Manila Bulletin
By: Myrna M. Velasco
Published: March 18, 2013
From more than 1,300 signatures across relevant government agencies, it is high in the wish list of hydropower project developers that this be streamlined significantly and the processes be harmonized so implementation of projects can be fast-tracked.
This has been the resounding theme of the recently concluded Hydro Power Summit, wherein stakeholders including the Department of Energy (DOE), have attempted to draw up a “feasible” hydropower development roadmap.
A compressed process of seeking project approvals, according to Hedcor Inc. president Rene B. Ronquillo could be the best starting point for the sector to flourish.
As things stand today, the tedious process of government approvals as well as dealing with conflicting processes at various agencies could already eat up four to six years of the allotted timeframe for project implementations.
“We are really hoping that the DOE and the other national agencies would find a way to streamline the process,” Ronquillo has emphasized.
The call of Hedcor, being a long-time developer already in smaller scale hydro projects, just echoed the sentiments of all other hydro project sponsors which have been hurdled by the same tricky processes in securing permits and relevant regulatory approvals. A “one-stop shop” on approvals is their ultimate aspiration.
“Since we know that the government is promoting RE (renewable energy), we should find a way to streamline the process to make it easier and shorter to get the necessary permits,” Ronquillo stressed.
He cited as an example that the process at DOE alone would require the developers to go back to them 12 to 14 times, because they can only secure the certificate of endorsement (for the project) after going through all the approvals of the other government agencies. The hydro developers emphasized that the service contract could have already sufficed.
The hydro portfolio being firmed up by Hedcor of the Aboitiz Group would be for 100 megawatts over the next 4-5 years, including the three which are already under implementation. These are the 13-MW Sabangan project in Mountain Province; and the Tudaya 1 and 2 facilities in Davao.
The company lodged other 39 applications for hydro service contracts with the energy department that when developed could yield additional 400MW.
But Ronquillo qualified that the “two projects per year target” they have been casting would all depend on how fast they can secure permits and go-signal from government agencies, including the host local government units.
Generally, he intimated that “it takes longer to get the permits than to build the plants. It takes only two years to build the plants.”
Ronquillo similarly stressed the need “to understand that some of the permits cannot really be done simultaneously. For example, on LGU permit, the municipality would want to deal with the barangays first, so you have to deal with the barangay, and then the municipality and then the province.”
For the other permits like the environmental compliance certificate (ECC), developers would have to hurdle the process with the host community and the rules being laid down by the Department of Environment and Natural Resources, among others. source
This has been the resounding theme of the recently concluded Hydro Power Summit, wherein stakeholders including the Department of Energy (DOE), have attempted to draw up a “feasible” hydropower development roadmap.
A compressed process of seeking project approvals, according to Hedcor Inc. president Rene B. Ronquillo could be the best starting point for the sector to flourish.
As things stand today, the tedious process of government approvals as well as dealing with conflicting processes at various agencies could already eat up four to six years of the allotted timeframe for project implementations.
“We are really hoping that the DOE and the other national agencies would find a way to streamline the process,” Ronquillo has emphasized.
The call of Hedcor, being a long-time developer already in smaller scale hydro projects, just echoed the sentiments of all other hydro project sponsors which have been hurdled by the same tricky processes in securing permits and relevant regulatory approvals. A “one-stop shop” on approvals is their ultimate aspiration.
“Since we know that the government is promoting RE (renewable energy), we should find a way to streamline the process to make it easier and shorter to get the necessary permits,” Ronquillo stressed.
He cited as an example that the process at DOE alone would require the developers to go back to them 12 to 14 times, because they can only secure the certificate of endorsement (for the project) after going through all the approvals of the other government agencies. The hydro developers emphasized that the service contract could have already sufficed.
The hydro portfolio being firmed up by Hedcor of the Aboitiz Group would be for 100 megawatts over the next 4-5 years, including the three which are already under implementation. These are the 13-MW Sabangan project in Mountain Province; and the Tudaya 1 and 2 facilities in Davao.
The company lodged other 39 applications for hydro service contracts with the energy department that when developed could yield additional 400MW.
But Ronquillo qualified that the “two projects per year target” they have been casting would all depend on how fast they can secure permits and go-signal from government agencies, including the host local government units.
Generally, he intimated that “it takes longer to get the permits than to build the plants. It takes only two years to build the plants.”
Ronquillo similarly stressed the need “to understand that some of the permits cannot really be done simultaneously. For example, on LGU permit, the municipality would want to deal with the barangays first, so you have to deal with the barangay, and then the municipality and then the province.”
For the other permits like the environmental compliance certificate (ECC), developers would have to hurdle the process with the host community and the rules being laid down by the Department of Environment and Natural Resources, among others. source
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