Group pushes $1-B hydropower projects

MANILA, Philippines - An energy industry group is pushing for the implementation of around $1 billion worth of hydropower projects in the country.

Philippine Association of Small Scale Hydropower Inc. (PASSHydro) will discuss concerns on financing and permitting with regulators, financers and other developers in a summit next week.

A major concern is how to make banks more comfortable to lend to renewable energy firms, Knud Hedeager, director for special concerns of PASSHydro, said in a briefing.

“The market happens to be on an upslope. The finance sector is eager to put in money but not take all the risks,” Hedeager said.

Developers of renewable energy projects earlier expressed concerns that the Department of Energy’s first come, first serve basis of granting the feed-in tariffs (FIT) will be advantageous only to large firms.

The FIT scheme guarantees return on investments of renewable energy firms through fixed rates that would be shouldered by consumers for 20 years. It is crucial for energy firms to secure bank financing.

“In permitting alone, there is so much challenge because you are susceptible to politicking,” said PASSHyddro president Jose Silvestre M. Natividad.

Natividad said the implementation of pending hydropower projects that can add 250 megawatts to the grid will allow developers to pour in $1 billion of investment in rural host communities.

PASSHydro will hold the Philippine Hydropower Summit 2013 on March 14-15, the first forum of its kind in the last six years.

It will highlight “current hydropower issues and opportunities aimed at providing awareness on the state of Philippine hydro power developments, innovative engineering designs, trends and emerging related technologies, lessons and best practices towards the sustainable hydro power development,” the industry group said.

To date, the Philippines sources 35 percent its total power requirements from renewable energy sources.

The summit is also a venue for dialog between renewable energy developers, local government units, regulators, financing institutions and technology suppliers.

PASSHydro is the association of hydropower developers, suppliers and consultants of the Philippines incorporated in February 1998. It serves as the institutional and implementing partner of the government for the promotion and utilization of the country’s water resources for small-scale hydropower generation.