Korean firms keen on RE projects in Phl

MANILA, Philippines - Korean firms are interested to partner with local firms to undertake renewable energy (RE) projects in the country given available opportunities, the Korea Trade-Investment Promotion Agency (KOTRA) said.

KOTRA trade commissioner Johwan Choi told reporters on the sidelines of the Philippines-Korea RE Project Partnership Forum 2012 yesterday that 10 Korean companies  are looking to work with local firms for RE projects.

“The Philippine government is already expressing intent to develop RE to reduce energy costs and pollution so of course the Korean companies are interested in entering RE projects here,” she said.

The names of the Korean firms were not immediately available.

National Renewable Energy Board chairman Pedro Maniego said in the same event Korean firms may want to consider to work with local companies here given available opportunities for investments in the RE sector.

The Department of Energy has set a three-year installation target of 760 megawatt (MW) for RE sources.

The target is composed  of 250 MW each for hydroelectricity and biomass, 200 MW for wind power, 50 MW for solar energy and 10 MW for ocean technology.

“There are still a lot of available projects in biomass. There are also opportunities in hydro,” Maniego said.

Choi said Korean firms are interested in entering the RE sector in the Philippines, particularly biomass projects, as there is not much available land that can be used to undertake such developments in South Korea.

She noted that more than 80 percent of the land in South Korea has already been developed as it is densely populated.

She also said that as South Korea started work on RE years ago, the country now has more than 1,000 energy firms that are seen to provide quality work.

All these firms, she said, are looking for business opportunities.

“We don’t have much land to cultivate but we have technology. If there are opportunities available, Korean companies will go there because they will be able to use the technology,” she said.