ERC supports use of renewable energy resources
“The Energy Regulatory Commission (ERC) expresses its full support to the use of biomass as renewable energy resource. Although much is required to augment the electricity supply demand in Iloilo, the use of renewable energy such as biomass, however, is highly significant. The province of Ilioilo has just inaugurated a biomass co-generating plant and the ERC hopes to hear more generating plants utilizing renewable energy resources in the future,” ERC Chairman Rodolfo B. Albano, Jr. exclaimed.
Section 2 (qq) of the Electric Power Industry Reform Act (EPIRA) defines Renewable Energy Resources as such that do not have an upper limit on the total quantity to be used. Such resources are renewable on a regular basis and the renewable rate is rapid enough to consider availability over an indefinite time. These include, among others, biomass, solar, wind, hydro and ocean energy.
Biomass specifically refers to renewable energy resource derived from numerous sources, including the by-products from the timber industry, agricultural crops, raw materials from the forest, major parts of household waste and wood. Biomass does not add carbon dioxide to the atmosphere as it absorbs the same amount of carbon in growing as it releases when consumed as a fuel. Studies conducted by National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) prove that half kilo of dry plant tissue can produce as much as 1890 Kcal of heat which is equivalent to the heat available from a quarter of kilogram of coal. NREL is a leader in US Department of Energy’s effort to secure an energy future for the nation that is environmentally and economically sustainable.
Other countries worldwide are also seriously considering the significant contribution of the renewable energy resources to lessen dependence on the depleting supply of fuel oil and to address concerns on global warming. In fact, United Kingdom (UK) proved support on the use of renewable energy when a statement was made by Minister of Energy, Malcolm Wicks, and quote, “We are aiming for 10% of our electricity to come from renewable source by 2010 and double that by 2020, so biomass will have increasingly important role to play in the UK’s energy mix.”
“The ERC salutes the electricity stakeholders that had taken and will take effort to utilize renewable energy resources amidst the depleting supply and increasing prices of fuel oil. The ERC sees this as a noble act by not depriving the next generation with clean air and making the surrounding a worthy place to live in,” Chairman Albano concluded.
November 17 , 2006