The Philippines could emerge as the most aggressive country in the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (Asean) region when it comes to Renewable Energy development, Department of Energy (DOE) Secretary Carlos Jericho L. Petilla said.
”In 2014 it was a strong jumpstart for renewable energy [RE]. Very strong, I think we were the most aggressive in the Asean countries when it comes to renewable energy concerns,” Petilla said.
Despite the continuous worry of investors on RE projects, Petilla noted the previous successes of the country in harnessing various RE types.
“When it comes to RE, investors always worry. However, we’ve shown them that some have built 400 megawatts (MW) from wind; solar, 50 MW; hydro and biomass, over 100 MW; and solar not under FIT (feed-in tariff), has spread like wildfire,” he said.
He also noted RE will still be a strong player, amid the few bottlenecks, such as the National Grid Corp. of the Philippines (NGCP) not ready to connect the renewable-energy projects to the power grid.
“In preparation for more renewable energy this 2015, [but] we have to slow down for NGCP and integration to catch up. But, we’re still there, we’re just looking at the bottlenecks, but is a very, very strong start-up for RE in this country,” he said.
The DOE has presently endorsed to the Energy Regulatory Commission (ERC) a total FIT capacity of 304.05 MW from various types of RE. It serves as a mechanism for RE developers to be utilized, amid its expensive installations and technology costs.
The Economist said in a report that the global RE capacity has increased by more than 8 percent in 2014 than 2013, reaching a total 1,560 gigawatts (GW).
The biggest contributor to the worldwide boost came from hydropower capacity, a 4-percent increase from last year, while other renewables totaled a boost of 17 percent, contributing 560 GW.
Similarly, the Philippines’s biggest RE power producer is still hydro, at 3,536 MW as of 2013 DOE figures.
Further, the DOE has awarded around 200 service contracts for hydro-power projects to private companies as of last year.
Also, for the January data for FIT capacity, the DOE endorsed a total hydrocapacity to the ERC at 12.6 MW.
Meanwhile, according to The Economist, the United Nations Environment Program reported a 39-GW total solar photovoltaic (PV) capacity bought at a cheaper rate in 2013, than a 31-GW total in 2012.
The falling prices was due to the solar photovoltaic systems, or solar- panel innovation.
“In a recent report on solar electricity the International Energy Agency [IEA] noted that the cost of solar panels had come down by a factor of five in the past six years, and the cost of full PV systems, which include other electronics and wiring, by three,” The Economist said.
It noted solar PV systems are even approaching or falling below the variable portion of retail electricity prices.
In the Philippines, RE developers are presently taking risk in their deals with solar panels. Schools were reported in the past to pay no upfront costs for the installation of the equipment.
Under the deal, the developers will be paid for the power the PV units produce and, if fully completed within an agreed period of time, the schools will own it.
The DOE acts on this school solar-panel initiative, signing on the memorandum of agreement (MOA), as well as a guarantor that the two parties—the school and the developer—will do their responsibilities to pay and maintain the panels.
Aside from schools, the government office is also aiming to extend the program to households since the current offer for solar panels is still expensive.
However, the present expensive rates might change as the International Energy Agency forecasts that the price of solar panels will be cut into half in the next 20 years.
It was also projected to provide 16 percent of the globe’s electric power, an increase of 11 percent from its 2010 estimate.
By 2020 solar is estimated to provide about 2 percent of the entire globe’s power.
It will further grow by 16 percent in 2050, an increase of 11 percent from a previous forecast in 2010.
In 2013 solar was estimated to receive 53 percent of the $214-billion investment for RE projects.
The Philippines’s National Renewable Energy Program, under the RE law of 2008, targets to install 15,304 MW of installed renewable capacity by 2030.
Juzel L. Danganan / Philippines News Agency