Philippines: Partnership to restore 50% renewable energy

Philippines: Partnership to restore 50% renewable energy

THE Mindanao Development Authority (Minda) and Institute for Climate and
Sustainable Cities (ICSC) forged a partnership Thursday, September 15, in
restoring an energy mix of at least 50 percent renewable energy (RE) in
Mindanao by 2030 as it gears towards countering recent developments on
dominance of fossil-based energy sources.

Minda Deputy Executive Director and head of investment promotions,
international relations and public affairs Romeo Montenegro yesterday said
in an interview that they identified "some way forward and timelines" on
pushing for more RE projects in the island.

Earlier, Montenegro said Minda projected that fossil fuels, mostly coal,
would account for 80 percent of Mindanao's energy mix by 2018, a 180-degree
reversal of the 2015 situation where RE accounts more than half of the
island's energy mix.

"Share of fossil fuels in the energy mix is rising, and Mindanao has yet to
fully tap clean, renewable and indigenous power sources," Montenegro said
earlier.

In 2017, Minda projected that Mindanao's energy mix will be composed of 49
percent coal, 18 percent oil-based, 29 percent hydro, three percent
geothermal and one percent biomass.

Way forward to RE

ICSC Executive Director Red Constantino said in a statement that promoting a
larger share of sustainable energy, the collaborative vision (of ICSC and
Minda) "will restore a more diverse energy mix in Mindanao and lay the
groundwork for a multibillion-dollar industry able to generate jobs, reduce
electricity bills, and propel economic and industrial development."

"Coal is no longer considered as viable investments it once was. Compared to
solar, wind and other renewable technologies, the levelized cost of
electricity produced by coal is higher according to studies conducted by
institutions such as the U.S. Energy Information Administration and Lazard,"
he added.

ICSC Senior Policy Advisor and former National Renewable Energy Board
chairman, Pete Maniego also claimed that apart from the harmful effects of
greenhouse gases, "allowing coal to expand in Mindanao and the rest of the
country would lock up power investments in the next 40 years, and lock out
the far larger potential of investments in renewable energy to power
long-term development."

Due to its archipelagic nature, Maniego said "the shift from centralized to
distributed generation will enable the Philippines to take advantage of its
considerable renewable energy sources, advances in smart grid technologies,
and expected lower cost in power storage."

RE initiatives, programs and plans

Montenegro said that Mindanao is most viable for hydro and biomass energy
projects as well as solar and geothermal.

For instance, he bared that 15 provinces in Mindanao are viable for biomass,
capable to produce a total of 843 megawatts (MW), of which 150MW can be
pursued at 10MW each for identified province and 15 for small hydro with
potential capacity at 1,000MW.

Minda previously launched a flagship program, the One Stop Facilitation and
Processing Center (OSFMC), geared at accelerating the deployment of
renewable energy projects in Mindanao.

As of June 2016, a total of 260 RE projects are being monitored and
facilitated by One-Stop Facilitation and Monitoring Center (OSFMC) of Minda
resulting to 3, 512.2MW potential capacity available by 2020.

The OSFMC, an initiative of Minda, has been replicated nationwide through
Energy Virtual One Shared System (Evoss).

"Our goals are to help sustain favorable energy mix for Mindanao by
fast-tracking approval process of RE projects and deploy at least 200MW
additional RE sources per year between 2020 and 2030," Montenegro said.

Also, full implementation of the OSFMC, enforcing the Green Energy Option
Policy, piloting Renewable Energy Portfolio Standards (RPS) in Mindanao,
addressing constraints by removing barriers, laying down effective policy
and regulatory framework, providing innovative financial approaches for
scaling up RE projects and strengthening institutional coordination among
relevant government agencies.

Long-term plan

The plan (2013 to 2030) is a long-term energy plan to ensure energy
security, achieve optimal energy pricing, and developing a sustainable
energy system.

It complements the Philippine Energy Plan and has been pursued by the
Mindanao Power Monitoring Committee of Minda, in collaboration of DOE.

Series of public consultation were held in 2013 and 2014 and has been
completed this year which is now set for publishing and distribution.

--- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- ---

Ref:
http://www.sunstar.com.ph/davao/business/2016/09/17/partnership-restore-50-r
enewable-energy-498165

--- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- ---

John Diecker
APT Consulting Group Co., Ltd.

www.aptthailand.com