GE joins push for Renewable Energy in Philippine

• Energy experts renew mounting calls for reduced carbon emissions and sustainable energy
• GE is fully committed to improving the Philippines’ Renewable Energy targets as technology partner providing innovative power generation solutions for wind, hydro, solar, and biogas

April 11, 2018, Manila, Philippines – As part of the Paris Agreement on Climate Change, the Philippines is now committed to reduce energy emissions by 70% by 2030. This has brought a renewed thrust to develop the nation’s renewable energy (RE) sector.

“With the looming threat of climate change, sustainability needs to be at the forefront of our concerns when it comes to servicing the country’s power needs,” said Jocot de Dios, CEO of GE Philippines, during the digital-industrial company’s ‘Powering the Philippines’ conference on Wednesday.

The event organized by GE and the American Chamber of Commerce of the Philippines, aimed at assessing the future of RE in the country and was attended by more than 100 stakeholders from both the public and private sectors—including the Department of Energy (DOE), Energy Regulatory Commission (ERC) and members of the Philippine Independent Power Producers Association.   

Based on figures from the DOE, coal, oil, and natural gas contribute over half of the Philippine energy mix, while RE sources like biomass, geothermal, solar, hydro, and wind add up to around 36.1%, with geothermal being the biggest contributor at 17.9%.[1]

The DOE’s National Renewable Energy Program (NREP) seeks to increase the RE-based capacity of the country to an estimated 15,304 MW by 2030, and to at least 20,000 MW by 2040, almost quadruple its 2010 level.[2]

As of June 30, 2017, the DOE has awarded 831 RE projects under the RE bill, a huge increase from 22 projects since the RE bill’s passing in 2008.[3][4]

“The increased generation from geothermal, hydro, and solar resources has lessened the country's dependency on fossil fuels,” de Dios added.  “Now, more than ever, the country is open to new ideas and solutions to produce more reliable, sustainable, and affordable electricity.”

Keeping the RE conversation going

During his keynote address, DOE Undersecretary Felix William Fuentebella championed a shared vision for the country’s RE sector. He also emphasized support to the Renewable Energy Act saying “The Department of Energy maintains a technology-neutral stance, and recognizes and acknowledges the objectives of the Renewable Energy Act of 2008, which aims to achieve energy self-reliance. This is done through the adoption of sustainable energy development strategies that reduces the country’s dependence on non-indigenous energy resources, which in effect minimizes the country’s exposure to volatility of prices in the international markets.”

He likewise cited the Green Energy Option Program (GEOP) as a vehicle to empower Filipino consumers by giving them access to RE sources.

The Undersecretary’s speech was followed by a series of panel discussions featuring experts and movers in the energy industry—including Remon Chua (EDC),  Salvador Castro Jr. (Cleantech Global), Wee Khoon Oh (Sobono Energy), Jose Silvestre Natividad (Philippine Hyrdo, Inc), and Jose Layug (National Renewable Energy Board). These conversations offered valuable insights on critical topics, including policy gaps, energy storage, cost effectiveness, and RE technology.   

Imagining the possibilities

“Through combined onshore and offshore wind and hydro solutions, we are able to generate power in a more sustainable way. Innovative technologies such as concentrated solar power and photovoltaic (PV) solar systems can also make significant power contributions in the more rural areas of the country,” cited Wouter van Wersch, President and CEO of GE Asia Pacific.

GE is a global solar solutions provider. Building on more than 4+GW of solar inverters shipped worldwide. From financing, to plant design, support for construction, plant equipment, grid integration and connection, battery storage, digital solutions and services, we offer customers with an entire plant-wide development strategy and solution that are less complex and with reduced cost and risks to ultimately lower the levelized cost of energy.

GE equips 25% of hydropower assets worldwide. By leveraging over 100 years of experience, GE offers unique hydro solutions based on project-specific, cutting-edge and digital technologies to deliver the greatest value to customers. Smarter and more connected, GE's hydro plants no longer just generate power, they store it and deliver it to the grid with an unmatched level of flexibility and efficiency. 

GE is the only digital industrial company that can provide choices for the entire value chain of a hydropower plant.  The Hydropower energy we deliver improves access to healthcare, sustains agriculture, develops industry and mitigates water challenges. Most importantly, it brings education and high-quality jobs. We take pride in being a trustworthy long-term social partner creating value locally.

GE offers a full suite of onshore and offshore wind turbines. The portfolio features rated capacities from 2.5 MW to 4.8 MW for the Onshore Wind business and 6 MW to the newly announced 12 MW for the Offshore one. GE’s wind turbines are uniquely suited to meet the needs of customers globally. 

GE’s Digital Wind Farm makes turbines smarter and more connected than ever before. This dynamic, connected and adaptable wind energy ecosystem pairs the newest turbines with a digital infrastructure, allowing customers to connect, monitor, predict and optimize unit and site performance.

GE’s Distributed Power technology enables customes to realize the maximum economic and ecological benefts availabe from a number of gases. More than 400 Jenbacher gas engines in Asia are using biogas for power generation. Around the globe, GE’s Jenbacher* and Waukesha* product portfolio is recognized for fuel flexibility, efficiency and reliability, ranging from 200 kilowatts to 10 MW. 

They furnish on-site power, heat and cooling for a variety of commercial, industrial and municipal applications—particularly renewable and waste-to-energy, industrial power generation and cogeneration/CHP (combined heat and power), oilfield power generation and gas compression. Today, more than 48,000 of GE’s gas engines have been delivered around the world, with a total power capacity of more than 64 GW.

In addition, GE just recently launched the GE Reservoir Solutions. As clean but variable and non-dispatchable power sources start to become a larger part of the energy matrix, energy storage can help keep the grid in balance. GE’s Reservoir Solutions provide flexible and modular energy storage for AC or DC coupled systems. This innovative and standardized architecture is designed for energy, power and renewable applications.

With solutions for wind, hydro, biogas, and solar, GE is fully equipped to support the Philippines’ RE targets. “GE is fully committed to be the government’s technology partner as we increase power generation from renewable energy sources in the Philippines, and we will be sure to do our part as the whole country works together toward cleaner and more sustainable energy,” van Wersch added.

About GE:

GE (NYSE: GE) is the world’s Digital Industrial Company, transforming industry with software-defined machines and solutions that are connected, responsive and predictive. GE is organized around a global exchange of knowledge, the "GE Store," through which each business shares and accesses the same technology, markets, structure and intellect. Each invention further fuels innovation and application across our industrial sectors. With people, services, technology and scale, GE delivers better outcomes for customers by speaking the language of industry.

Source: GE