German firms support PH electrification

By Myrna Velasco October 22, 2015

From strongly lobbying for the feed-in-tariff underpinned renewable energy (RE)installations primarily on solar, German firms are now shifting support into the country’s electrification program especially for off-grid areas.

The Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ) and the German-Philippine Chamber of Commerce and Industry (GPCCI) have jointly announced that a fifth business mission is in the offing for German companies this month.

The events in the Philippines have been slated from October 26 to 30 this year, according to the German institutions.

They noted that “innovative off-grid RE power generation and distribution solutions are required to achieve the household electrification goals of the country,” which has been targeted to at least reach 90 percent during the Aquino administration.

GIZ further announced that “eight German solar PV (photovoltaic) and micro-grid companies and three experts will form the delegation.”

It noted that “the German companies will include 8p2 Ingenieurspartnerschaft, an engineering firm specializing in technical inspection and consulting; Autarsys GmbH, a provider of modular energy storage systems; IB Vogt GmbH, a global solar EPC company; IBC SOLAR AG, an international provider of comprehensive solar solutions.”

The others are: PV2 Energie GmbH, a solar project developer; Qinous GmbH, a provider of plug & play energy storage solutions; SaEnergy Systems GmbH, whose “Power & Life Container” provides independent and stand-alone energy supply; Solea AG, a leading turnkey PV systems provider; and the experts from Eclareon GmbH, a consulting firm focusing on renewable energy.

“Locations in remote areas and on small islands make electricity line extensions unfeasible,” GIZ has qualified.

It thus recommended that “stand-alone micro-grid solutions powered by RE and hybridization of diesel plants, backed up by intelligent battery and power management systems, offer a promising path towards electrifying those communities.”

The German multilateral agency has expounded that “the visiting German companies have developed such solutions and are looking for partners in the private and public sectors to implement them in the Philippines.”