Rep. Erico Aristotle Aumentado  is looking at more sources of energy to meet the increasing demand of industries

On top of the possible power sources are  fossil fuel, geothermal, hydro (water), solar and wind that are currently in use aside from power generated from waste and biomass.

To allay people’s fears of a repeat of the Chernobyl, Russia and Fukushima, Japan nuclear plant accidents, Aumentado,who chairs the committee on science and technology’s together with Zamboanga del Norte 1st District Rep. Seth Frederick Jalosjos, filed House Bill 3651 seeking to create a nuclear energy regulatory body.

To note, Aumentado has talked with an investor keen on producing energy from waste  – including plastics – as well as biomass.

He said the former will cut government spending for the establishment of sanitary landfills. Funds saved from this, he said, can then go to infrastructure and even social projects instead.

The solon expressed confidence that the mix of sources now and soon to be available will ultimately meet the growing power demands of the entire district – and even the province – without depending too much on the geothermal power plant in Tongonan, Leyte.

An added advantage of biomass power, he explained, is the residuals in the conversion of biomass into power can be utilized as fertilizer – organic at that.

The move, Aumentado said, will put his district one step closer to his aspiration of making it Bohol’s first “green”, that is environmentally sound, district.

The waste and the biomass will separately undergo both aerobic and anaerobic procedures, he said.

The investor, he hinted, will visit Bohol anytime soon to determine the volume of waste and biomass that the district can produce to feed the waste conversion and the biomass power plants to produce from one to two megawatts of energy. He echoed the former as saying that the more waste, the more there will be energy.

He also said for more biomass, the investor is likewise keen on tapping his constituents to plant feed stocks on public lands – to feed the biomass power plant. (June Blanco)