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Renewable Energy A Boon or Bane to Agri-Business?. Presented by: Archie B. Amarra Executive Vice President Roxas Holdings, Inc. Relevant policy f ramework for the Renewable Energy Program Republic Act 9637 (Biofuels Act of 2006) Republic Act 9513 (Renewable Act of 2008)
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Renewable EnergyA Boon or Bane to Agri-Business? Presented by: Archie B. Amarra Executive Vice President Roxas Holdings, Inc
Relevant policy framework for the Renewable Energy Program • Republic Act 9637 (Biofuels Act of 2006) • Republic Act 9513 (Renewable Act of 2008) • Both laws seek to promote the accelerated development and utilization of fuels and power from renewable sources. • Agribusiness, being the channel for biofuels and biopower production, is expected to benefit from the successful implementation of the RE Program
Bioethanol Program • Requirement for mandated 10% blend (w/ gasoline) – 540 million liters p.a. • Status of projects • 21 projects initially proposed after passage of law • 8 out of 21 projects registered with BOI P17.8 B investments (for the incentives) • Presently, only 4 projects (133 M liters/yr) have been completed and operational; only two projects are currently being pursued
Bioethanol Program • Production of bioethanol is largely dependent on the production of feedstock which constitutes about 75% of the cost of production • Required feedstock for 540 M li. bioethanol • @ 90% sugarcane and 10% molasses as feedstock • 7.0 million tonnes cane from 115,000 has. • 200,000 mt molasses • @ 80% sugarcane and 20% molasses as feedstock • 6.0 million tonnes cane from 100,000 has. • 410,000 mt molasses • The Philippine Agriculture Development Corporation has identified greenfield/currently unproductive areas available for the development of new ethanol projects
Bioethanol Program • Contribution to the economy: • Investments in the countryside in the establishment of distilleries • ~ P25 billion in value added from production of feedstock up to sale of bioethanol (@P45/li x 540 M li) • Availability of organic fertilizer from the distillation process • ~ 87,000 jobs in the construction, operation of distilleries and downstream industries • ~ 120,000 additional employment in feedstock production
Renewable Energy Program • Installation target for biomass RE – 250 MW (under Feed-in Tariff mechanism) • 2,693 Giga Watt hours p.a • Equivalent to 5 billion tonnes of biomass • Initially proposed projects - 433 MW installed worth US$ 1.3 Billion investment • Most of the proposed projects are designed to use agriculture residues as fuel
Renewable Energy Program • Estimated volume of biomass from major crops • Volume of biomass required for 250 MW installation target – 5.4 Million mt/yr
Renewable Energy Program • Benefits to agri-business: • Increased investments in the countryside - biomass RE facilities will be installed where the fuel is • Estimated value added to agriculture from utilization of agri residues ~ P7 billion/year • Additional income to rural folks > results in increased purchasing power
Renewable Energy Program • Benefits to agri-business: • Incentivized food production due to higher returns from farming • Sustainable employment • 78,000 Jobs to construct the power plants • 4,000 jobs for plant operation (professionals, skilled and semi-skilled workers) • 7,000 jobs from the feedstock supply chain • 6,000 jobs from cultivation of energy crop
Reality Check • Bioethanol program - 7 years from enactment of Biofuels Law in 2006 • Only four bioethanol plants are operational, supplying 12% of annual bioethanol requirement • 87 percent or 479 million li. – still imported • RE program – 4 years from enactment of RE Law • About four biomass RE plants have been established but still cannot avail of incentives, primarily the feed-in tariff
Barriers to Development of Bioethanol and Biomass RE Projects • Delayed development and implementation of enabling mechanisms for the incentives under the laws, e.g.: • allocation/withdrawal of locally produced bioethanol • Establishment of feed-in tariff for RE-derived electricity; mechanisms for renewable portfolio standards, interconnection and wheeling • Stringent regulatory requirements that scare off developers • DOE registration/contract • DOE plan to implement occupational health, safety and environmental requirements even if these are already being done by other government agencies
Barriers to Development of Bioethanol and Biomass RE Projects • Mixed signals with respect to the commitment of government to push for the development of renewable energy projects • Approval of higher rates/returns for coal-fired power projects compared to biomass • Recent approval for a coal project equates to around P8/kwh rate (@ 18.3% IRR) while the approved FiT for biomass is only 6.63 (@17% IRR) • Proposal to bid out FiT after ERC has already issued the FiT Rules • Limiting installation targets (for availment of FiT) of technologies, particularly run-off river and biomass, which have shown to be competitive with newly approved coal projects