NEWS

By Ruben Camba

Under the expectation of a Philippine economic rebound in 2021 and considering an upcoming scenario where favorable renewable energy policies are being expedited by the Department of Energy, evidence-based design and construction capabilities along with strong risk control skills should be deployed to properly deliver the expected power generation projects in cost and schedule. In ACCIONA, a multinational conglomerate dedicated to the development and management of infrastructure and renewable energy, we provide full Engineering, Procurement and Construction Capabilities (EPC) services from the design up to the power plant commissioning all supported by our solid track record, technical team and expertise.

Our current duly commissioned projects portfolio as EPC contractor in the renewable sector plus the relevant presence in the country (Malolos-Clark International Airport line or the 650-meter-long Cebu-Cordova cable-stayed bridge, among others) place us in a very unique position to be successful in the Philippine transition to clean energy and fulfillment of the ambitious targets established.

As some examples of our turnkey capabilities in power generation, it is worth highlighting the Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum Solar Park (Phase III) in UAE, with a peak capacity of 1054 MW at project completion, our last two biomass projects in Spain, Cubillos del Sil and Curtis, each with 50 MW involving grate and CFB (Circulating Fluidized Bed) technology, respectively, or the Reynosa and Mesa la Paz wind farms in Mexico, adding 420 MW and 300 MW to the installed energy mix.

We are optimistic about this shift to renewables since the Department of Energy has already pledged to expedite to review its policies, including the Renewable Portfolio Standards (RPS), to bring the share of renewable energy in the power generation mix to 35 percent of the total energy portfolio in 2030, with solar energy as the main driver. Also, the government is planning to introduce a Green Energy Tariff Program auction regime, aiming to allocate 2 GW of renewable energy generation capacity. Besides and irrespective of the former feed in tariff regimes and auctions, private developers are also developing large-scale projects under PPAs.

Aiming to accelerate and support the implementation of a circular economy model where reusing, reducing and recycling are essential, ACCIONA can also provide its expertise in waste management solutions, being the company able to transform waste into energy, currently with three energy recovery plants under construction located in Australia and Scotland. In total, these three plants will eliminate up to 850,000 tons of urban waste per year and produce up to 619 MWh of clean electricity.

It is relevant mentioning that the investment climate could be improving since the Philippine government is planning to allow foreign investors to own 100 percent equity in renewable energy projects, re-casting the current policies where only 40 percent is granted to foreign-investor-partners. Also, certain signals on the market as the moratorium recently declared on new coal power plant projects, the allowance on foreign investors to fully own geothermal plant projects in the country and initiatives in performance-based fiscal incentives hopefully will drive private capital toward new investments in alternative sources of energy.

The author is ACCIONA’s Country Director for the Philippines and Southeast Asia.

Source: Business Mirror