More renewable energy projects sought in Philippines

Following on my recent post regarding development opportunities in Mexico, Turkey, Indonesia and the Philippines, proponents of renewable energy in the Philippines today reiterated calls to aggressively increase power capacity from renewable energy sources.

Peregrino Fernandez of the Renewable Energy Developers' Caucus expressed serious concern over skyrocketing electricity rates due to continually rising oil prices and stated that "the rising cost of fossil fuel must be addressed by new paradigms and framework. Unless a carbon-free solution is introduced to our energy situation, we are merely applying a band-aid solution to our dependency on fossil fuels," said Fernandez, who is also president of the Montalban Methane Power Corporation.

Meanwhile, Cagayan Electric Power and Light Co. chairman Ramon Abaya underscored the need for renewable energy projects in the Philippines due to a lack of adequate local fuel reserves and stated that "government must look at an aggressive renewable energy option to address the Mindanao brownouts fast," he said.

Tetchie Capellan, president of the Philippine Solar Power Alliance, pointed out that the Department of Energy recently received several applications for solar PV power service contracts.

As of this week, according to Capellan, there are some 43 solar PV applications totalling 230 MW. Some of these projects are located in Mindanao and may be deployed within the year. "They [solar projects] are viable solutions to the expected energy crunch in Mindanao this year," Capellan said.

Joe Natividad, Sunwest Water and Electric Co. president and co-convenor of the RE Caucus, likewise urged the government to spur the development of the emerging renewable energy industry by reviewing the installation targets of major projects.

The department's indicative installation target for renewable energy is 830 MW (biomass, 250 MW, solar PV, 100 MW, wind, 220 MW, ocean, 10 MW and hydro at 250 MW) —which is 40 percent lower than the industry demand in the Philippines.

Developers, on the other hand, propose an installation target of 1.5 GW (442 MW for biomass, 420 MW for solar, 340 MW for wind, 30 MW for ocean and hydro at 250 MW).

Source: GMA News