RP has long way to go in the use of clean energy

ROME, Italy – The Philippines still has a long way to go in pushing initiatives for cleaner energy and reducing dependence on fossil fuels, an energy expert said.

In a presentation during the 20th World Energy Council (WEC) Congress here, First Gen vice chairman Peter D. Garrucho Jr. acknowledged that while there is an effort to shift away from fossil fuels due to cost, import dependence and a cleaner environment, it would not be an easy job.

“The shift, however, will be slow and difficult due to impending power shortages and liberalization of the market,” Garrucho said.

Garrucho pointed out the need to exchange technologies with other countries to be able to achieve the goal of increasing efforts to promote a cleaner environment and help in addressing problems of global climate change.

He also underscored the government’s role in this effort. “Policy changes and technological developments are necessary. Some laws are already in place but enforcement is poor.”

The First Gen executive said “enforcement will hasten the introduction of technologies already applied in the developed world,” but stressed that while Philippines lags behind on these initiatives, “in the interim, bridging strategies will help.”

“For the Philippines, bridging strategies such as emission offsetting through carbon sink projects and emission reduction through energy efficiency programs, should continually be sought and carried out,” he said.

While the so-called carbon capture is on its way to becoming commercially operational in some developed countries, Garrucho noted that this particular technology is not currently being used in the Philippines.

Carbon capture, a form of technology that helps in controlling carbon dioxide emissions on all coal, oil and gas power units, is still not being explored in the Philippines as this may be economically feasible only under specific conditions.

The development of carbon capture and storage (CCS) technologies is driven by the need to mitigate climate change resulting from economic development.

In a report, the CCS is touted as a technology utilized with new large coal plants which can reduce emissions by 80 to 85 percent. However, it was noted that capture technologies require additional energy, which reduces overall efficiency.

CCS technology systems have the potential to achieve substantial reductions in global energy-related CO2 emissions, if deployed at a significant scale, in a timely manner and at a competitive cost needed to attract investments.

The US Department of Energy has set a goal to develop by 2012 fossil fuel conversion systems that offer 90 percent CO2 capture with 99 percent storage at less than a 10 percent increase in the cost of energy services.

For the world as a whole, the problem is compounded by the fact that most of the future increases in CO2 emissions will come from developing countries. Their share in global CO2 emissions will rise from 39 percent in 2004 to 52 percent in 2030. As of 2012, their emissions will exceed those of the industrialized world.

In the United States, industry funds about one-third of the cost of 60 research projects, which supplements $200 million expenditure by the federal government.

The report noted that the completion of several larger-scale demonstration plants (250-megawatt or larger) by 2015 is critical in order for CCS to gain market share and become widely deployed in the 2020-2030 timeframe.

Investment needs for the first generation of new highly efficient coal-fired power plants of about 250 megawatts with CCS are estimated at between $500 million and $1 billion each.

It was noted that to be able to have this technology, developing countries, including the Philippines, must develop legal policies on copyright, intellectual property and dispute settlement and provide new incentive for private investment.