DOE to push OK of Renewable Energy Bill

The Department of Energy (DOE) is pushing for the passage of the Renewable Energy Bill (REB) in the 14th Congress.

“We should push for the passage of the Renewable Energy Bill. I am positive the 14th Congress will put special emphasis on this proposed bill,” Energy Secretary Angelo Reyes said.

He said the REB will complement the government’s efforts to achieve energy sufficiency and efficiency, the bill will also help boost investment in the renewable energy sector.

Investments in the renewable energy program, he said, are estimated to reach P251 billion up to 2014, 66 percent of which is targeted to be sourced from the private sector.

The REB has been placed in the backburner and has been pending in both houses of Congress for years now.

The Arroyo administration, Reyes said, wants to push for renewable energy as this is cleaner and less expensive to maintain.

In his recent speech in a meeting on climate change at the UN headquarters In New York, Reyes urged countries “to intensify ongoing cooperation to promote the use of clean, green and efficient energy by encouraging joint research and development of innovative and cost-effective technologies to enhance energy efficiency and conservation in key economic sectors.”

The energy chief said the Philippines, although with an insignificant greenhouse gas emission level compared to developed countries, has contributed substantially to the effort to “mitigate and adapt” to climate change.

“We are tapping renewable energy, exploring alternative fuels, mapping geo-hazard potentials, reforesting logged out lands and enhancing human resource capacity in areas like nuclear development, weather forecasting, tropical diseases and crop yield, to name a few,” Reyes said.

Data from the DOE indicate that renewable energy projects totaling 2,500 megawatts would save the country about 100 million barrels of imported oil.

“This is estimated to save the country as much as $3.6 billion or almost P200 billion in fuel purchases,” it said.

Based on another data from the Worldwide Fund, every 600 million kilowatthour generated by RE-based plants means avoiding importing one million barrels of oil.

At the same time, WWF said the grant of incentives to renewable energy developers will not impact on the government’s fiscal position as the proposed fiscal incentives under the REB will not lead to a reduction in government revenues.