Low Carbon News in Philippines in March 2014
1 March 2014
Largest PH solar power plant to rise in Palawan
Palawan will soon be home to the Philippines’ largest micro-grid solar power plant, generating 1.3 megawatts of clean renewable energy.
Costing P325 million, the plant will have 5,000 solar panels that will provide power to over 600 customers — homes, businesses and hotels — in Puerto Princesa City’s Sabang district. It will also have a battery pack, the largest in the ASEAN region that will release stored energy during heavy cloud cover or bad weather.
To put that in perspective, a mobile phone battery has about 4.6 watt-hours, while the Sabang plant’s battery pack is 782,000 times bigger, packing 3,600,000Wh.
Source: http://ph.news.yahoo.com/largest-ph-solar-power-plant-163622060.html
4 March 2014
IFC, ThomasLloyd okay energy fund
UK fund manager ThomasLloyd Group Ltd. and International Finance Corp., the investment unit the World Bank Group, recently signed an agreement to provide $330 million in funding to finance renewable energy projects in the Philippines.
ThomasLloyd said in a statement the amount would augment the $87 million in development and construction capital already deployed or committed by the ThomasLloyd Group of companies and the ThomasLloyd Cleantech Infrastructure Fund.
The funding will be used to construct and operate a portfolio of three solar facilities and three biomass facilities in Negros Island.
Source: http://manilastandardtoday.com/2014/03/04/ifc-thomaslloyd-okay-energy-fund/
11 March 2014
Seizing the future: Energizing green cities
Cities have always been the engines of economic growth; now they hold the key to a sustainable future. Cities today have a unique opportunity to become global engines of green growth by choosing energy-efficient solutions for their infrastructure needs.
For example, we are now working with the Government of the Philippines to help modernize key institutions that will realize Metro Manila’s vision: “Metro Manila for All — green, connected and resilient.”
11 March 2014
Gov’t rolls out P505.6 M for e-trikes
The government is shelling out P505.6 million for a project that aims to put 100,000 electric tricycles or e-trikes on Philippine roads by 2017.
On Tuesday, March 11, the Department of Budget and Management (DBM) announced that it released the amount to the Department of Energy (DOE). The funds cover the government’s 2014 financial commitment for the e-trike project, a joint initiative with the Asian Development Bank (ADB) through the organization’s Clean Technology Fund.
The amount will pay for the procurement of e-trikes, and the selection of project implementation consultants. It will cover payment of taxes and the conduct of surveys among local government units, tricycle operators and drivers, and other stakeholders who want the e-trikes in their streets.
Source: http://www.rappler.com/science-nature/society-culture/52710-doe-adb-e-tricycles
12 March 2014
E-Trikes – Driving Change
There are approximately 3.5 million conventional combustion engine tricycles and motorcycles operating in the Philippines, contributing millions of tons of carbon dioxide emissions to the environment every year. These vehicles have a dramatic impact on air quality, affecting many aspects of life in the Philippines, from national health to increased exposure to climate change risks.
ADB, in partnership with the Philippine government and the Department of Energy, hopes to transform the public transportation sector by widely adopting electric vehicles, specifically tricycles (e-trikes) throughout the Philippines. Using innovative technology and competitive financing, this project will achieve widespread adoption of electric tricycles and the development of a sustainable local e-trike manufacturing industry.
Source: http://www.adb.org/projects/43207-012/background
14 March 2014
Pacific Cities Sustainability Initiative
The Pacific Cities Sustainability Initiative (PCSI), a joint initiative of Asia Society and The Urban Land Institute, just closed out its second Annual Forum, “Creating Livable and Resilient Cities” from March 11 to 13 in Manila, Philippines.
The host city of this year’s Forum, Manila, is developing rapidly yet is still working to implement strategies that will make it a resilient and livable city for years to come. This year’s Forum conversations around urban resiliency were particularly relevant for the Philippines as a country, which is still recovering from Typhoon Yolanda, one of the country’s worst natural disasters.
This year, participants at the invitation-only Forum included urban planners, real estate developers, social entrepreneurs, architects, investors, engineers, policymakers and more from countries including Malaysia, the United States, China, the Philippines, the United Kingdom, Hong Kong, Chile, and Singapore.
