24 RE potential sites launched next month

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MANILA — Twenty-four Renewable Energy (RE) potential sites, comprised of hydro-power and geothermal power projects, are up for bids starting next month, according to director Mario Marasigan of the Renewable Energy Management Bureau (REMB).

“Twenty areas for hydro-power and four sites for geothermal power will be offered next month,” Marasigan told reporters.

The four geothermal sites are composed of one site in Luzon, one in the Visayas and two sites in Mindanao, he said.

However, the hydro-potential areas are mostly located in the Visayas grid, in which public consultations will be conducted on Tuesday, Dec. 2, to ask for the local’s backing, Marasigan said.

He said that for Luzon and Mindanao, the consultations were already completed.

The areas to be offered are more feasible, Marasigan added, due to the studies conducted by the Department of Energy (DOE), Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) and the National Power Corporation (Napocor) on these projects.

The sites, which have a generation capacity of 20 to 30 Megawatts (MWs) each, will be launched on December 15, and will be awarded in June 2015, he said.

Marasigan said the REMB requires service contract holders to have a maximum budget of Php 2.5 million for the development of a single MW, applicable to both hydro and geothermal projects.

Thus, he said, with an estimate of 30 MWs maximum for the 24 projects, and amounting to 2.5 Php million each, the entire set can bring in Php 1.8 billion worth of investments.

On the other hand, Marasigan maintained that the DOE is continuously monitoring all the service contracts, both funding delinquent and compliant holders.

Among the reasons for cancellations of service contracts include lack of financing and the required local permits, ranging from issues of water, issues of environment and protected areas, which are often unreleased by the Local Government Units (LGUs) from the rural areas, according to Marasigan.

As of Oct 31, the Energy Department has awarded service contracts in Luzon, which have a total power potential of 4,419.79 Megawatts (MWs) and an installed capacity of 84.80 MW.

For Visayas, it has awarded hydro power service contracts, worth a power potential of 741.20 MW. It has an installed capacity of 3.7 MW.

Further, hydro-electric service contracts in Mindanao are projected to have an installed capacity of 30.43 MWs, and a potential capacity of 1,036.82 MWs.

The REMB has also awarded 31 geothermal service contracts, as of Oct 31, with a potential capacity of 750 MWs and an installed capacity of 1,866.19 MWs. It covers Luzon, Visayas and Mindanao, Marasigan said.

The Renewable Energy Management Bureau was created through Republic Act No. 9513 or the Philippine RE law of 2008, initially mandated to accelerate the development, transformation, utilization and commercialization of renewable energy resources and technologies of the country.