WWF lauds Senate passage of renewable energy bill

MANILA, Philippines - Another environmental group lauded the Senate Tuesday for finally passing the renewable energy bill. The World Wildlife Fund said the 18-0 vote to unanimously approve Senate Bill 2046, or the Philippine Renewable Energy Act, is a milestone. "In passing this landmark legislation, the Senate has just paved the way for the country's drive towards energy independence and low-carbon growth. By tapping our massive reserves of clean energy resources – a competitive advantage that was largely neglected in the past – the Philippines now stands a far better chance of attaining sustainable development whilst contributing to global efforts to prevent dangerous climate change." said WWF's Asia Pacific Energy Policy Manager Raf Senga. The WWF, in an article on its website, said its advocates hope to see the bill enacted into law before the end of the year. Senga cited a study done by the WWF and the University of the Philippines National Engineering Center showing the country can save over $2.9 Billion from avoided importation of fossil fuel by merely increasing the country's renewable energy share in its power generation mix from 0.16% to 41%. Today, 26% of the country's power comes from burning imported coal, whilst 23% comes from burning oil. Last year the country imported 101.4 million barrels of oil alone, costing $7.5 Billion. An analysis by the Renewable Energy Coalition showed renewable energy sources can reduce the country's oil imports by half, and the savings can be used for social and infrastructure programs. "We can send 17 million children to school, build 250,000 classrooms, establish 135,000 health centers, feed three million families and build 38,000 kilometers of farm-to-market roads." said Renewable Energy Coalition spokeswoman Catherine Maceda. The legislation aims to accelerate the development and use of the nation's vast renewable energy resources through fiscal and non-fiscal incentives for investors. It also assures investors in wind, solar, ocean, run-of-river hydro power and biomass a secure market in electricity generated from these clean sources through feed-in tariffs. Other incentives include duty-free importation of equipment, tax credit on domestic capital equipment and services, special realty tax rates, income tax holidays, net operating loss carry-over, accelerated depreciation and exemption from the universal charge and wheeling charges. The bill also seeks to institutionalize a Renewable Portfolio Standard requiring the country's electric utilities to obtain a certain portion of their electricity from clean, home-grown renewable energy sources. "This mechanism is intended to promote the swift development of renewable energy resources," WWF said. It cited figures from the Department of Energy (DOE) and the National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) of the US, showing the country's renewable energy potential is vast, with 4,531 MW from geothermal; 13,097 MW from hydropower, 277 MBFOE from biomass; 5.0-5.1 kWh/m2/day from solar; 76,600 MW from wind and 170,000 MW from oceanic currents. In comparison, a typical coal-fired power plant has an output ranging from 100 to 300 MW. WWF-Philippines, which has been advocating for the enactment of a renewable energy law since 1998 and was instrumental in the formation of the Renewable Energy Coalition, views the Senate approval as an important sign of the legislators' commitment to the people's interest. "The passage of the renewable energy bill is a manifestation that political will in this country can too, be renewable. Our legislators have shown that they can transcend party lines and political ambitions for the greater interest of the people. The development of renewable energy will definitely strengthen the protection of the environment and the natural resource base which our society and economy greatly rely on," said WWF-Philippines Climate Change and Energy Program Head Yeb Saño. The bill received widespread public support and its passage was the main call during the Philippine Energy Summit in January. House Bill 4193, the bill's House version, was ratified in the House of Representatives on June 11, taking cues from Malacañang Palace's declaration of the bill as an urgent priority measure. With its passage in the Senate, the bill shall be undergoing scrutiny under a bicameral conference. - GMANews.TV