Source: http://sites.asiasociety.org/PCSI/blog-pcsi-meets-in-manila/
15 March 2014
Workshop on Accessing Finance for Green Growth and LEDS
Policymakers from around Southeast Asia discussed how to finance low-carbon “green growth” with regional and international climate change experts during March 12-14, 2014 in Hanoi, Vietnam. The Asia LEDS Partnership regional workshop brought together government officials from Cambodia, Indonesia, Malaysia, Philippines, Singapore, Thailand, and Vietnam, representatives of global climate change funds, state and private banks, and businesses to discuss options for funding green investments in sectors ranging from energy and transport to agriculture and manufacturing.
Source: http://asialeds.org/events/ALP-climate-finance-workshop-hanoi-2014
20 March 2014
One of the largest gatherings of agroforestry researchers and advocates has begun in Bohol, the Philippines.
From 19 to 21 March 2014 at the Bohol Plaza Resort in Dauis, hundreds of experts will discuss, “Agroforestry: Greening and feeding the nations in the 21st century”.
For the Philippines, agroforestry is in the ascendant as more and more decision-makers realise its many proven benefits. It is one of the few agricultural systems that can improve farmers’ incomes while providing substantial environmental benefits. Governments are seeing that it can help alleviate the country’s environmental and agricultural woes
21 March 2014
Grow a green economy with your agroforest
Dr Ravi Prabhu, who is Deputy Director General of Research at the World Agroforestry Centre, was speaking at the Philippine’s First International Agroforestry Congress, held 19–21 March in Bohol, Philippines.
“Food security and sustainable development are big issues now,” he said, “and both can only be achieved by changing how people think and live”.
“Changes to agricultural landscapes are rapid and pervasive”, he added, noting that not all of the changes are for the better.
“Basically, we are challenged to, first, produce 60% more food on the same amount of land; second, make essentially everything resistant to extreme weather; and, third, massively reduce greenhouse gas emissions from land use. All of this by 2050. However, it is clear that the way we are drawing down on natural capital—the way we are misusing our ecological endowment—is exceeding the capacity of our planet to cope. Several ‘planetary boundaries’ are already being exceeded”, he warned.
26 March 2014
5 PH cities to block off roads for pedestrians, cyclists
Five Philippine cities are blocking off major roads for bikers and pedestrians this week in support of the movement to promote sustainable mass transport systems in the country.
They are composed of 3 cities in Metro Manila – San Juan, Pasig and Marikina – and two cities in the Visayas – Iloilo and Cebu.
On Thursday, March 27, San Juan City will close N. Domingo Street from motorized vehicles from 6 am to 12 pm for “Lakad at Bisikleta sa Araw ni San Juan” (Walk and Bike on St John’s Day). The road will be reserved for joggers, pedestrians, cyclists and skateboarders, and will be used for a 5-kilometer ceremonial bike ride.
The initiative is said to be a first step to improving the quality of living in the city.
Source: http://www.rappler.com/science-nature/society-culture/53910-ph-cities-support-road-sharing
30 March 2014
Megaworld’s next projects LEED-certified
Property developer Megaworld Corp. will concentrate on building more energy-efficient facilities in its township developments in Metro Manila but will maintain its “regular” buildings in the provinces due to cost consideration.
Jericho Go, Megaworld’s first vice president, said the company’s building developments in Metro Manila will be LEED-certified, which means they will be costlier to construct due to various environmental considerations to become energy efficient.
LEED, short for Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design, is a system designed by the US Green Building Council.
31 March 2014
Korean firm to invest $ 50-M in RP wind power project
Korea East West Power Co. Ltd. (EWP),a wholly-owned subsidiary of state-owned Korea Electric Power Corp. (Kepco), will invest US$ 50 million for the development of a wind power project in the country. EWP has committed in principle to invest the US$ 50 million into Alternergy Philippine Holdings Corp.
Trade Undersecretary Elmer C. Hernandez, representing the Philippine government, signed the Memorandum of Understanding with EWP chief executive Lee Gil-Gu, Alternergy president Vincent Perez and Mr. Kim Dong-Soo, chairman of the Export Import Bank of Korea (KEXIM) in a ceremony held at the Blue House Saturday on the occasion of the official visit of President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo to South Korea.
KEXIM has committed to provide up to US$ 150 million in project loans to finance wind power projects that EWP and Alternergy will undertake in the Philippines.