Subic Bay Aeta community to host solar-wind power plant

The solar and wind power plant worth P8.94 billion, to be constructed inside Aeta ancestral domain at Subic Bay Freeport Zone, will soon be reality after the project's signing of agreement last week.

Signing of MOA for the combine solar-wind power project in Subic with the Aeta community. (source: SubicNewsLink)

Once completed, the renewable plant is expected to provide 150 megawatts of combine solar and wind power.

On December 12, Aeta tribal chieftain Conrado Frenilla, and community elder Bonifacio Florentino lead the Aeta community in signing the memorandum of agreement with local firm Jobin SQM Inc. and the Subic Bay Metropolitan Authority.

The project, which will prove that nature and technology can co-exist, will be put up inside the Pastolan Aeta's ancestral domain.

The project will "accelerate the exploration and development of renewable energy sources, increase utilization of such and promote their efficient and cost-effective commercial application," according to SBMA chairman Roberto Garcia.

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Meralco to set up new clean power source for buildings in Manila

Wind turbine towers to be installed by Odin Energy on buildings in Manila by next year in partnership with Meralco.

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Who Else Wants to Follow Energy Logistics Way

                                http://www.flickr.com/photos/22352749@N07/5733901983

                                            WIND FLOWER

Amidst many issues hounding the renewable energy industry particularly the effect of feed-in-tariff (FIT) on the power consumers let us be thankful that more and more energy companies are willing to invest and start the development of this projects. One of this which is worth emulating is the Energy Logics of the Delgado Group which has wind and solar power on their project portfolio.

Energy Logics is eager in pursuing its 670-megawatt wind and solar projects. Here's the full report.

Energy Logics of the Delgado Group remained keen on pursuing its planned 670-megawatt wind and solar power portfolio, despite the troubles hounding the renewable energy industry.

“We at Energy Logics believe that we must continue to pave the way for renewable energy. We are custodians of our planet for future generations and we must make immediate changes to preserve our resources,” said company managing director Marco Prieto Delgado in an interview.

Delgado told the Inquirer that the company remained optimistic on and still viewed renewable energy as a bright investment spot in the country.

“The Philippines is one of the countries that have subscribed to renewable energy ahead of others as early as the 1970s through geothermal and hydro. We are also one of the first to pass a renewable energy law. Our country is blessed with abundant natural resources that can be harnessed to generate enough power to be self-sufficient and cost-effective, but we have to keep going,” Delgado said.

Over the next seven years, Energy Logics plans to put up wind farms that can generate a total 420 MW, and a solar power portfolio that can produce more than 250 MW in additional capacity.

Energy Logics’ proposed projects, which may require $1.8 billion in investments over the next seven years, are currently being held back due to delays in the issuance of feed-in-tariff rates for renewable energy sources.

Delgado said that because of these delays, the timelines of the company’s projects had been pushed back by at least six months. The financial closing for its projects, particularly the 120-MW Pasuquin East in Ilocos Norte, can be completed only after the feed-in-tariff rates are finalized and announced, he said.

 Delgado also said the delays were also giving “foreign investors another reason to doubt the competitiveness of the Philippines as an investment site.”

source: inquirer 

The "Big Wind" is Coming - Three Reasons Why

         http://www.flickr.com/photos/matt6t7/5581232595

The news is in the business section of three local paper sites, the 1.3Billion USD investment on wind energy development between publicly listed Greenergy Holdings Inc. and China-based Tianjin Tianbao Investment and Development Corp. (TTIDC).

A portion of the news from Inquirer:

"MANILA, Philippines—Publicly listed Greenergy Holdings Inc. plans to invest at least $1.3 billion (roughly P55 billion) to develop wind power projects in the Philippines over the next 10 years."

From Manila Times:

"GREENERGY Holdings Inc. has partnered with a Chinese firm for the development of wind energy projects in the Philippines."

Also part of the news from Business World:

"GREENERGY HOLDINGS, Inc., formerly MUSX Corp., has moved to forge a joint venture with a Chinese firm to put up $1.3 billion worth of renewable energy projects in the next 10 years, a disclosure to the local bourse yesterday showed."

This could be the biggest investment so far and also the biggest project for wind energy development here in the Philippines and renewable energy in general. The location of the project was not yet disclosed but wherever it may be put up, it will surely boost the economy and tourism of that lucky place.

