Its sad that the Philippine Renewable Energy Bill was stalled in Congress owing to a lack of sufficient members to form a quorum. By the opening of the 13th congress we’re hoping, along with the Dept of Energy, that Congress will seek to prioritize the much needed bill. WWF Philippines, who is lobbying for the passing of the bill also mentioned that the Senate showed disinterest in the passing of the Bill at the Senate.
According to the provisions, it seeks to gain 60-percent energy self-sufficiency by 2010 by mandating the sourcing of a certain amount of electricity supply from renewable sources.
If we take it on an island by island breakdown. The island of Mindanao has long been compliant, because 60% of its energy needs are met by hydroelectric power plants. The sad reality however is that because Mindanao is dependent on Hydro Electric Dams for power, a bad drought will cause a power shortage in the island.
From the Philippine Department of Energy Site. This shows the amount of energy sources in the Philippines that are renewable in nature. Looks like in 2001 it just broke the 40% mark with Biomass being the major source of renewable energy.
The Philippines is known for having one of the most expensive electricity rates owing to the fact that we have oil based power plants supplying energy to the grid. By making use of its natural resources the Philippines can hope to make the cost of producing electricity lower. In turn this will have the more far reaching effect of spurring growth in other industries. This is something that the politicians must realize.
Article here
Category: Misc, Energy News
August 14th, 2007 at 11:31 am
oops, sorry i made a comment and then i saw this. so you ARE blogging about it
August 24th, 2007 at 5:17 am
No problem Rina and thanks for dropping by