Philippines Renewable Energy

Philippines Renewable Energy – As a tropical island, the Philippines has the potential to produce a large amount of energy from natural resources. In recent years, solar panels in the Philippines have come to the fore in terms of profitability among ordinary consumers. In fact, the Philippines has long been producing energy from renewable sources. Only in recent history have many Filipinos recognize the benefits of renewable energy as an alternative to fossil fuels and coal. The renewable energies found in the Philippines are listed below, as well as the geographic location of the power plants where they can be found.

Moving water is a powerful source of energy. The power obtained from the movement of water is called hydroelectric energy. The Philippines uses two methods of using force; Dam storage or damming and river course. While the dam uses artificial dams to store water, the flowing river relies on its flow. Both methods convert the turbine into electricity. The hydroelectric power plants in the Philippines are located in Pangasinan, Benguet, Laguna, Isabela, Bulacan, Nueva Ecija, Ilocos Sur, Bohol, Lanao del Sur, Lanao del Norte, Bukidnon, Davao del Sur and Misamis Oriental.

Philippines Renewable Energy

Geothermal energy comes from heat beneath the earth’s surface. There are two methods of obtaining geothermal energy in the Philippines: flash steam and the binary cycle. Geothermal energy is obtained by flash evaporation using steam pipes to extract water at a temperature greater than 182 ° C. The steam is used to drive power generating turbines and the remaining water is discharged back into the ground. The binary process extracts the water at a lower temperature than flash evaporation. The extracted water is then used to boil the lower boiling working fluid that drives the turbine. Water is also released back into the ground. The geothermal power plants in the Philippines are located in Laguna, Sorsogon, Albay, Batangas, Negros Occidental, Leyte and North Cotabato.

Philippines Is Raising Renewable Energy Ambitions

Solar energy is used as an energy source in the Philippines in industrial scale photovoltaic power plants. The Philippines recently included large solar farms in the country, even though the country is geographically located in an area that receives a lot of sunlight every year. The main solar farms in the Philippines can be found in Cavite, Pampanga, Ilocos Norte, and Cagayan de Oro.

Like water, moving air also produces energy through wind turbines that provide kinetic energy through mechanical power. The turbines then feed the generator to produce energy. There are wind farms in the Philippines in Ilocos Norte, Rizal, Guimaras and Aklan.

Energy from biomass is similar to fossil fuel in that it is burned to boil water to produce steam that drives a generator. As an agricultural country, the Philippines is rich in natural resources such as sugarcane, rice husks, and coconut husks used in place of fossil fuels. Biomass power plants in the Philippines are located in Isabela, Nueva Ecija, Rizal, Laguna, Isabela and Metro Manila.

The Philippines has many resources for generating energy through renewable power plants in the country. The number of consumers using solar panels in the Philippines has now increased. This rise in awareness has encouraged the Filipino community to recognize the many benefits of clean energy that powers our homes and businesses. In the Philippines, the fight between coal-fired and renewable power plants is exacerbating. Pat Manigo Jr. explains the recovery of coal and the need to switch to renewable energy to meet the COP21 goals.

Why Is The Philippines So Focused On Coal?

More than seven years after the passing of the Renewable Energy Act (Renewable Energy Act) in 2008, the Philippines finally gained momentum in the development of renewable energy sources. By April 2016, more than 1,000 MW of renewable energy projects were implemented under the feed-in tariff system (FIT) included in the Renewable Energy Act.

Almost all of the 1,000 MW of installed RES capacity has been completed in the last two and a half years. In addition to the installation under the FIT, approximately 2,500 kW were installed under the net dosing mechanism. During the construction and subsequent operation of RES power plants, conservative estimates estimate the number of jobs at around 100,000.

At first glance, renewable energy seems to have won the battle against fossil fuels. The truth, however, is closer to this. New coal and gas power plants built since the entry into force of the RES Act have much higher capacities and have significantly reduced the share of renewable energy in the electricity mix.

There are currently 17 coal-fired power plants in operation, and most of them are expected to go into operation in the next few months. Greenpeace Philippines announced that a further 29 plants are under preparation. In addition, there are five natural gas plants, two of which started operations in April 2016. According to James Oy, IHS Senior Director of Gas and Energy Asia Pacific – “If coal projects go ahead as planned, Luzon’s coal production will share will exceed 75% by 2030. And many coal-fired power plants will be uneconomical. The Philippines will have the largest share of coal in Asia, which will be a complete change for a country that had a share of renewable energy in 1999 at 44% and which has by far the highest share of renewable energy in Southeast Asia.

A Struggle Between Coal And Renewable Energy In The Philippines

When the RES Act was passed in 2008, both the share of renewable energy in the electricity mix and the installed capacity were around 34%. Since December 2014, the share of RES in the electricity mix in MWh has decreased to 25.6%, while the share of total installed capacity in MWh has decreased to 32.8%. If the pace of construction of new fossil fuel power plants ranging from hundreds of megawatts to GW is maintained, the share of renewable energy will continue to decline in the coming years.

The Philippines has other obvious obstacles to fossil fuel development. In addition to CoE law, the Philippines has one of the strictest air pollution control laws. The standards set out in the Clean Air Act of 1999 are considered to be stricter than those in the United States. The Philippines has also committed to a conditional GHG reduction of 70% by 2030 compared to normal COP21 activities.

So what are the reasons why power plants based on fossil fuels, especially coal, are preferred by the energy sector to renewable energy?

The main reason is that the Philippines has one of the highest electricity rates in the world. Consequently, any incentive or measure to increase electricity prices will face strong resistance from end-users, civil society organizations and politicians. The sharp drop in coal prices since last year has delayed the long-awaited renewable coal equivalent.

Asean’s Renewable Energy Challenges

In addition, coal has many inherent advantages over renewable energy in the current regulatory regime. In the current pricing system, which does not take into account externalities such as health and environmental costs, the cheapest power option will always be preferred. Fossil fuel power plants are a safe investment that provides a steady stream of income as customers can benefit from the automatic transfer of fuel costs to consumers. On the other hand, renewable energy projects are considered high-risk investments as resources fluctuate significantly from year to year. Financial institutions are very familiar with the development of coal-fired power plants, and energy companies are very familiar with their construction and operation. Regarding renewable energy projects, the Philippines has not yet gained sufficient experience in their development and operation and has to rely heavily on overseas contractors. Thus, the cost of renewable energy projects in the Philippines is much higher than in Europe and the United States.

The expansion of coal-fired power plants will make the integration of a variable renewable energy network even more difficult. Coal power plants cannot be turned on and off to cope with a steady supply of renewable energy. The Department of Energy’s Power Management Office forecasts coal production will exceed base load demand on Luzon, Visayan, and Mindanao after the new coal-fired power plants are fully operational within the year. At the present low cost per kWh, coal-fired power plants are already replacing geothermal and hydropower plants. While lower electricity prices will be the short-term effect, what happens when fossil fuel prices suddenly rise to previous levels? Recently, the exploration and development of many power plants and geothermal power plants has stalled as they cannot compete with coal.

Coal power plants seem to be gaining ground in the fight against renewable energy sources. How to prevent the success of coal factories?

The Philippines can follow the example of Germany and other countries in the transition to renewable energy, including shutting down old coal-fired power plants and preventing new ones from being built. The Philippines must focus on renewable energy development to survive

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