USAID continues projects in Iloilo City
The United States Agency for International Development will continue its programs in this southern city specifically its climate change and clean energy project by using waste cooking oil for energy.
Joseph Laurence Peñas, monitoring and evaluation specialist of USAID, was in Iloilo City recently to take a look on the possibility of implementing a new project using used vegetable cooking oil as biofuel in heavy machineries such as boilers, turbines and engines in big industrial industries.
Connecting with city environment and natural resources officer Noel Hechanova and Mart Tayo of the Iloilo City Council on Air Pollution and Climate Change, Peñas however said, the project study has not yet included used cooking oil as fuel for jeepneys, taxis, cars, vans, buses and motorcycles. Hopefully, the study will also include using used cooking oil for vehicles before the contract expires in 2014.
Peñas said the project started last May 10 for three and a half years contract that will focus on provisions of the Clean Air Act, institutional training and clean gas accounting in the regions and cities of the country.
USAID included this city in its Clean Cities Project in 2002 and has since then made Iloilo as one of its pilot areas in clean energy project implementation.
The waste to energy project will specifically transform the used vegetable cooking oil into useful biofuel. Previous studies showed that cooking oil from coconuts has the elements for clean energy and climate change.
Commercial users of cooking oil especially those engaged in fried chicken and other fried food business have unquantifiable used cooking oil which are thrown away after two frying uses. These used cooking oils can be transformed into energy to run heavy machineries, Peñas said.
Iloilo, as a highly urbanized city, posted heavy consumers of fried chicken and other fried meats and fishes. Used cooking oil in restaurants and commercial eateries can be used as renewed biofuel.*PNA
