Philippine energy office to tap bioenergy to lower cost of electricity in rural areas Mar 25th, 2018   [viewed 122 times]

 

Department of Energy Undersecretary Benito L. Ranque. (Photo Credit: Davao Today)

 

The Philippine government is going to tap the potential of biomass energy in order to lower the cost of electricity in rural areas.

 Benito L. Ranque, the undersecretary of the Department of Energy (DoE), said the government under President Duterte is “serious in lowering the cost of electricity” especially in the countryside where poverty remains high despite government efforts to curb it.

 “The President always reminds us that our mandate is to make the cost of electricity cheaper,” he told the members and officers of an electric cooperative operating in Zamboanga Sibugay province, one of the three provinces in the western region of Southern Philippines.

 Ranque was the guest speaker of the 35th Annual General Membership Assembly of Zamsureco II Electric Cooperative held March 25 in Ipil, the capital town of Zamboanga Sibugay. The electric cooperative, registered with the National Electrification Administration since 1980, serves as a power retailer to more than 100,000 households in 27 towns and four villages.

 Ranque said his office has already taken the necessary steps to pursue the plan harnessing renewable energy as a way “to lower the cost of electricity.”

 In Zamboanga Sibugay, he said, one biomass plant is eyed to be put up in Alicia town, some 70 kilometers away east from the capital town.

 “We have already coordinated with different government agencies to pursue the plan,” the energy official said, adding that “this is also in line with the government program to harness the potentials of renewable energy.” The initiative is part of the Mindanao Energy Plan covering the period from 2014-2040.

 Biomass energy, also known as bioenergy, utilizes the stored energy in plants and materials derived from plants. Other sources of biomass energy include food crops, woody and grassy plants, agriculture or forestry residues, algae rich in oil, and the biodegradable component of garbage and wastes. Exhaust fumes from landfills, which is methane, is also a potential source of energy.

 The utilization of bioenergy can help reduce emissions of greenhouse gases to the atmosphere. Although burning the biomass would also release almost the same amount of energy released when fossil fuels are burned the carbon dioxide released by the biomass could be balanced by the captured carbon dioxide in growing the sources of the biomass.

 Studies suggest growing biomass in cleared lands or unutilized farmland instead of cutting trees in order to grow biomass to support a biomass refinery plant. (Antonio Manaytay)