Government must find ways to bump up renewable energy (RE) projects which are now stalled because many of the companies are new and face unique situations worsened by red tape.
The Department of Energy (DoE) has counted 105 RE contracts with the government in danger of termination because of unmet timelines and commitments. Such problems merely reflect the need for more reflection on the rush to shift to RE.
International conventions have fixed a timeline by which most of the world will be running on green energy, thus supposedly rescuing humanity from what environmentalists claim is a headlong spiral into self-destruction.
Developing nations, including the Philippines, have sought a more relaxed pace as the developing world has massive energy requirements that it needs to satisfy quickly which is not possible with RE which is still grappling with sustainability issues.
Industry experts say adequate storage capacity through batteries remains under development and hampers RE as a baseload source of electricity.
The licensing process is also a common ordeal for RE projects. A floating solar project is thought to be an easier endeavor than its land-based counterpart since it does not have to contend with land disputes or right-of-way problems.
An official of a floating project said land projects have to go through more than 100 licenses from barangays all the way to the regulators, a process that takes at least five years.
Project timetables thus depend on when the licenses are issued.
Of the 105 projects at risk of losing their contracts, 88 are either delayed in their pre-development stages or are not progressing at all, according to the DoE.
The projects stuck in lethargy include 53 solar, 17 hydropower, 10 wind, five geothermal, and three biomass projects.
The proponents were granted a leeway of two years for their projects to catch up with their commitments.
As of the middle of the year, the DoE has awarded at least 1,435 service contracts with a total potential capacity exceeding 156,700 megawatts (MW) to RE developers, with 6,100 MW already installed.
Developers of green projects have been pushing for a more streamlined process for licenses and permits.
The Board of Investments (BoI) has opened a green lane under which RE projects are granted a faster regulatory route but the number of licenses required and the functionaries that they have to go through remains a circuitous, and often expensive, gauntlet.
In a diplomatic tone, an official of an RE firm said the delays the company has encountered are due to “a lot of permits required because they (the government) also consider the revenues that will be created, as well as the jobs and other related economic activities.”
What it boils down to is that the projects are delayed and the DoE has had to enforce the provisions under the service contracts.
The DoE said it is doing its share to lighten the load on proponents by keeping the licensing requirements to the most essential.
Other agencies, including the Energy Regulatory Commission and the local governments that eat up much of the time of the business proponents, must also step up.
Lost revenues from the tedious licensing requirements can always be recouped through the volume of new projects that will line up in a location where licensing requirements are reduced.
What matters most is that the projects are completed, as any energy development must be supported, since the leap-frogging economy needs it badly.