The Market Monitor Minding the Nation's Business
By Riza Lozada
The United States Agency for International Development (Usaid) and the Department of Energy (DOE) have joined hands to spur investments in renewable-energy projects by cutting red tape.
The partnership takes the form of cutting red tape in the processing of proponents of renewable-energy projects by ensuring transparency and accountability in the processing of the project.
Proponents of energy projects had complained of the lengthy processing of the energy prospects being proposed, like the need to secure up to 160 signatures from different government agencies just to start business in the country.
Energy Secretary Carlos Jericho Petilla said the joint partnership with Usaid seeks to reduce by up to 80 percent the processing of documents for power projects.
Dubbed the Energy Vehicle One Shared System (Evoss), the partnership also seeks to promote renewable-energy projects due to low carbon emission.
Petilla said 66 committed power projects with a total capacity of 5,000 megawatts (MW) were implemented under the Aquino administration, compared with only 1,300 MW in total capacity of power plants set up during the previous administration.
The committed projects, which are in renewable and nonrenewable energy sources, are in various stages of completion including financial closure, he added.
Petilla noted the renewable energy, such as hydro, wind, solar, geothermal and biofuels, took up bulk of the projects started under the current administration.
Usaid Country Representative Gloria Steele said the US government actively participates in projects involving renewable energy such as wind, solar and hydro, which were identified as low-carbon emission energy sources that do not contribute to pollution.
Steele said the agency would continue to support the sustainable and inclusive growth program in the country through its partnership with the DOE on Evoss increase renewable energy sources.
Among the initiatives the Usaid had taken to further promote renewable sources of energy include projects on updating wind energy atlas, facilitating energy-policy development and high-quality data that can be accessed through the DOE and Usaid websites, developing in Palawan a 25.5-kilowatt micro grid to provide energy to 50 households and schools, and turning over a satellite resource map to Batanes.
The Usaid would also embark on providing computers to various agencies for the implementation of Evoss, Steele said.
Petilla said efficiency in the approval of energy projects would also be improved because of the “transparency and accountability” component of the Web-based monitoring system.
Petilla said that with the local economy growing, the DOE had embarked on a market-driven approach specifically targeting “accountability and transparency” in processing projects aimed at attracting more investments into renewable energy.
Explaining further on the Evoss, Petilla said that the “transparency” component would make dealing with government agencies easy and fluid.
Petilla said that the DOE received some 300 applications for processing, compared with two years ago, when the agency got 15 service contracts per month for processing.
