4 Western Visayas provinces eye renewable power

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  By Teresa Ellera-Dulla

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BECAUSE of the high cost of power, four provinces in Western Visayas said that it is high time to develop and rely on renewable sources of energy.

The provinces of Guimaras, Antique and Aklan are now looking forward for power supplies from biomass, hydro and wind power.

Among the provinces in Western Visayas, Negros Occidental has the lowest power rate. Several investors for renewable energy have already signified interest in putting up their power plants in the province but they are still conducting feasibility studies for their respective projects.

Among those investors are Alto power for a hydro power plant tapping the Bago River and a Korean firm, which identified E.B. Magalona town as its site for solar power.

Meanwhile, Guimaras Governor Felipe Nava said the island province expects to produce wind power by year 2012 to 2013, as TransAsia is already laying the groundwork for the production of 54 megawatts of wind power.

The construction phase is expected to start next year, he said.

Guimaras consumes only 5 megawatts of power, so the rest of the generated power can be sold to Panay Island electric cooperatives, he added.

On the other hand, Rey Malleza of the Department of Energy - Visayas Field explained that the present high cost of power is due to the privatization of the power generating sources.

After the National Power Corporation (Napocor) was privatized, the government no longer subsidizes the generation cost which resulted in the increase from P3 to P7 per kilowatt hour.

Published in the Sun.Star Bacolod newspaper on July 02, 2011.

Germany decides to abandon nuclear power by 2022

By Juergen Baetz

Associated Press

German Chancellor Angela Merkel, right, speaks before she receives a report of the government-mandated commission on the ethics of nuclear power by chairman Klaus Toepfer, left, in Berlin, Germany, Monday, May 30. Germany's coalition government agreed early Monday to shut down all the country's nuclear power plants by 2022, the environment minister said, making it the first major industrialized nation in the last quarter century to announce plans to go nuclear-free. The country has 17 reactors total. (AP Photo/Michael Sohn)

BERLIN—Germany’s government said Monday it will shut down all the country’s nuclear power plants by 2022. The decision, prompted by Japan’s nuclear disaster, will make Germany the first major industrialized nation to go nuclear-free in years.

It also completes a remarkable about-face for Chancellor Angela Merkel’s center-right government, which only late last year pushed through a plan to extend the life span of the country’s 17 reactors — with the last scheduled to go offline around 2036.

But Merkel now says industrialized, technologically advanced Japan’s helplessness in the face of the Fukushima disaster made her rethink the risks of the technology.

Overcoming nuclear power within a decade will be a challenge for Europe’s biggest economy, but it will be feasible and ultimately give Germany a competitive advantage in the renewable energy era, Merkel said.

“As the first big industrialized nation, we can achieve such a transformation toward efficient and renewable energies, with all the opportunies that brings for exports, developing new technologies and jobs,” Merkel told reporters.

While Germany already was set to abandon nuclear energy eventually, the decision — which still requires parliamentary approval — dramatically speeds up that process.

“We don’t only want to renounce nuclear energy by 2022, we also want to reduce our Co2 emissions by 40 percent and double our share of renewable energies, from about 17 percent today to then 35 percent,” the chancellor said.

The country’s energy supply chain “needs a new architecture,” necessitating huge efforts in boosting renewable energies, efficiency gains and overhauling the electricity grid, Merkel said.

The cornerstones of Germany’s energy policy will be a safe and steady power supply that doesn’t rely on imports, affordable prices that don’t disadvantage industry or heavily burden consumers, and making sure that Germany’s carbon emissions keep diminishing, Merkel said.

The 2022 deadline is fixed, with no conditions attached that might allow a policy reverse, Environment Minister Norbert Roettgen added.

Germany’s seven oldest reactors, already taken off the grid pending safety inspections following the March catastrophe at Japan’s Fukushima Dai-ichi nuclear power plant, will remain offline permanently, he said. The plants accounted for about 40 percent of the country’s nuclear power capacity.

The determination of Germany, the world’s fourth-largest economy, to gradually replace its nuclear power with renewable energy sources makes it stand out among the world’s major industrialized nations.

Among other Group of Eight nations, only Italy has abandoned nuclear power, which was voted down in a referendum after the 1986 Chernobyl disaster — leading it to shut down its three operating reactors.

Until March — before the seven reactors were taken offline — just under a quarter of Germany’s electricity was produced by nuclear power, about the same share as in the U.S.

Many Germans have vehemently opposed nuclear power since Chernobyl sent radioactivity over the country. Tens of thousands of people repeatedly took to the streets after Fukushima to urge the government to shut all reactors quickly.

A decade ago, a center-left government first penned a plan to abandon the technology for good by 2021 because of its inherent risks. But Merkel’s government last year amended the plan to extend the plants’ lifetime by an average of 12 years — a decision that became a political liability after Fukushima was hit by Japan’s March 11 earthquake and tsunami disaster.

“This is a great day of relief for all opponents of nuclear energy in Germany,” said Sigmar Gabriel, leader of the opposition Social Democrats. “Today, our political opponents are forced … to accept our policies.”

