(The Philippine Star) | Updated November 13, 2017 - 12:00am
MANILA, Philippines —
The Philippine energy sector must change its foreign ownership policies to
attract more renewable energy investments into the country, according to a
global energy group.
“The Philippine market
is interesting, but there’s some changes that have to be made in terms of the
60 percent (ownership policy), “Global Wind Energy Council (GWEC) global
ambassador Eddie O’Connor told reporters.
Foreign companies that
extract natural resources in the country are only allowed to own 40 percent of
the business, O’Connor said.
“We’re not extracting
natural resources, we’re making use of them. It’s not like you’re taking our
coal or tin or uranium or something like that,” O’Connor said.
He added once foreign
investors build renewable energy plants in the Philippines, this would continue
to supply electricity for the country, which cannot be transferred out of the
country.
“When you build a
renewable energy plant, that belongs to the Philippines. You can never move
that. It’s too big. It’s just here and it will be supplying electricity
forever,” the GWEC global ambassador said.
O’Connor said having
foreign companies build renewable energy power plants in the country would help
the Philippines increase its electricity supply, which remains a big challenge
for the country.
The Department of
Energy (DOE) is targeting to reach total household electrification of the
Philippines by 2022.
The DOE earlier
announced it is seeking a budget of nearly P1 billion in 2018 to accelerate its
electrification projects, in line with the 2022 target.
Of the proposed P2.659
billion next year, P895 million will be for its electrification programs, with
P271 million allocated to household electrification program in off-grid using
renewable energy, while P624 million will be for nationwide intensification of
household electrification.
Latest data from the
DOE show renewable energy accounts for 32.5 percent of installed power plants
in the country, with a capacity of 7,038 megawatts (MW).
This is second to coal
which comprise of 35 percent of the installed power plants in the country with
a capacity of 7,569 MW.
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