Perez lauds Kyoto Protocol on greenhouse gas emissions

Energy Secretary Vincent S. Perez has hailed the Senate’s ratification of the Kyoto Protocol to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change.

The said protocol requires developed countries to reduce their greenhouse-gas emissions from 1990 levels by an average of five percent between 2008 and 2012.

Perez is in London as one of the keynote speakers during the ministerial launch of the Renewable Energy and Energy Efficiency Program (REEP).

He said the Philippines shall benefit through its participation in the "Clean Development Mechanism" (CDM) as recognized in the protocol.

Under the CDM, industrialized countries are committed to finance projects that limit global warming gases in the developing world such as the promotion, development and increased use of new and renewable forms of energy, of carbon dioxide sequestration technologies, and of advanced and innovative environmentally-sound technologies.

In his speech, Perez said the renewable power projects in the Philippines "can now attract financing using carbon emission reduction credits provided for under the Kyoto Protocol."

"Several renewable power projects using geothermal, wind, biomass and solar in the Visayas, Mindanao and other islands may benefit from the Senate’s ratification of the Kyoto Protocol," Perez said.

He added that renewable energy is ideal in the rural areas using sustainable fuel such as bagasse, rice husk, micro-hydro, wind, solar, and ocean energy.

The development of new and renewable energy (NRE) sources is also one of the policy measures mandated by the Electric Power Industry Reform Act (EPIRA) under a deregulated power industry.

With the support of the EPIRA, it is seen that Philippines will be able to attain a self-sufficiency level this year. The country is considered self-sufficient if it is able to source energy from its own resources.

The DOE believes that the contribution of the more exotic NRE system such as ocean, solar, wind and micro-hydro will grow considerably from a negligible share of less than one percent in 2002 to 3.9 percent in 2011.

Projections of the Department of Agriculture and the Department of Environment and Natural Resources show that supply potential for biomass will reach 265.8 million barrels of fuel oil equivalent (MMBFOE) in 2002 and 318.5 MMBFOE in 2011. Biomass supply is available in the following regions: bagasse in Regions III, IV, VI, and VII; coconut residues in Regions IV, VIII, IX, and XI; and rice hull in Regions II, III, IV and VI.

Being situated on the fringes of the Asia Pacific monsoon belt, the Philippines exhibits a good potential for wind energy with a national average density of about 31 watts per square meter.

Based on the recent wind mapping study conducted by the National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) of the United States, the Philippines has a potential capacity for wind power of about 70,000 megawatts (MW).

Among the possible sites identified as ideal for wind power projects are Ilocos Norte; Batanes; Busuanga and Cuyo Islands in Palawan; Casiguran and Polilio Islands in Quezon; Lubang Island in Mindoro Oriental; Marinduque; Masbate; Siquijor; Babuyan Island; Mindoro; Samar; Leyte; Panay; Negros; Cebu; and Eastern Mindanao.

Solar energy, on the other hand, is generated through the use of photovoltaic systems (PVs), which are widely used in the remote off-grid areas for water pumping, vaccine refrigeration, wireless and cellular communication systems, road sign lighting, and call boxes.

Mini-hydro electric power development is also becoming more popular with the passage of RA 7156, which encourages companies, cooperatives, and even local government units to build and operate mini-hydro facilities. The law also provides tax breaks to qualified investors.

For the past four years, there was a noted rise in NRE utilization. The country’s primary energy consumption in 2000 reached 249.5 MMBFOE, or 1.6 percent higher than the 1999 level of 245 MMBFOE. The slight increase was attributed to higher usage of NRE which registered a 6.9-percent growth.