Focus for Renewable Resources in the Philippines

With the passage of the Renewable Energy Bill only awaiting President Arroyo's signature to make it law, we must now focus our energies in the development of our resources. In my opinion, significant effort must be made to develop Solar, Ocean and Enhanced Geothermal Technologies. Except for solar, all of these are capable of supporting baseload demand. I am biased towards these technologies as I believe are more sustainable compared to others. Biomass is faced with price issues as farmers are beginning to charge for the fuel. Biofuels are threatened with food vs fuel issues. Wind is very intermittent. Hydro is usually plagued with water use conflicts.

Solar should be an area of focus because of its portability. In off-grid and island areas, it remains to be a feasible solution for electrification. We must however focus on thin film technologies as silicon is extremely expensive. In the developing world, where land is usually not an issue, high efficiency cells may not be necessary. A thin film module would cost about $1 -1.50 /Watt as opposed to Si costing about $3-4/Watt. In the Philippines, the Visayas and Mindanao would be good areas for Photovoltaic power.

Ocean should also play a key role because of the archipelagic nature of our country. The tight straights between our islands make it ideal for marine current turbines to operate. The straight between Boracay and Caticlan, known to divers as "Channel Drift", would likely be a good spot for marine current power. There's also a feasibility ongoing in Cebu. Frankly, I'm sick and tired when people tell me that these are all in feasibility stage at the moment. We've been having feasibility studies all over the world for the last 20 years!

Ocean Thermal Energy Conversion (OTEC) is a good technology to work on. I envision this along the coasts situated along the Pacific. OTEC uses the temperature gradient between the surface and the deep ocean to run a "reverse" refrigeration cycle capable of running a turbine. An OTEC facility can also provide Sea Water Air Conditioning/ Refigeration (SWAC) Again, people say this is still in technical feasibility. How can a 100 year old technology still be in feasibility? In essence this technology is just a deep well connected to a heat exchanger! Can we not accelerate our learning by knowledge management and disciplined risk assessment?

Finally, there is enhanced geothermal technology. This technology requires digging upto 3-4kms below, injecting water and piping the resulting steam to turbines. This makes geothermal portable to areas with an ample supply of water. Gone are the limitations of putting your plant in mountains and protected areas. You can put your plant in the middle of lahar country in Region 3 as long as you can provide the water. The best sites would probably be near the coasts. If done correctly, there would be no waste water or heat as water used will be reinjected into the heat source.

What keeps the Philippines from achieving these technologies? A beggars mentality? A mindset of intellectual and financial inferiority? Being sigurista? If we are to remain enslaved by these, we will never have progress! We will be caught by the never ending cycle of foreign debt. We have to pass the hat around and develop our resources for ourselves. Instead of wasting our money in gambling, lets put our money into this where the odds are better.

The Irish have a phrase "Sinn Fein" meaning "Our Own". While the phrase has been associated with the "troubles" in Ulster, translating the phrase in Filipino removes its bleak flavor. "Sariling Atin" brings the hope of the sunrise and the vitality of the rainbow.

Sa paglilinang ng "Sariling Atin", tiyak na darating ang pag-asang parang bukang liwayway. Kasunod dito ang malabahagharing kulay, ng buhay sa bansang tunay na malaya.