DOE unveils viable energy plan for Mindoro island

The Manila Times
August 18, 2014 11:17 pm
by RITCHIE A. HORARIO, REPORTER

As part of the government’s objective on energy sustainability and independence, the Department of Energy (DOE) launched over the weekend the power development plan for Mindoro island.
Energy Undersecretary Raul Aguilos stressed the importance of the energy plan in fulfilling Mindoro’s aim of energy independence.
“The Mindoro Development Plan is an effort shared by the people of the two provinces... careful energy planning and strategies are essential methods to secure the island’s growing industries and stir it towards progress,” he said.
The island is composed of the provinces of Oriental Mindoro and Occidental Mindoro.
The plan highlighted the potential energy sources and prospective plans for the improvement of energy facilities and services in the region.
To date, the DOE already awarded 189.3 megawatts (MW) worth of renewable energy (RE) projects to different foreign and local developers.
The plan underscored the potential resources in the island such as 47.1 MW from hydro and ocean energy, and 151.2 MW from biomass energy resources.
There is also an estimated potential of 76.36 billion cubic feet of natural gas within the island which is currently being operated and explored by Pitkin Petroleum.
The proposed Batangas-Mindoro transmission interconnection line set to be completed by 2023, is also included in the development plan.
Once completed, the island will now be part of the Luzon grid, therefore making the region independent from missionary electrification subsidies.
Also, the development plan suggested a study on the possibility of uniting the transmission lines of the Oriental and Occidental Mindoro provinces.
In doing so, this would improve system efficiency since the lines would be upgraded from 69 kilovolts to 138kV.
The Mindoro Island Power Development Plan is one of the Department’s pilot initiatives in fostering energy independence across the regions of the country.
The DOE recently spearheaded public consultations and forums in the creation of the Palawan and Visayas Energy Plans as well. source