Germany offers RP renewable energy solutions

(Second of two parts)

As the German federal government continues to drive renewable energy (RE) developments through incentives, subsidies and regulation, several German companies have established technological leadership on the global front in the key areas of wind energy, hydropower, solar energy, geothermal and biomass.

“Made in Germany” has evolved into a trademark for the country’s RE products and systems that are used the world over.

The Philippines is currently the second largest producer of geothermal energy, generating some 27 percent of the country’s power requirements. However, due to the relatively high cost of harnessing “new” renewable sources of energy, the Philippines is still largely dependent on traditional sources like coal, which emits tons of carbon dioxide into the atmosphere.

Since 1994, German-owned Pazifik Power Inc. has serviced all the major power utilities in the Philippines, including Meralco, by providing technology for reliable power supply as well as efficiency in power generation. The operative word being efficiency, this translates into a significantly lower consumption of resources, and ultimately, lower carbon dioxide emissions.

STEAG State Power Inc., local subsidiary of Germany’s STEAG GmbH, with funding from a subsidiary of KfW Bankengruppe, established its 232-megawatt power plant in Cagayan de Oro City in 2006, significantly increasing the reliability of generated electricity for Mindanao’s 14 million residents.

The facility is also a testament to Germany’s genuine concern for the environment, given its commitment to agricultural cooperatives and reforestation in the region.

Given the Philippines’ geographic setup, a vast number of communities live far away from the grid, estimated at about four million households in 2007. In addition, installing hundreds of kilometers of electrical cables are not financially viable for the country’s power distributors. 

Solar energy — specifically solar home systems — has been identified to be the most suitable source of electricity for these off-grid communities. It is the same technology being utilized by local electrification programs of the Department of Energy and the Alliance for Mindanao Off-grid Renewable Energy (AMORE).

Solar and wind energy

In 2008, Robert Bosch GmbH acquired Ersol Solar AG — Germany’s third largest producer of solar photovolaics (PV) — adding to its wide portfolio of automotive and energy-saving technology. Prior to this development, Bosch’s Thermotechnology Division has been producing solar water heaters for home applications.

The advent of Bosch solar PVs — and the ongoing partnerships with Heliatek and BASF to develop organic PVs and minimizing the use of silicone — strategically position the company as a provider of technology solutions to the Philippines.

“Bosch believes in being a catalyst for technologies that are invented for life,” says Bosch Philippines managing director Franz Roland Odenthal. “This is why Bosch is devoting substantial resources in research and development of new technologies for a more sustainable environment.”

Just as the company is the world’s leading supplier of automotive technology, it is also the largest supplier of core components for multi-megawatt wind turbines — the same technology that powers the northern grid in Bangui, Ilocos Norte.

Its foray into the field of RE complements its automotive innovations to reduce fuel consumption and emissions in the country. The company developed its clean diesel technology, which includes injection components that yield 30 percent less fuel consumption as compared to gasoline engines and 25 percent less carbon dioxide emissions. In the Philippines, some 85 percent of vehicles run on Bosch diesel components.

Water technology for resource conservation

Fellow technology giant Siemens AG developed its patented technology of state-of-the-art electromechanical components for the smooth operation of Reverse Osmosis System. This cutting-edge technology has delivered a most crucial benefit — clean, fresh, and abundant free-flowing water.

With an established reputation in the local energy, healthcare and industrial sectors, Siemens responds to the community’s needs; one of them is a clean and reliable water supply.

The company’s technology has benefited the province of Rizal’s two million residents who used to be heavily dependent on deep wells and pump wells for their water requirements. Recent population growth and rapid development posed a challenge to the province’s water distribution system.

Siemens Water Technologies was contracted to install a 2x2 MLD packaged water treatment plant in Taytay, one of Rizal’s most progressive municipalities. The installation has greatly enhanced water quality and distribution in the entire mountainous province, which used to have great difficulty in delivering water across its towns. 

The company has similar successful water treatment and wastewater management projects in the Subic Bay Freeport Zone and Olongapo City.

“Siemens’ 100-year-old partnership with the Philippines has sealed its commitment to the nation’s future,” says Siemens Philippines president and CEO Adrian Wood. “This is what Siemens envisions for the Philippines — answers to its toughest questions, solutions to its greatest challenges.”

Sharing a common future

Today, with several corporations, non-profit organizations, official development projects and various other institutions, Germany has become more deeply ingrained in the Philippines’ history and culture as we know it to be.

German development institutions such as GTZ, KfW Development Bank or the German Development Service (DED) have partnered with Philippine government agencies, government corporations and financial institutions, the private sector and civil society for more than 30 years.

Their efforts are currently geared toward achieving the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) prescribed by the United Nations. Moreover, with the advent of climate change and its adverse effects on the country’s resources, German-Philippine relations face an even greater challenge: preservation.

Cooperation between both countries aims to preserve the livelihood of Filipino farmers and fishermen through education and the protection of biodiversity. It aims to conserve resources and reduce pollution through efficient power generation essential to various industries and paves the way for the birth of new ones.

More importantly, German-Philippine cooperation aims to provide an alternative to carbon-based technologies, thus creating a cleaner outlook into the future — one that is independent from fossil fuels.

While the Philippines can learn from the German experience — springing from the conversion of former industrial practices to ones that are environment-friendly — this knowledge also enables local decision makers to find solutions to preserve the Philippines’ ecosystem: from lower vehicle emissions to clean energy generation.

And while technology is vital to this development, cooperation shall always be vital to achieving mutual success in the future.