CEBU, Philippines - The British government vowed to invite power companies from the United Kingdom (UK) to invest here as the Philippines implements the Renewable Energy Law, which will provide incentives to companies that establish renewable energy plants in the country.
British Ambassador to the Philippines Stephen Lillie said that renewable energy is a big opportunity for investment in the Philippines, while Great Britain has the expertise and technology for renewable energy.
In a recent press interview Lillie said that in order for the Philippines to remain globally competitive, stakeholders must first address the looming power supply deficit, especially in the Visayas area.
“Worldwide, countries need green power as a way to address climate change” he said, adding that renewable energy source has a “room for growth in the country.”
According to Lillie, the UK- composed of Great Britain (England, Wales, and Scotland) and Northern Ireland- has maximized the use of renewable energy by using wind, wave and tidal power.
“Today, more companies in the UK are into biomass as another source of renewable energy supply,” he said.
However, Lillie admits he is not personally aware of any UK company expressing interest in a big ticket investment project to conduct a feasibility study or a pilot of a renewable energy utility in the Philippines.
“But the investment potential is a message we are sending out to our colleagues in the UK,” he said.
Renewable energy is energy generated from natural resources, such as sunlight, wind, rain, tides, and geothermal heat, which are renewable or naturally replenished.
Record shows, that in 2006 about 18 percent of global final energy consumption came from renewable, with 13 percent coming from traditional biomass, like wood-burning.
In December last year, President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo signed into law the much anticipated Renewable Energy (RE) Bill. Dubbed as the Renewable Energy Act of 2008, it gives incentives to investors and energy producers to build renewable energy power plants instead of fossil fuel based ones.
With the Philippine power demand targeted to overrun the country's power supply by 2010, it would be ideal to meeting the demand with renewable energy. Power generated from renewable energy sources will be value added tax-exempt and a net metering scheme will give capable consumers the option to generate their own power.
Net metering will allow renewable energy producers to earn from the power they contribute to the grid, and are also charged for electricity drawn from the grid.