This project also boosted Greenenergy Holdings’ shares that rose to P0.011 on Wednesday from P0.0099 each Friday last week - an 11% increased.

Let us hope that the establishment of joint venture company will be fast track so that this project will become operational sooner.

GE’s power plant combo pack: wind, solar and natural gas

                               smartplanet.com


Have you ever imagined integrating three renewable energy into a single power plant. This could practicaly happened in the Philippines especially that the government is in full support of the renewable energy development.


For the meantime this may happened first in Turkey according to this article from smartplanet.com where GE announces its plan of developing a plant that will house a solar thermal plant, natural gas and wind power.


A future scenario for electric power generation is that it will increasingly emerge from more varied sources of energy. General Electric seems to be taking this to heart with a new endeavor to combine wind, solar thermal and natural gas into one power plant.


A few weeks ago, Andrew Nusca described the company’s FlexEfficiency 50 design for a hybrid power plant that could more efficiently intertwine renewable energy sources with natural gas. Able to quickly boost or cut production as needed, their combined cycle natural gas plant would better adjust to uneven influxes of power coming in from solar or wind farms. According to GE, piggybacking on a traditional natural gas plant would also potentially smooth wind and solar’s integration to electricity grids and encourage their adoption worldwide.


Just such a power plant potpourri may materialize in Turkey in 2015.


On Tuesday, GE, Turkey’s MetCap Energy, and California’s eSolar announced plans for a plant that melds a natural gas facility with a 50-megawatt solar thermal plant and then links a 22-megawatt wind farm into a shared control system. The New York Times colorfully describes the plant as turning “a natural gas plant and a solar plant into conjoined twins; wind is more like a half-sibling.”


The twins in this case are not identical. The 458-megawatt natural gas sibling is definitely the chubbier of the two. Still, the steam—produced by the waste heat after burning natural gas and by boiling water via concentrated sunshine—merge to power a turbine. With 25,000 mirrors directing sunlight toward a tall tower, the set-up for the solar thermal component is similar to BrightSource Energy’s Ivanpah plant slated for southern California.


According to their website, eSolar’s towers can heat steam at more than 800 degrees Fahrenheit. GE has other gas-solar hybrid plants, but they feature mirrored parabolic troughs that don’t reach as high of temperatures. With the solar tower and their new gas and steam turbine designs, GE pins a shiny almost 70-percent efficiency rating on the plant. This has raised some eyebrows since most natural gas plants achieve efficiencies around half of that.


The NY Times:


GE calculates the figure by counting the sun and wind at zero, as a kind of hamburger helper for the natural gas. The calculation ignores the wind and sun that does not get converted to electricity, but on the other hand, the wind and sun are inexhaustible.


The company says the 530-megawatt project in Turkey, where natural gas prices are higher and renewable incentives are steadier than in the U.S., could generate enough power for 600,000-plus European households. Construction could begin as early as this year.


source: smartplanet.com

Good News - More Renewable Energy Projects Plus First Philippine Bio Energy Conference

http://www.flickr.com/photos/lumaxart/2137734236/


Here's two good news on the renewable energy sector and of course to the Filipinos.


First is the announcement of Energy Development Corporation (EDC) at last Thursday's Mindanao Renewable Energy forum its 10 projects lined up for implementation. This is in support on the call for investments on renewable energy projects.


According to the report from sunstar.com, six geothermal projects are set to be established in Surigao del Sur, North Cotabato, Misamis Oriental, Misamis Occidental, and Zamboanga del Sur plus wind projects in Surigao del Norte.


This projects will create a savings of $5.8 billion in foreign exchange as it is projected to replace the usage of about 114 million barrels of fuel oil plus the environmental and social benefits that it will bring.


Second great news is the country's first bio energy conference which will assess the current status of the bio energy industry, its relevance to climate change and ecological balance, and business opportunities.


Reports from abs-cbnnews.com states that the conference was dubbed "Be Independent, Go Green Energy," the 1st Philippine Bio Energy Conference which will be held on August 18 to 19 at the Manila Hotel.


The conference aims to help develop a robust, vibrant, and profitable agribusiness sector in the country, said the organizers.


It hopes to encourage more investors to go into agribusiness, biofuel feedstock production and processing, and renewable energy production including biomass feedstock production and biopower generation.