated Biofuels and One Cagayan Resource Development Inc.
Another company, Jilin Fuhua Agricultural Science and Technology Development Co. Ltd., has started ground validation and seed testing on farms for hybrid corn and sweet sorghum in Cagayan Valley, Isabela, Nueva Ecija and Pangasinan.
References:
Inquirer (Manila): Toyo eyes P60-B biofuel project - September 5, 2007.
Philippine Coconut Authority homepage.
Handbook of Energy Crops: Cocos nucifera L. profile.
The venture, which will require an investment of at least 60 billion pesos (€946 million/US$1.3 billion), plans for the establishment of around 600,000 hectares of coconut farms in new areas, says Carlos Carpio, deputy administrator of the PCA. The new farmlands will use high-yielding coconut varieties. At an average yield of 3000 liters of oil and 15 tonnes of residual biomass, one hectare of high yield coconut trees produces around 305 GJ of energy.
Toyo Engineering is considering developing new areas where coconut could be planted to supply the feedstock requirement of the CME plant. The company is considering areas in the provinces of Pangasinan, Ilocos Sur, Ilocos Norte and La Union.
However, the PCA says a more cost-effective and feasible option is to use the wide coastal areas of these provinces. In this case, typhoon risks must be taken into account, but the cost advantage is considerable: opening up new areas for coconut farms would demand an investment of about 1 million pesos (€15,755/US$21,405) per hectare, while using coastal areas requires only 100,000 pesos per hectare.
Under Toyo Engineering's plan, the entire output of the CME plant will be shipped to Japan to supply the country’s growing demand for biofuels, both for fuel-dependent industries and the transport sector. Japan’s total diesel requirement reaches 40 billion liters a year, and plans for a CME blend of five percent will create a huge demand for this additive:
energy :: sustainability :: biodiesel :: biomass :: bioenergy :: biofuels :: coconut :: plantation :: Philippines :: Japan ::
The Philippine coconut industry, which has yet to recover from devastating effects of major typhoons late last year, recorded a decline in output of 4.93 percent in the first half of 2007. But coconut prices have bounced back from last year’s slump and increased by 23.97 percent this year.
The increase in copra prices has triggered demand for matured coconut, which in turn pushes up prices at the farm level.
Demand for Philippine agricultural land has been surging with the interest especially among Chinese companies looking for biofuel production overseas. Among the companies from China, Nanning Yong has firmed up negotiations with three local companies for the construction of three separate bioethanol plants worth a combined $105 million.
Documents from the Department of Agriculture show Nanning Yong is pursuing partnerships with SB Integrated Biofuels Co., Negros Southern Integrated Biofuels and One Cagayan Resource Development Inc.
Another company, Jilin Fuhua Agricultural Science and Technology Development Co. Ltd., has started ground validation and seed testing on farms for hybrid corn and sweet sorghum in Cagayan Valley, Isabela, Nueva Ecija and Pangasinan.
References:
Inquirer (Manila): Toyo eyes P60-B biofuel project - September 5, 2007.
Philippine Coconut Authority homepage.
Handbook of Energy Crops: Cocos nucifera L. profile.
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