Alternative Energy

The country’s push for self-sufficiency in energy sources, particularly through the promotion of renewable energy (RE) technologies, is getting mired in some problems, and consequently being challenged by the Board of Investments and – surprise, surprise – even the Department of Energy.

The European Chamber of Commerce of the Philippines (ECCP), in cooperation with the European National Chambers, noted with deep concern the views expressed by the PCCI and — surprisingly — by the BOI, undermining the country’s move towards renewable energies, alternative fuels and a wider energy mix.

MANILA, Philippines – UK-based Global Green Power PLC Corp. (GGPC), a company developing biomass power plants around the country, has urged the Philippine government to speed up the development of the renewable energy sector.

MANILA, Philippines – The Department of Energy (DOE) said it has received 30 new proposals for renewable energy (RE) projects with an aggregate capacity of almost 6,000 megawatts (MW), more than half of which are hydropower with 3,593 MW.

ORION, Bataan—-A firm is putting up a P21-billion powerplant using American steam techology in processing garbage to generate electricity.

We all want renewable energy, of course. With supply infinite and non-pollutive, it is the smart alternative to dwindling dirty sources like diesel and coal. But should we go into solar and wind if it would swell our electricity bills? Certainly not. More so, if that extra cost amounts to P8 billion a year, for…

THE International Finance Corp. (FIC) has slammed the delay in the implementation of the incentives provided for under the Renewable Energy Law. Jesse Ang, IFC representative to the Philippines, said in a briefing that foreign investors have been “disappointed” over the extended deferral in the issuance of the final feed-in tariff rates, urging the government…

MANILA, Philippines – The Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) said the government should review the subsidies for biofuel because it contributes to higher food prices.

The Asian Development Bank (ADB) on Wednesday told Asian nations “to take radical steps” to increase efficiency and invest in renewable energy amid a “looming” crisis.

Finally, nearly four years after the passage of the Renewable Energy Act, the Congress-approved law gets off the ground, that is, on a hopeful note. President Benigno “Noynoy” Aquino III unveiled his administration’s roadmap to move the Philippines toward a more sustainable use of clean or “green” energy in the ceremonial launch of the National…

This is the seventh and last of a series of environmental columns that I started writing last April, right at the time the world was celebrating Earth Hour. Using how Western and Chinese thought have classified the elements of the world (the subject of the first column), I have written about Earth (agriculture and land),…

MANILA, Philippines –  `President Aquino formally launched yesterday the government’s National Renewable Energy Program (NREP) aimed at addressing the spiraling cost and insufficiencies in the supply of electricity, especially in rural areas.

MANILA, Philippines –  The Philippines is eyeing a three-fold increase in the share of renewable energy (RE) sources in its energy mix by 2030, the country’s top energy official said.

MANILA, Philippines –The Philippines said Tuesday it was aiming to generate half its energy from renewable sources by 2030, in a significant upgrade from current efforts.

Beyond the subsidy called Feed-in Tariff, there are other things that ought to be looked at before we agree to allow them to put additional burdens on our power users. For instance, it is not clear, the position paper of the Foundation for Economic Freedom (FEF) observes, what is it exactly that the envisioned FIT…

In a country whose iconic vehicles include the Shelby Cobra and the Hummer, one might assume that electric-vehicle adoption in the U.S. would be hindered by a cultural proclivity for owning very fast or powerful cars.

MANILA, Philippines—Six foreign companies from Korea, China and Japan have begun conducting due diligence before they fully commit to coal and hydropower projects in the Philippines.

TOP GOVERNMENT officials yesterday vowed to speed up support systems for renewable energy development, admitting that progress on this front in the power sector has been slow.

CEBU CITY — The Department of Energy (DoE) expects to energize about 2,650 more households in remote areas in the country using solar energy.

BACOLOD CITY, Philippines—An official of a sugar millers’ group said the prospects of the country’s ethanol industry remained dim as sugar planters preferred to convert their crop to sugar, which provides them higher income.

SINGAPORE – The Philippines is taking on the challenge of leading the development of renewable energy (RE) in the region, an energy official said.

MANILA, Philippines – A group of solar power producers is proposing to put up around 170 megawatts (MW) of solar energy in the country next year.

THE EUROPEAN Chamber of Commerce of the Philippines (ECCP) is calling for a law that will provide both incentives and penalties to promote energy conservation.

MANILA, Philippines – At least P51 billion in potential investments in bioethanol projects may be lost due to the failure of the government to assure investors that it will nurture the initially capital intensive bioethanol industry, a sugar industry leader said yesterday.

Investments totaling P87 billion were logged by the Department of Energy (DoE) from the 205 contracts already awarded for prospective developments of various renewable energy resources, but hurdles to implementation have yet to be addressed.

The Asian Development Bank (ADB) on Wednesday said it is planning to issue its first Clean Energy bond to support renewable energy projects in Asia.

MANILA, Philippines – Experts in the promotion of renewable energy in Asia said the Philippines is on the right track as they cited the government’s efforts in formulating laws that focus on the use of renewable sources of energy.

MANILA, Philippines – If there was anything the Luzon-wide blackout that Typhoon Basyang left, it was a stark realization of how precious and fragile the Philippines’ power supply is. And Basyang was just typhoon number one of the 2010 rainy season.

MANILA, Philippines – A private energy firm has put up 5,129 solar panels in impoverished barangays in Masbate province. Paris Manila Technology Corp. (Pamatec) has executed the Philippine Rural Electrification Service (PRES) through a French loan worth 17.5-million euro borrowed by the National Power Corp.  

The country’s ethanol producers are opposing the recommendation of the Energy Department to lift the import ban on ethanol and reduce the blending mandate prescribed under the Biofuels Law.