The Philippine Solar Power Alliance has asked the presidential aspirants to disclose their climate change and energy agenda, after US President Barack Obama cited the need to cut carbon emissions.
“The leader of the free world has spoken and shared their views in mitigating climate change. We in the solar industry believes that reducing emissions by building gigawatt-size solar installations is a win-win solution for countries that in growth path like the Philippines—solar and wind energy add capacity in the system and address the growing need for power in a sustainable way,” PSPA president Tetchie Capellan said.
PSPA is the umbrella organization of solar power developers in the country.
“We call on all presidential aspirants to bare their climate change and energy agenda. We call on all of them to share their installation targets for RE and the generation mix they support including the policy instruments they would implement to achieve their targets,” Capellan said.
“We want to hear detailed reform programs in climate change and not just rhetorics,” she said.
Obama, in a speech during the Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation Summit in Manila, cited an urgent need to arrest climate change and urged companies to invest in renewable energy and clean technologies.
“The patterns and the science don’t lie–temperatures and sea levels are rising; ice caps are melting; storms are strengthening. If we want to prevent the worst effects of climate change before it’s too late, the time to act is now,” Obama said.
The Philippines has a taken a giant stride towards addressing climate change with the passage of the Renewable Energy Law of 2008.
The law ushered the entry of foreign and local investments in the industry with the Energy Department approving around 616 renewable energy projects with a potential capacity of 12,138.41 megawatts as of end-October.
Bulk of the projects approved were hydro with 343 projects, with potential capacity of 7,390.42 megawatts, followed by solar with 93 projects and combined capacity of 2,554.81 MW.
The department also approved 51 wind projects with potential capacity of 1,168 MW, 43 geothermal projects with 750 MW, 40 biomass projects with 249.07 MW and seven ocean energy projects with 26 MW.
The department, however, has yet to approve some 272 M of renewable projects with a total capacity of 5,031.82 MW as of end October.
The department issued certificates of confirmation of commerciality to 87 renewable energy projects with a capacity of 1,571.98 MW.
Projects that have complied with the requirements for conversion from pre-development stage to development stage under FIT-system are issued a certificate of confirmation of commerciality which shall serve as notice to proceed under the development stage.
Around 26 projects with potential capacity of 609.15 MW have been given certificate of endorsement to the Energy Regulatory Commission for eligibility of the feed-in tariff.
The 20-year feed-in tariff serves as incentive to renewable energy developers. The regulator approved a feed-in tariff of P7.40 per kilowatt-hour for the second wave of wind installation targets.