Manila Times.net / Wednesday, 13 October 2010 11:20
BYDDY CUNANAN
Last week, I attended a very interesting symposium on renewable energy, organized by the Deutsche Gesellschaft für Technische Zusammenarbeit or German Technical Cooperation. GTZ, as the organization is commonly referred to, is led by its country director Jochem Lange and has been operating in the Philippines for more than 30 years and promotes sustainable development through technical cooperation projects and services. GTZ is an organization that I admire and fully support. In fact, I’ve co-produced and hosted three TV documentaries on GTZ activities in the Visayas, namely its disaster management and preparedness programs, marine sanctuaries, and mangrove conservation projects.
GTZ’s symposium, which was held in the Mandarin Oriental Hotel in Makati City, was entitled “Renewable Energies: Setting Framework Conditions Right for Investments in a Climate-Friendly Economy” and emphasized the Philippines’ need to develop non-fossil fuel energies for securing the country’s power supply, in partnership with the private sector. The welcome remarks were given by German Ambassador Christian-Ludwig Weeber Lortsch and Mary-Ann Lucille Sering, Philippine Climate Change Commissioner.
The symposium had a distinguished panel of speakers: GTZ Senior Consultant for Renewable Energy, Professor Christoph Menke; DOE Assistant Secretary Mario Marasigan; former DOE Secretary Vince Perez; Dr Bodo Goerlich, Director of the German Philippine Chamber of Commerce and Industry; and Dr Gunter Matschuck, President of Maschinen Technik, Inc.
One of the highlights of the discussion was the panel’s dialogue with private sector stakeholders and investors about the feed-in tariff system, which is currently being formulated by the DOE and Energy Regulatory Board. Basically, the feed-in tariff is a premium rate paid to energy facilities for electricity produced from renewable sources. The electricity generated from these systems is fed back into the main grid for distribution throughout the network. It is a powerful tool for promoting investment in renewables.
The Philippines is already a big proponent and user of renewable energy. About 34% of the country’s total power supply is generated through non-fossil fuel sources, principally hydro-electric in Mindanao and geothermal in the Visayas. The problem is that hydro-electric is affected by climate change and thus, very dependent on water supplies and rainfall patterns. On the other hand, more development is required in geothermal. There is the need to explore other renewable energies, mainly solar and wind, which have the most potential in the country.
At present, 80 business groups have already registered with the DOE—a sign of the significant interest in the renewable energy sector. All of them are eagerly awaiting the final feed-in tariff system and the updated National Energy Plan. When the feed-in tariff system is finally made public, I hope it provides a win-win scenario for everyone—predictable and adequate revenues for investors, cost-benefit to the consumers, and of course, reduction of the country’s dependence on oil imports and decreased environmental degradation.
It’s clear that the world must turn to renewable energies. There is a lot of debate on how long fossil fuels will last. However, one thing is certain—they are finite and will eventually run out.
Furthermore, the effects of carbon emissions into the atmosphere are causing great havoc to the environment and weather patterns, threatening the very existence of the human race and civilization.
Fortunately, industrialized countries are recognizing the problem and are actively seeking solutions.
Even top polluters like China and India are getting on the bandwagon.
However, special praise must be given to Germany, which is leading the European Union in renewables. In 2008, renewables in Germany's primary energy consumption were just 7.3%, but that figure is predicted to increase to 33% by 2020.
Energy savings is also being addressed. According to the German government’s plan, a series of new energy efficiency measures, including the construction of a smart grid, should reduce the country's primary energy consumption by 28% in the next twenty years, saving the country billions of Euros in payments for increasingly costly oil and gas imports.
By 2020, 30% of the electricity consumed in Germany is expected to come from renewable energy sources, with wind energy contributing the most at 15%, bio-mass second at 8%, followed by hydro-electric at 4%. Solar has had a tougher time taking off, due to its high cost.
However, a lot of government and private sector funds have been poured into developing better photovoltaic cells. Solar is expected to become commercially viable by 2015.
Germany has also made optimal use of its natural wind resources concentrated along its northern coastlines and is building huge offshore wind parks, placed in the North Sea. When these come on-line, they should have the capacity to generate as much as 10,000 MW, feeding electricity into a smart national grid that will transport energy all over the country. It is estimated that by 2030, as much as 50 percent of Germany's electricity will come from renewable energy sources.
