Hydropower plant developers want faster issuance of gov’t permits

Business World Online

Posted on March 14, 2013 08:57:00 PM

SMALL-SCALE developers cited the potential of hydropower energy in the country but noted the need to fast track the issuance of government permits in order to efficiently utilize the available resources.

Speakers at the Philippine Hydropower Summit 2013 held yesterday said that the private sector is being hindered by the longer permit process.

"In the past, it used to be simple to build hydro plants. That’s why back in 1991, 1992 and 1993, we were able to build 11 plants in three years. Now, we only build two plants a year because of the permitting process," Rene B. Ronquillo, Philippine Association of Small Scale Hydropower, Inc. (PASSHYDRO) treasurer, said in a presentation yesterday.

Mr. Ronquillo said the permit process before involves a development contract. He said that as soon as the developer gets the renewable energy (RE) contract, construction already starts. He added that back then, there were only three permits required -- water permit, environmental compliance certificate, and negotiated agreements with local communities.

However, Mr. Ronquillo lamented that there are now more permits and clearances that are required before being allowed to start project construction.

"Because of this, prior to construction, we now need four to five years for the permitting process because we cannot do that [all at the same time]. We do that one by one," Mr. Ronquillo said.

He said that it takes longer to secure all the permits than to construct the power plant. The official said that the construction of a mini hydropower plant usually takes 24 to 36 months. "We’re asking [the government’ if we can streamline it. We don’t have to go to the DoE (Department of Energy) 12 or 14 times to be able to complete the permitting process," Mr. Ronquillo said.

The official said it would be ideal to at least cut the permitting process to three years to be able to fast-track the development of the power projects. 

The government, for its part, recognized the need to address the concern of the sector in order to utilize the available resources in the country. "The government should be an enabler and not a barrier... We’ve seen many good laws but we stumble in execution and implementation. The RE act must be implemented with a firm resolve," Vice-President Jejomar C. Binay said in his speech during the same event.

DoE Assistant Secretary Daniel A. Ariaso, Sr. said that the department has various policy directions in developing RE technologies like hydropower. -- CAMCF  source