Renewable Energy Facility Established in the Philippines

Alternative energy source facilities will soon be established in Infanta, Quezon in the Philippines to help supply energy in rice-based communities. The bioethanol distillation facility will use sap from nipa, an indigenous plant in Infanta, as feedstock to produce biofuel for spark-ignition engines that farmers use.

"This facility basically produces hydrous bioethanol fuel to be used for small farm machines," Engr. Alexis T. Belonio, lead inventor of the technology. "[With this facility], we have an option [on what energy type to use]," added Belonio, the first Filipino to win the Rolex Award for Enterprise for his creation of the rice hull-powered stove.

"We are aware of the pressing need for alternative fuel to run farm engines. We want to manufacture machines for farming that do not depend on fossil fuel," former PhilRice Executive Director Eufemio Rasco Jr. said during the launch.

Three bioethanol facilities will be set-up in three years to discover the appropriate model suitable for farming. The project is implemented jointly by the Mariano Marcos State University, Philippine Rice Research Institute, UP Los Baños, and the local government unit.