UNIDO backs project using sea current to produce power

The United Nations Industrial Development Organization (UNIDO) is backing a project aimed at promoting and disseminating the use and application of marine current technology to produce power.

UNIDO representative Masayoshi Matsushita, said the project will initially involve the Philippines, China and Indonesia.

Matsushita said they would conduct a feasibility study, which will be completed in 15 months, to be jointly-funded by the ASEAN Center for Energy and the governments of the three countries.

The technology will be provided by Ponte di Archimede, an Italian company which has been developing an innovative technology called Kobold Turbine, made for the purpose of exploiting marine currents. This technology is estimated to cost 325,000 euros each.

The feasibility study is expected to involve a pilot test of the Kobold Turbine, which can produce more than 70 kilowatts of power.

Matsushita said in the long-term, they would try to manufacture the turbine in the Philippines, Indonesia and China if possible.

In the Philippines, there are areas identified with potential ocean currents that could produce power are Surigao, Southern Leyte, Mindoro and Palawan straits.

By 2013, it is estimated that the Philippines could produce some 130 megawatt (MW) capacity from renewable energy sources such biomass, ocean and solar. The country is expected to increase the renewable energy share in the energy mix to at least 40 to 50 percent from the present 33 percent.

If the feasibility studies show positive results, Matsushita said the proponents project may enter into a long-term agreement to develop of technology in these countries.

He said they may tap funding assistance or financing facility from multilateral financial institutions like the Asian Development Bank and the Global Environmental Facility (GEF) to finance further development of the project.

The UNIDO official said they would try to put up 10 units that could provide electricity to far-flung areas in the three countries.

"We hope to see concrete results from these efforts within the next two years. We also hope to enter into a mutual agreement to continue developing such technology," Matsushita said.

He said the project will be beneficial with the rapid growth of population, increases in demand for energy, and the need for better quality of life, especially in rural areas.

"In the Philippines as is the case in Asian countries a large number of small villages and communities along the coasts in the numerous islands of the local archipelagos are without any source of electric energy. In view of relevant costs for bringing to these remote or isolated places the grid, there are no scheduled programmed intervention for any immediate solution for the short-medium term," he said.

"For the purpose to make available into the local and national market in the identified region technology that could provide a promising answer to the energy needs and demand of a substantial part of the local population, the introduction of the exploitation of marine currents should be considered," Matsushita added.