Asian Alcohol Corp., controlled by airline and tobacco tycoon Lucio Tan, may put up a wind project in Negros Occidental province.
Gerry Tee, overall in-charge of the Lucio Tan Group distillery operations, told reporters the group was still studying the wind project.
“The Asian Alcohol wind farm is still being studied. So nothing concrete there yet, it’s just something that we can embark on if the conditions are ripe. Any RE project can be considered,” he said,
Tan’s LT Group Inc. has been pursuing renewable energy projects such as bioethanol, solar, and biomass.
“We will have Asian Alcohol operating from January and February. It’s part of LT group. We will check what we can do, maybe wind farm,” Tee said.
The distillery is embarking on a rehabilitation program for completion early next year.
Tee said Asian Alcohol’s site had strong wind speeds that could be ideal for a wind project.
“Wind speed is very encouraging. We have yet to check the area [to determine capacity],” he said.
Asian Alcohol is the second biggest distillery in the Philippines with operations in Negros Occidental.
It has a distillation process that uses molasses, yeast, water and other ingredients. It operates a 10-hectare plant in Negros, which is the center of the country’s sugar industry.
The plant has the capacity to convert distillery waste into biogas energy for power requirements.
Asian Alcohol has a daily rated capacity of 210,000 liters of quality ethyl alcohol and sells 100 percent of the output to Tanduay Distillers Inc., which owns a controlling stake in the company. The output comprises 70 percent of Tanduay Distillers’ ethyl alcohol requirements.
Asian Alcohol has a capture system that enables it to use the methane generated from distillation to power its boilers.