However, shutting down yet more nuclear reactors will require billions of euros (dollars) of investment in renewable energies, more natural gas power plants and an overhaul of the country’s electricity grid.

Germany, usually a net energy exporter, has at times had to import energy since March, with the seven old reactors shut down and others temporarily taken off the grid for regular maintenance work.

Still, the agency overseeing its electricity grid said Friday that the country will remain self-sufficient.

Environmental groups welcomed Berlin’s decision.

“The country is throwing its weight behind clean renewable energy to power its manufacturing base and other countries like Britain should take note,” said Robin Oakley, Greenpeace UK’s campaigns director.

Germany’s industry umbrella organization said the government must not allow the policy changes to lead to an unstable power supply or rising electricity prices, both of which would affect the country’s competitiveness.

“Transforming the energy sector is a hugely demanding project,” said Hans-Peter Keitel, the president of the Federation of German Industries.

He urged the government not to set the nuclear exit date of 2022 in stone, but to agree on a date that would be adjustable if problems arise in the coming years.

Germany’s decision broadly follows the conclusions of a government-mandated commission on the ethics of nuclear power, which delivered recommendations on how to abolish the technology within a decade on Saturday, and presented them Monday.

“Fukushima was a dramatic experience, seeing there that a high-technology nation can’t cope with such a catastrophe,” said Matthias Kleiner, the commission’s co-chairman. “Nuclear power is a technology with too many inherent risks to inflict it on us or our children.”

The shares of Germany’s four nuclear utility companies were down Monday. The biggest of them, E.ON AG and RWE AG, slipped by about 2 percent.

Neighboring Switzerland, where nuclear power produces 40 percent of electricity, also announced last week that it plans to shut down its reactors gradually once they reach their average lifespan of 50 years — which would mean taking the last plant off the grid in 2034.

For a nuclear free Philippines, please visit gregmelep.com .

Geir Moulson in Berlin, Malin Rising in Stockholm, Colleen Barry in Milan and Cassandra Vinograd in London contributed reporting.

Sleepy Leyte town wakes up, thanks to newly-skilled workers

TESDA Beat

April 29, 2011, 12:35pm

MANILA, Philippines — The Kananga-EDC Institute of Technology (KEITECH) in Kananga town in Leyte has become a benchmark for alternative education and training program that has transformed unskilled youth into highly-skilled workers. It was jointly founded in June 2009 by geothermal leader Energy Development Corporation (EDC), the municipal government of Kananga, and TESDA.

Leyte, site of EDC’s largest geothermal field, is in the typhoon-belt area and thus experiences limited industrialization and economic development. Adding to this woe is the low average household income of P10,000 to P15,000 annually. Topping it all is the high unemployment rate at 15 percent in Kananga town.

As a key member of the local community, EDC decided to help uplift the economic status of its host towns through livelihood projects and a job contract for the company’s operational and maintenance requirements.

However, there are not many qualified skilled workers in these communities which are dependent on subsistence farming. Aware of their predicament, the Kananga LGU approached EDC to help develop the skills of the local manpower and address growing unemployment. KEITECH was thus born.

World-class training facility

KEITECH initially offers courses in construction, metals and engineering, and tourism/health/social services. Trainees from these three program areas go through two or more focused skills programs that will lead them to five training paths.

Students and most of the trainors are housed in the institute’s dormitories from Monday to Friday. The trainors also serve as dorm masters. About 75 percent of the trainees are residents of Kananga, while the rest are from other EDC host communities.

Curriculum was customized to include additional lessons on Mathematics, English, occupational health and safety, and hands-on exercises.

EDC also aspired to raise the level of training a notch higher by focusing not only on the acquisition of technical skills but also on discipline and values development. The company believes that the worker’s character is a big plus factor that employers look for in job applicants.

“Your diploma and technical skills will help you get a job but it is your work values and habits that will make you keep it and propel you to success in your career,” says Oscar Lopez, EDC chairman emeritus, during the second KEITECH graduation ceremony.

Trailblazing

Among KEITECH’s notable accomplishments are: gainful employment of 109 out of the 117 first batch of graduates or a 95 percent employment rate; 100 percent assessment passing rate; and the distinction of being part of the local ecotourism destination.

In the TESDA qualification assessment in December 2010, KEITECH trainees registered a 100 percent passing rate in Carpentry NC II, Shielded Metal Arc Welding (SMAW) NC II, and Food and Beverage Service NC II.

Engineer Emiliano Argoncillo, manager of EDC’s Community Partnerships Department in Leyte, and KEITECH administrator, Dr. Emiliano Saceda II, attribute the high passing rate to rigid training, values development program, and full institutional support.

Kananga Mayor Elmer Codilla acknowledged KEITECH’s important role in improving the town’s socio-economic situation by helping the unskilled learn a trade, be gainfully employed, and become productive members of the community.

When in Visayas, please visit gregmelep.com to enjoy more of your trip.

(For more information on TESDA programs and services, call 887-7777, send SMS message 09174794370 (Globe) 09182738232 (Smart) or follow us in Facebook (TESDA, Sec Joel Villanueva TESDA) and Twitter (SecJOELngTESDA).

