IFC to fund study on alternative energy sources

The International Finance Corp. (IFC), the private sector investment arm of the World Bank Group, is planning to provide financial assistance for the conduct of an intensive study on the development of renewable energy and biofuels in the Philippines.

The IFC said the study will be coordinated by its technical assistance facility, the Private Enterprise Partnership for the Philippines (PEPP), which is currently accepting proposals from local and foreign consultants to undertake the study.

The study will involve the investigation of potential opportunities for using biodiesel and bioethanol and will examine the present and potential sources of feedstock available technology, infrastructure, and regulation.

The study will also aim to look at international best practice and key success factors in countries that have shifted some of their energy needs to alternative sources.

Among the areas that would be looked at by the study will include Brazil, which is using ethanol, and India, which is using compressed natural gas.

"The study aims to gain a clearer understanding of the opportunities that can be derived from use of biofuels. It will also look at how IFC can play a role in transforming these opportunities into concrete gains for energy users in this country," IFC’s PEPP country coordinator Euan Marshall said.

The study comes as Philippine legislators deliberate on a renewable energy bill and a biofuels bill, both of which are aimed at developing the country’s alternative energy industry.

"We feel it is the right time to do this study, given the interest and growing awareness from all sectors about cleaner sources of energy, especially for the transport sector," Marshall said.

PEPP has to date received 18 proposals from a number of foreign and local consulting firms seeking to undertake the study.

The study is expected to begin in September and will be completed in November this year.

One of IFC’s mission is to promote private sector investment in developing and transition countries, including the Philippines.

Since its inception in 1956, IFC has committed more than $49 billion of its own funds and arranged $24 billion in syndications for 3,319 companies in 140 developing countries. It has portfolio of $19.3 billion for its own account as of 2005 and $5.3 billion held for participants in loan syndication.