Last week, I attended a very interesting symposium on renewable energy, organized by the Deutsche Gesellschaft für Technische Zusammenarbeit or German Technical Cooperation. GTZ, as the organization is commonly referred to, is led by its country director Jochem Lange and has been operating in the Philippines for more than 30 years and promotes sustainable development through technical cooperation projects and services. GTZ is an organization that I admire and fully support. In fact, I’ve co-produced and hosted three TV documentaries on GTZ activities in the Visayas, namely its disaster management and preparedness programs, marine sanctuaries, and mangrove conservation projects.
GTZ’s symposium, which was held in the Mandarin Oriental Hotel in Makati City, was entitled “Renewable Energies: Setting Framework Conditions Right for Investments in a Climate-Friendly Economy” and emphasized the Philippines’ need to develop non-fossil fuel energies for securing the country’s power supply, in partnership with the private sector. The welcome remarks were given by German Ambassador Christian-Ludwig Weeber Lortsch and Mary-Ann Lucille Sering, Philippine Climate Change Commissioner.
The symposium had a distinguished panel of speakers: GTZ Senior Consultant for Renewable Energy, Professor Christoph Menke; DOE Assistant Secretary Mario Marasigan; former DOE Secretary Vince Perez; Dr Bodo Goerlich, Director of the German Philippine Chamber of Commerce and Industry; and Dr Gunter Matschuck, President of Maschinen Technik, Inc.
One of the highlights of the discussion was the panel’s dialogue with private sector stakeholders and investors about the feed-in tariff system, which is currently being formulated by the DOE and Energy Regulatory Board. Basically, the feed-in tariff is a premium rate paid to energy facilities for electricity produced from renewable sources. The electricity generated from these systems is fed back into the main grid for distribution throughout the network. It is a powerful tool for promoting investment in renewables.
The Philippines is already a big proponent and user of renewable energy. About 34% of the country’s total power supply is generated through non-fossil fuel sources, principally hydro-electric in Mindanao and geothermal in the Visayas. The problem is that hydro-electric is affected by climate change and thus, very dependent on water supplies and rainfall patterns. On the other hand, more development is required in geothermal. There is the need to explore other renewable energies, mainly solar and wind, which have the most potential in the country.
At present, 80 business groups have already registered with the DOE—a sign of the significant interest in the renewable energy sector. All of them are eagerly awaiting the final feed-in tariff system and the updated National Energy Plan. When the feed-in tariff system is finally made public, I hope it provides a win-win scenario for everyone—predictable and adequate revenues for investors, cost-benefit to the consumers, and of course, reduction of the country’s dependence on oil imports and decreased environmental degradation.
It’s clear that the world must turn to renewable energies. There is a lot of debate on how long fossil fuels will last. However, one thing is certain—they are finite and will eventually run out.
Furthermore, the effects of carbon emissions into the atmosphere are causing great havoc to the environment and weather patterns, threatening the very existence of the human race and civilization.
Fortunately, industrialized countries are recognizing the problem and are actively seeking solutions.
Even top polluters like China and India are getting on the bandwagon.
However, special praise must be given to Germany, which is leading the European Union in renewables. In 2008, renewables in Germany's primary energy consumption were just 7.3%, but that figure is predicted to increase to 33% by 2020.
Energy savings is also being addressed. According to the German government’s plan, a series of new energy efficiency measures, including the construction of a smart grid, should reduce the country's primary energy consumption by 28% in the next twenty years, saving the country billions of Euros in payments for increasingly costly oil and gas imports.
By 2020, 30% of the electricity consumed in Germany is expected to come from renewable energy sources, with wind energy contributing the most at 15%, bio-mass second at 8%, followed by hydro-electric at 4%. Solar has had a tougher time taking off, due to its high cost.
However, a lot of government and private sector funds have been poured into developing better photovoltaic cells. Solar is expected to become commercially viable by 2015.
Germany has also made optimal use of its natural wind resources concentrated along its northern coastlines and is building huge offshore wind parks, placed in the North Sea. When these come on-line, they should have the capacity to generate as much as 10,000 MW, feeding electricity into a smart national grid that will transport energy all over the country. It is estimated that by 2030, as much as 50 percent of Germany's electricity will come from renewable energy sources.
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