Cabiao, Candaba set to grow sweet sorghum for food, fuel

By Tonette Orejas Central Luzon Desk CANDABA, Pampanga, Philippines—Test farming of sweet sorghum in the last six years showed crop production in the Philippines to be 50 percent higher than in India, increasing the crop’s potential as a source of food, fodder and fuel in local communities, according to a top crop scientist. Dr. Belum Reddy, principal scientist of the International Crops Research Institute for the Semi-Arid Tropics (Icrisat), said research done through linkages with universities and colleges in Ilocos Norte, Central Luzon and South Cotabato showed that sweet sorghum can be “planted throughout the year in major islands of the Philippines.” It can also be grown during the rainy months, he said. Icrisat, a nongovernment and nonpolitical institution based in India, promotes the cultivation of sweet sorghum for various uses. The institution is headed by Dr. William Dar, former secretary of the Department ofAgriculture. In the Philippines, Icrisat works in communities through local governments and national agencies, like the Department of Science and Technology. The DOST has helped some villages produce vinegar, sweet syrup, juice, bread and snacks from sweet sorghum. “The grain is food for people, fodder for animals, the stalks for ethanol fuel and the bagasse for biocompost,” Reddy said in a presentation made for Mayor Gloria Congco of Cabiao, Nueva Ecija, and Mayor Jerry Pelayo of Candaba, Pampanga. The towns are neighbors, both within the 32,000-hectare Candaba Swamp. “Food security is number one [priority]. Food securitymust not be sacrificed,” Reddy told the Inquirer. Congco said the Cabiao government started growing sweet sorghum last year, initially using 10 hectares. “While the yield showed to be good, we don’t have the equipment to process the crop. Also, our farmers need marketing support. That's where the partnership must focus on,” she said. Pelayo said that he wants sweet sorghum to be cultivated after rice is harvested. This means a window of three months for farmers wanting to fully utilize their lands. Growing sweet sorghum takes three months while planting and harvesting sugarcane, a major source of ethanol, lasts 10 to 11 months. Agricultural lands in Cabiao span around 7,000 hectares while Candaba has almost 18,000 hectares. Reddy said trial productions indicated that ethanol production from sweet sorghum is “cost-effective,” with a ton producing 40 liters of biofuel. He said the crop has high water use efficiency. It can be propagated through seeds and the hybrid technology for it is in place. Among the five varieties being tested locally, SPV422 showed good results, Reddy said. “[The production of sweet sorghum] ensures both food and energy security and clean environment,” Reddy said. “This is a win-win situation for farms and industry.” Candaba has set aside two rooms at the Miss Earth Park’s training center for an extension campus of the Pampanga Agricultural College, through which Icrisat will assist local farmers. Also last week, Icrisat met with officials of the First Philippines Sweet Sorghum Corp. (FPSSC), a consortium of companies Pemdas Energy, Bapamin Enterprises and Full Advantage. Pemdas Energy, chaired by Patrick Pelayo, the mayor’s son, has been growing sweet sorghum in the last three years in parts of Central Luzon. With low crop production, Pemdas churns out 700 liters of ethanol daily through a distillery. “The bottleneck is in the harvest,” the younger Pelayo said. The lack of equipment for biofuel production makes the Philippines still dependent on imported ethanol, mostly from Brazil, he said. This happened although the Philippines has enacted the Biofuels Act of 2006 (Republic Act 9367) and the government has mandated the blending of ethanol with gasoline, he said. Reddy said Icrisat is ready to work with the consortium in terms of seed production and establishment of demonstration farms. FPSSC estimates that investments may cost $1,000 (P43,250) per hectare. Source: Phlloippine Daily Inquirer

The Philippines leads in alternate energy sources

A Global View

By Dr. Beth Day Romulo

April 13, 2011, 10:02pm

MANILA, Philippines – Fortunately for the Philippines, investment in alternate sources of energy began years ago. The Mak-Ban geothermal plant, which helps supply Manila’s energy needs, was constructed in 1979. Today, the Philippines get 17% of its power from alternate sources of energy such as geothermal, which makes it the leading developer of alternate energy in Asia, second only to the United States in the world in the development of geothermal energy sites.

Basic Energy Corp. recently announced plans to develop a 20-megawatt geothermal energy project in Batangas. Feasibility studies are under way to determine the best drilling locations; 60 prospective geothermal sites have already been identified. In addition to the actual production sites, feasibility studies must also include proximity to adequate infrastructure, transmission lines, and regional power demand.

Food and beverage giant San Miguel, which has expanded into power generation, is bidding for five geothermal and hydro power plants in Leyte which are being privatized by the government.

In Mindanao, the Energy Development Corp., in partnership with the Worldwide Fund for Nature, announced three new geothermal projects.

And the Delgado Group of companies’ energy arm, Energy Logics, is looking into the feasibility of both solar and wind projects in Ilocos Norte.

Studies of the Ilocos Norte area revealed that the site selected for four projected wind farms could also support solar power facilities. The distances between the wind turbines is so great, and the sunshine in that region is so reliable that solar facilities can be constructed on the same property along with the wind farms.

Power generation is expected to come on line within two years.