DOE expects additional 21 MW from 3 renewable energy projects

MANILA, Philippines - Three new renewable energy (RE) projects are in the pipeline that can provide roughly 21 megawatts (MW) in additional power supply.

New green energy projects using hydropower were launched while a biomass project will be inaugurated this week, said Mario Marasigan, director of the Energy Utilization and Management Bureau of the Department of Energy (DOE).

Specifically, a rice millers group in Isabela province is scheduled to break ground for a 20-MW biomass power plant that will use rice husks.

Meanwhile, the partnership of Meadowland Developers Inc. and Green Innov Energy has launched a 500-kilowatt (kw) mini-hydropower project in Badian, Cebu and a 400-kw mini-hydropower project in Carmen, Cebu.

“In Badian, they will be harnessing the tailwater of an existing mini-hydro power plant that was installed by an electric cooperative,” Marasigan said.

The tailwater will go directly to the rice farms’ irrigation canal while the Carmen project will increase domestic water supply, Marasigan said.

All three projects are in the process of securing feed-in tariff (FIT) approval. The FIT scheme guarantees return on investments of renewable energy firms through fixed rates that would be shouldered by consumers for 20 years.

The two mini-hydropower projects will be commercially viable given the existing civil works and transmission facilities, Marasigan said.

The DOE, for its part, will push through with the country’s first auction of several mini-hydropower projects in the second half.

Early last year, Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) completed its technical study for mini-hydropower projects. JICA’s two-year study showed the viability of putting up 40 to 50 run-of-river hydropower sites in Luzon and the Visayas.

All 40 sites will be auctioned like petroleum and coal service contracts under the Philippine Energy Contracting Round (PECR).

In the PECR, the DOE evaluates bidders’ planned working program that includes capital spending and exploration program.

The sites up for bidding are believed to be conducive for hydropower projects with a generating capacity of between one to 10 megawatts.

To date, the Philippines sources 35 percent its total power requirements from renewable energy sources like geothermal, hydropower, wind, solar and biomass.