House committee okays Renewable Energy Bill

The House Committee on Energy has approved the proposed Renewable Energy (RE) Act of 2006.

Committee chairman Rep. Alipio Badelles said the bill will promote the development, utilization and commercialization of renewable energy sources.

Badelles said a technical working group (TWG) was convened to harmonize contentious provisions on the various RE bills and come up with a draft substitute bill.

The TWG consists of representatives from the various government agencies and private entities supportive of the RE bill.

Badelles said TWG has expressed support to the approval of the bill as long as the provisions on the fiscal and non-fiscal incentives implemented.

He added that the RE bill is a priority measure, which, if passed, will help accelerate the development of RE resources, increase the utilization of RE by institutionalizing its use, and establish a framework for the grant of fiscal and non-fiscal incentives to all RE activities and the program to increase its utilization.

"With the measure, we would be able to utilize and develop energy resources like biomass, solar, wind, hydropower, geothermal and ocean energy, and other emerging energy sources using new technologies," he said.

The installed capacity from renewable energy generation is presently at 5,301.6 megawatts (MW) which represents 33 percent of the country’s total installed generating capacity.

It is projected that generation from renewable energy will double by year 2013 with the passage of the renewable energy bill.

The country has more than enough potentials to be self-reliant on energy generation through renewable energy because it has a wind power potential of 76,600 MW, geothermal at 1,200 MW, hydropower over 10,000 MW, while solar has an annual potential average of 5 kilowatthour per day, biomass at 900 MW equivalent and ocean at 170,000 MW.

"With this enormous power potential from renewable energy resources, we would be able to adequately provide the projected capacity addition of 2,000 MW by year 2013, 50 percent of which will come from renewable energy resources," he said.