LUZON and the Visayas appear to be attractive sites for companies planning to put up ethanol distilleries following the enactment of the alternative fuels law, according to the Department of Agriculture.

The department said at least five local and foreign companies are eyeing the Ilocos Region, Cagayan Valley, Central Luzon, Southern Tagalog, and part of the Visayas as possible sites for their ethanol distilleries that will make use of either sweet sorghum or sugarcane.

The distilleries are expected to make use of the multifeedstock system developed by Indian firm Rusni Distilleries, and the India-based International Crops Research Institute for the Semi-Arid Tropics (Icrisat) headed by former Philippine Agriculture Secretary William Dar.

 Icrisat, in partnership with Rusni, recently put up the world’s first sweet sorghum-fed ethanol plant in Andra Pradesh, India. Dar said the distillery has a capacity of 40,000 liters a day, and required an initial investment of $8.5 million. It started operating in October 2006.

President Arroyo recently instructed the Agriculture department to find out the appropriate areas where ethanol distilleries could viably locate, with special emphasis on the areas where commercial planting of sweet sorghum for distillery feed is most advantageous.

 Early last year, President Arroyo received from Indian President A. P. J. Abdul Kalam several kilos of foundation seeds of sweet sorghum developed by Icrisat.  The government then conducted field tests for eight varieties in the Mariano Marcos State University in Batac, Ilocos Norte.

Dar said that five varieties have adapted successfully in Ilocos Norte, with average yield at 110 tons of stalks per hectare from two croppings. Also, he said, sweet sorghum requires less inputs and water compared with sugarcane and other bioethanol sources.

 “In a way, the entry of sweet sorghum could optimize the operation and efficiency of sugarcane mills and distilleries which operate for only 150 days using sugarcane as feedstock. With additional feedstock in sweet sorghum, existing sugarcane mills could optimize their operations,” said Dar.

The department initiated the first technology investment forum on sweet sorghum for ethanol two weeks ago.

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LUZON and the Visayas appear to be attractive sites for companies planning to put up ethanol distilleries following the enactment of the alternative fuels law, according to the Department of Agriculture.

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