Philippines "Way ahead" of Green-Energy Target

PAUL ANTHONY A. ISLA / REPORTER

MONDAY, 25 JUNE 2012

The Department of Energy (DOE) said renewable energy-based power plants remain a bigger priority than coal-fired power plants.

According to the department, it has awarded 304 renewable-energy (RE) contracts that will put in place 7,843.65 megawatts (MW) of renewable energy-based capacity.

In terms of capacity, the DOE said it has awarded more than the coal-fired generating capacity it has endorsed totaling 1,935 MW as of end-June 2012.

“There are very few countries in the world that can stand up and say that 58.2 percent of their power are green. As a matter of fact, the United Nations Industrial Development Organization [Unido] has set a target of 30-percent renewable by 2030. And clearly, the Philippines is way ahead of this target,” Energy Secretary Jose Rene Almendras said in a statement on Monday.

He added that the share of green energy in power generation now stands at 58.2 percent in 2011 from 55.1 percent in 2010.

Almendras said the share of RE generating capacity also increased to 28.4 percent in 2011 from 26.3 percent in 2010. “These numbers show that from 2010 to 2011, we have been increasing our green generation capacities,” he added.

The energy chief said due to renewed confidence in the Aquino administration, as clearly evidenced by economic indicators, electricity consumption is growing faster than it has been for the past 10 years.

He added that Manila Electric Co. (Meralco), for instance, announced that its year-on-year growth is at 10 percent and leading the increase is the industrial sector growth at 13.4 percent.

Almendras said the projected double-digit growth in electricity consumption has not been seen in years where the 10-year average growth only stood at 4.3 percent.

“All of these indicate that we must increase base-load generation to meet the increased consumption of electricity so as not to stifle economic growth. Then, there is the other challenge of keeping electricity rates low, therefore we must increase generation capacity using the lowest cost technologies to meet the short- to medium-term needs,” he added.

Almendras said more sustainable options will be more economically viable due to technology advancements, and this is precisely why the DOE sees more RE and green options taking the lead by 2017 and beyond.

“But we are not restraining the growth of green and renewable generation. We just need to consider when these capacities will be available. While waiting for them to be available, we must explore other technologies,” he added.

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I would not count large hydropower projects as green.

Why?

Because large hydropower projects destroys natural habitat of wildlife, it displaces communities, it buries forever the heritage, the lands, the memories of large area and it's people.

If run-of-river hydropower then yes its Green and sustainable... if large projects NO... its never green if its artificial.


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