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Current gasoline and diesel prices are about half the
prices compared to Denmark—but compare that to the general level
of cost of living and income. In Denmark, a liter of gasoline or
diesel is about one-tenth of the hourly minimum wage. In the
Philippines, a minimum wage earner would have to spend one-fifth to
one quarter of his daily wage to buy one liter of gasoline or
diesel.
Locators in the Mactan Economic
Zone in Cebu are worried about the spiraling power rate. They source
their power from a diesel-fueled power plant. As diesel becomes more
expensive, so does electricity. The foreign companies lament that
power rates in countries with which we usually compare the
Philippines, are much lower. Add other factors such as labor cost
and foreign companies might relocate to neighboring countries or
shot down altogether. However, while power and fuel rates may
differ, economies all over the globe are affected by the surge in
energy and fuel prices.
Compounding the problem are the
environmental aspects of energy and fuel production and consumption.
With climate change high on the international agenda, cheaper
options for power generation, such as coal, meet much opposition
from the Roman Catholic Church, local and foreign environmental
organizations and residents. Unfortunately, these groups do little
to help in identifying alternatives that are viable and fitted to
the Philippine reality. Yes, energy conservation, which is being
promoted by Greenpeace International is important and helpful.
Whatever is the source of electricity, conserving energy and fuel
benefits both the environment and our pockets.
But fuel and power are needed to
produce goods and food, to transport people and goods, to heat and
cool our homes and offices, and so on. With no fuel and power, or
with fuel and electricity available only at sky-high prices,
economies, communities and households would collapse.
Geothermal energy has been met
with resistance from environmental groups when transmission lines
cut through virgin forest. In Negros Occidental, some groups
reportedly oppose plans to utilize geothermal resources in the Mt.
Kanlaon Natural Park because it would disturb the biodiversity.
Nature lovers in Denmark have protested the erection of windmills on
similar grounds—the rotorblades disturb birds and the huge wind
turbines destroy the natural beauty of the landscape.
Are windmills an option for the
Philippines? In Denmark the windmills are everywhere on the
landscape. Huge wind farms have been set up in offshore areas, far
from inhabited areas, because the huge rotor blades are very noisy.
Metal fatigue in windmills is a newly discovered problem with rotor
blades and entire windmills suddenly crashing to the ground. Wind
conditions in the Philippines are different from wind conditions in
northern countries—the Northwind wind farm in Ilocos Norte
produces little electricity during the summer months, on some days
the production is zero. However, Northwind proves that wind energy,
given the right conditions, is viable in the Philippines.
Integration of biomass into power
production and the use of bioethanol in the transport sector are
technologies that have not yet been developed to their fullest
potential. In Denmark, the use of biomass in large-scale energy
production started in the 1990s with wheat straw and wood chips. The
technology is being further refined, in Denmark spearheaded by
Inbicon, which focuses on research and development of biomass
pre-treatment technology. Waste and straw from other crops such as
corn, sugarcane, sorghum and grasses can be used in biomass energy
production, according to Inbicon. Financial viability of such
facilities depends on local factors such as power rates and cost of
raw materials.
Incineration is used in Denmark
for generating both electricity and heat, but this technology is
banned in the Philippines.
Denmark is earning billions of
pesos from its export of wind technology. Major markets are USA and
Germany, but China is catching up with total purchases at the
equivalent of about P20 billion in 2007, a doubling from the
previous year. In 2005, the windmill industry employed about 28,000
people. Denmark will reap the benefits of its current research and
development of biomass and biofuel technologies in the years to
come, in export earnings, jobs, and a clean and affordable energy
and fuel supply. A large-scale second generation bioethanol
demonstration plant is being set up in time for the UN Climate
Summit which will be held in Copenhagen in December 2009. 
opinion@manilatimes.net.
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