MANILA, Philippines - “Having a diversified energy portfolio is the key to energy security. Policymakers have to act quickly to realize the country’s green potential and improve its energy efficiency to avert the Philippines from being locked into a carbon-intensive economy.” This was the key message of Kenji Uenishi, president of GE Energy, Asia Pacific, who recently visited the country to meet with business leaders and government officials to discuss vital issues in the energy sector.
His trip demonstrated GE Energy’s commitment to help the Philippines meet its increasing power needs. The country plans to triple its supply of renewable energy to 15,000 megawatts in the next 20 years, with the recent launch of the National Renewable Energy Program (NREP).
Uenishi, who oversees three primary businesses under GE Energy, including GE Power and Water, GE Energy Services and GE Oil and Gas, reinforced the company’s support in the harnessing and utilization of solar energy, biomass and other, cleaner energy sources to mitigate the depletion of the country’s finite energy resources such as coal and gas. He said that a sustainable and green energy-sourcing program would ensure an adequate supply of energy for future generations, adding, “GE is ready to partner with the Philippines to develop its renewable resources.”
Regarding the country’s potential for renewable energy, Uenishi said that the Philippines’ manufacturing capacity for solar panels makes it an attractive place for the development of solar energy power generation.
GE Energy provides integrated product and service solutions in all areas of the energy industry, including coal, oil, natural gas and nuclear energy; renewable resources such as water, wind, solar and biogas; as well as other alternative fuels and new grid modernization technologies to meet 21st-century energy needs.
In the Philippines, GE Energy’s latest undertaking was the San Pedro Landfill Project. GE supplied four Jenbacher JCG320 gas engine gensets to Bacavalley Energy Inc., reducing methane emissions by about 70 percent while generating more than four megawatts of electricity for sale to the local grid.
GE is a global leader in the development and deployment of the Smart Grid technology that provides consumers with the information to more efficiently use their personal energy resources. Essentially an “energy Internet,” Smart Grid has a two-way power flow, delivering real-time information and knowledge.
Uenishi said that Smart Grid solutions would allow the Philippines to integrate renewable energy sources into the electrical grid by using advanced software, which efficiently balances various power sources onto the grid. He is upbeat about the progress of Smart Grid in the Philippines, gauging from the positive response of industry leaders he met with.
Some of GE Energy’s Smart Grid projects in Asia include the Smart Grid Demonstration Center in the city of Yangzhou, China, and the Smart Grid Test-Bed Site Information in Jeju Island, Korea.