Letter to the Editor: Political will needed to push for renewable energy

Letter to the Editor
Bulatlat.com
08 July 2011

Political will is needed to develop and effect a shift to renewable energy, not double talk and inconsistency.

Our national and local government leadership should start serious efforts in clarifying their energy development program and setting the requisites for the full gear implementation of a renewable energy program because the energy crisis causing further environmental destruction is not being abated.

In a national business paper yesterday the government admitted that the share of renewable energy and other pre mix fuel in its overall energy program remains very insignificant, adding that there’s so much uncertainty on how to proceed with it.

Worse is that while it admits that there’s so much to do for renewable energy, the Pnoy leadership continues to promote fossil fuels as its main energy driver as shown by Pnoy’s inauguration of the 200 megawatt coal-fired power plant in Naga, Cebu.

For everyone’s information, public consciousness has increased the share of renewable energy projects in the energy program of various governments worldwide, with Germany, Sweden, France, Australia, and China leading the way.

If advanced industrialized countries, except perhaps the US, have seen the lethal effects of traditional energy sources like petroleum, natural gas, coal and nuclear in their society and nature, and are increasingly refocusing to renewable energy, I can’t fathom why the Philippines, which is endowed with rich natural resources, continues with its destructive course.

The above countries are leading the change in the course of development by changing their energy development paradigm.
Hans Josef Fell, a member of the German parliament, revealed that the share of renewable energy in world governments has been increasing over the past 10 years.

He said that oil is still the number one energy source at 34% of world energy supply; followed by coal at 28 percent, gas 23 percent, and nuclear two (2) percent. But he also said that from barely six (6) percent in the past decade, renewable energy contribution to the world energy program has reached 13 percent and is still growing.

He said the worldwide potential of renewable energy like solar, wind, biomass, geothermal, hydro is tremendous.

Dr. Volker Quaschning, a German scientist said, in a separate study, that one percent of Sahara’s surface is enough to meet the world’s entire electricity demand using solar technologies.

Mark Z. Jacobson and Mark A. Delucchi, in their book A Plan for Sustainable Future, said that wind, water, solar technologies can provide 100 percent of the world’s energy, eliminating all fossil fuels.

In a careful and scientific calculation they said that from 2010-2030 the estimated cost of petroleum use would reach US $ 3350-4475 billion, natural gas US $ 550 – 830B, coal US $ 150-300B, nuclear US $ 1490-2150B.

They further revealed that the estimated sum of costs of fossils and nuclear energy by 2030 would be around US $ 200 B, while if replaced totally with renewable energy, the sum would only be US $ 100 B.

Hans Fell estimated that the cost of coal would rise significantly by 2015-2020 while cost of solar energy would drop significantly for the same period because more and more countries would use it as the resources are enormous and cost of production cheaper.
They also said that the Feed-In Tariff rate worldwide would drop significantly by 2015, proportionate with the drop in the cost of renewable energy.

Again, I don’t see any logic why the Pnoy government engages in hogwash talks on renewable energy when the long term benefits of renewable energy is incomparable with fossil fuels and nuclear energy.

Meantime, let me call everyone’s attention to the small private sector and non-government initiatives in promoting renewable energy projects that are growing in many corners of the country, including here in Negros and Panay islands.

As I always said, if the government cannot, and will not do it, then the people will take matters into their own hands, whatever the costs may be, in shaping of the desirable energy future, here and now.

Karl G. Ombion

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