Editorial: Green energy

Sunday, November 27, 2011

THE success of civil society in Cebu is not just in opposing the construction of flyovers in Cebu City but the more crucial promotion of a conscious choice for sustainable development.

What is “sustainable development”?

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In 1987, the World Commission on Environment and Development reported in “Our Common Future” this “landmark” definition of “sustainable development”: “Development that meets the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs.”

This balancing of the immediate and the future, of economic and humanitarian goals, may result in conflicts of interest.

As citizens and civil society groups have recently demonstrated, these conflicts are best resolved not at the top—by politicians, local government officials and institutions—but through consultation of and the participation of the bottom, representing the majority: the people who will live with the consequences of developmental initiatives and thus, have the right to determine the options that balance economic growth and social and ecological sustainability.

Green-lighting

“Think green” is no longer an ideological aberration that “afflicts” only tree-huggers and peaceniks.

One of those convinced that “it is time to go green… (because) it also makes business sense and many in the Philippines are starting to realize this” is Volker Steigerwald, German Development Cooperation manager for private sector promotion.

Steigerwald made this pronouncement during the Philippine-German Solar Energy Forum held in Cebu City last Nov. 24.

According to a Nov. 25 Sun.Star Cebu article written by Mia Abellana-Aznar and Ruthyl Marie Gadugdug, seven German companies in different sectors of solar power met with local energy stakeholders to advocate for solar power as an inexpensive and viable alternative to meet the country’s energy needs.

“The Philippines relies heavily on imported energy sources,” assessed the Renewable Energy & Energy Efficiency Partnership (Reeep) in its 2010 situationer of the country, uploaded on www.reeep.org. “Imported coal and crude oil accounted for 56 percent of the total energy supply in 2003.”

Renewable options

To reduce its dependence on imported energy sources, the energy sector expanded its exploration of new oil and gas reserves, as well as tapped alternative sources for power generation.

According to the same Reeep report, this strategy includes renewable sources of energy, such as hydropower, wind, solar, biomass and geothermal.

“The Philippines has one of the longest histories with (solar photovoltaic) PV systems in Asia,” reported Reeep. “The majority of its programs have been aid-driven, with mixed results.”

According to the same Sun.Star Cebu report, Cebu Chamber of Commerce and Industry vice president for finance Prudencio Gesta observed that while solar power is viable, there are administrative and legal issues that need to be threshed out before solar power can be provided.

The Reeep report states that prohibitive costs, lack of technical and maintenance capacity, the grid extension of conventional electricity and low public image hinder the commercial potential of solar home systems.

The Solar Energy Forum should provide the impetus for local energy stakeholders to discuss with the German companies how the country can tap the technology and expertise to bring solar power not just to industry but also residential areas, far-flung schools and communities.

Majority of Germany’s solar-power providers are small and medium enterprises, Steigerwald pointed out. In the 1990s, the German Agency for Technical Cooperation piloted the Philippine-German Cebu Upland Project, which introduced people’s organizations to solar PV power technology, among other participatory-based interventions.

Learning from the grassroots and from the past can help Cebuanos ensure a sustainable future.