Mindanao Development Authority promoting more investments in renewable energy

By Danessa Rivera (The Philippine Star) | Updated April 18, 2016 - 12:00am

http://www.philstar.com/business/2016/04/18/1573913/mindanao-development-authority-promoting-more-investments-renewable

MANILA, Philippines – The Mindanao Development Authority (MinDA) is promoting more investments in renewable energy (RE) to maintain a balanced power mix beyond 2017.

The Mindanao region has a strong potential for RE developments, with nearly 2,000 MW of potential capacity for biomass and small-hydro power projects, MinDA director for investments promotions Romeo Montenegro said.

For biomass, there are 15 provinces in the region that are viable for biomass projects, with a potential of 843 megawatts (MW) in capacity.

“This is because Mindanao is majority and agricultural area where you have agricultural waste that can be feedstock for biomass projects,” Montenegro said.

The region also has 15 provinces viable for small hydropower plants, with potential capacity reaching 1,000 MW.

Based on committed power projects in the region, the bulk or 67 percent of Mindanao’s energy mix will be from fossil fuel (49 percent coal and 18 percent oil-based) by 2017 while renewable energy (one percent biomass, three percent geothermal and 29 percent hydro) will corner only 33 percent.

This is compared to 2015’s energy mix of 55 percent renewables (six percent geothermal and 49 percent hydro) and 45 percent fossil fuel (14 percent coal and 31 percent oil-based).

Montenegro said Mindanao needs to deploy at least 200 MW additional RE sources per year between 2020 and 2030 to offset fossil fuel power projects.

So far, MinDA has been tracking around 284 RE projects with a capacity of 3,773.41 MW, which are pending in several permitting agencies of government.

Most pending RE projects are hydropower at 226 with a potential capacity of 2,511.68 MW, followed by 36 solar project with 808.85 MW capacity.

There are nine geothermal projects with a 278.48 MW potential capacity and 13 biomass projects with 168.4 MW.

To further promote RE in Mindanao, MinDA is pushing for the full implementation of the One Stop Facilitation and Processing Center.

It is also looking at is the enforcement of the Green Energy Option Policy and the piloting of Renewable Energy Portfolio Standards in the region.

MinDA is also proposing to a transition to a wholesale electricity spot market (WESM) in the region “that will provide viability further to renewable energy projects,” Montenegro said.