Ilocanos want more green jobs from energy projects

Ilocos Norte hosts the 44^th meeting of the Expert Group on New and Renewable Energy Technologies (EGNRET) held at the Fort Ilocandia Resort Hotel on April 13-16. In a press conference held at the Sampaguita Hall of the hotel on April 14, delegates cite the great potential of Ilocos Norte as host to unique renewable technology projects which may be use as a model for technology transfer or basis for strategy development among APEC-member economies. In photo are (from left): Dir. Mario Marasigan of the DOE-REMB and co-chair of EGNRET, Governor Imee Marcos, Dr. Chung-Hsien Chen of the Ministry of Economic Affairs-Bureau of Energy of Chinese Taipei and chairman of EGNRET, and Vivian Hsieh, EGNRET Secretariat. (Lei Adriano photo)

By Leilanie G. Adriano

Staff reporter

Laoag City—As the Philippines commit to develop more renewable energy sources such as the successful operation of the growing wind and solar power farms in Ilocos Norte, Ilocanos here has urged various renewable energy players, particularly the Department of Energy to ensure a fair and balanced distribution of economic benefits particularly among host communities.

As energy experts from a sub-working group of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) composed of representatives from Hong Kong, Japan, Korea, Thailand, Singapore, United States and Philippines were in the province to personally visit at least two big-time renewable energy facilities in the towns of Burgos and Bangui, Ilocos Norte Governor Ma. Imelda “Imee” R. Marcos has also underscored the importance of creating more “green” jobs and reducing the cost of electric bills of individual households in areas where alternative renewable energy sources such as wind, water and solar are fully operational.

As host to the 283-megawatt (MW) capacity wind farms in the neighboring towns of Burgos, Bangui and Pagudpud, Ilocanos have yet to feel in their pockets the reduction of electric bills which has been going up over the years amidst the Department of Energy’s claim that the cost of putting up renewable energy plants has gone down.

Recognizing the complexity of the power generation system including the transmission and long distribution process, Ms. Marcos said it is necessary for developers and the DOE to manage the expectation of those from the grassroots levels.

“For ordinary citizens, it is your electric bill that bothers you that you have to pay every month. People talk too much about green jobs that haven’t been in the offing. Perhaps, it is time for reality check whereas we attempt to be clean and green after the construction and building stage, there are not too many jobs except for few extremely expert and highly qualified engineers to calibrate the turbines,” Ms. Marcos said in a press conference held at the Fort Ilocandia Resort Hotel in Laoag City where the 44^th meeting of the Expert Group on New and Renewable Energy Technologies (EGNRET), a sub-working group of APEC is on-going.

For his part, Director Mario Marasigan of the DOE’s Renewable Energy Management Bureau, who is also the co-chairperson of EGNRET, said the DOE and the Energy Regulatory Commission is now presently collaborating to determine the actual cost of renewable energy.

“Very soon, the ERC will issue a new resolution on the new feed-in-tariff rate for solar energy. Definitely it’s not the same as the issues we had two years ago,” Mr. Marasigan said.

Comparing the actual cost of generation, the production of wind and solar energy is still high compared to coal-powered plants. This is why the DOE is currently looking for ways to save on transmission costs while reviewing some of the mechanisms for utilizing renewable energy to bring down the costs.

“The grid system is still a challenge and we can’t transfer generation from one place to another. These are some of the early stages of birth pains of developing renewable energy which will eventually become almost maintenance-free given a period of time,” he said.

As home to a growing number of various renewable energy projects, Ilocos Norte was chosen as a venue of the EGNRET 44^th meeting.

Dr. Chung-Hsien Chen of the Ministry of Economic Affairs-Bureau of Energy of Chinese Taipei said result of the meeting and site visit to Ilocos Norte’s renewable energy farms will be presented to the APEC officials of energy during the Energy Minister’s meeting to be held in Cebu in October.

The EGNRET aims to facilitate the promotion of resource development and increase the use of new and renewable energy technologies in the APEC region.