Nearly 40% of power for Visayas from renewable sources: official

By Mia A. Aznar

Saturday, October 26, 2013

THOUGH there is still a considerable share of power being generated by fossil fuels, the Department of Energy (DOE) assured that the country’s long-term goal is moving toward more renewable energy sources.

DOE Undersecretary Raul Aguilos, at the Energy Investment Forum held this week, said the 30-year Philippine Energy Plan aims reduce the use of fossil fuels and generate clean energy to meet the country’s power demands.

But to meet the short-term demands for power, Aguilos said the country still needs coal-fired power plants.

He said, though, that 60 percent of the country’s installed capacity is renewable. “We are one of the largest users of renewable energy, in terms of installed capacity,” he said.

Out of the 2,448 megawatts being generated for the Visayas, 37.39 percent is from geothermal energy while 1.81 percent is from biomass. Coal has a 32.91 percent share while oil-based energy makes up 27.39 percent. There are also a few from hydroelectric and natural gas sources.

The DOE has awarded 371 contracts for renewable energy with a total capacity for 8,414 megawatts.

Aguilos said the country is on track to meet its goal of reducing the use of fossil fuels. He added that the government’s incentives for developing renewable energy should encourage investors to venture into these projects.

He added that they also assist investors in working out the process of getting approval for the development of energy projects.

Aguilos said they have organized a composite team to assist energy investors in working on their licenses and permits from the different government agencies.

Rather than set up a one-stop shop, he said the investment officers will facilitate the transactions to make things easier and more convenient for investors. They will also assign one investment officer for each energy investor company.

The department, through its investment promotions office, has also published energy investment kits and energy investment guidebooks and conducted investment forums to let investors know how things can be done.   source

Published in the Sun.Star Cebu newspaper on October 27, 2013.