THE NATIONAL Electrification Administration (NEA) said Tuesday that 44 electric cooperatives (ECs) have expressed interest in developing embedded generation facilities powered by renewable energy (RE).
Embedded generation projects are meant to serve as standby power for emergencies during calamities.
“We have about 44 ECs… (which have expressed their) interest (for RE-powered embedded generation),” Ernesto O. Silvano, who heads the NEA Total Electrification and Renewable Energy Development Department (TEREDD), said during a Tuesday webinar hosted by the European Chamber of Commerce of the Philippines.
Of the cooperatives, 24 plan to develop hydro facilities for standby power.
Some 14 ECs plan to build solar photovoltaic or PV projects, while three hope to build off-grid solar hybrid facilities. Meanwhile, two ECs are interested in putting up biomass plants, while one is seeking to develop a waste-to-energy facility.
Mr. Silvano said the embedded generation project was recently launched by the NEA after consulting ECs.
In June, the NEA told ECs to develop, install and operate their own embedded power generation projects for emergencies and add to the supply during periods of peak electricity demand, while addressing power shortages.
NEA Administrator Edgardo R. Masongsong ordered the TEREDD to help ECs develop their own embedded power projects.
He added that ECs must explore the possibility of using RE to meet demand in their respective coverage areas. — Angelica Y. Yang