AC Energy is looking at embarking on floating solar power and offshore wind power projects to help the country attain its renewable energy (RE) goals.
“We are aware of several companies developing floating solar, including ourselves. There’s a lot of potential. Laguna Lake, for example, is a great location for floating solar,” said AC Energy President Eric Francia during a forum titled “Energy’s Sustainable Future in Renewables and Nuclear.”
He said Laguna Lake is an ideal location for a floating solar power project since there are already various transmission facilities within the area. “The good news about Laguna Lake is it’s almost at the center of the demand and the demand load center and you can connect to the various substations, relieve the pressure on NGCP (National Grid Corporation of the Philippines) to keep on building transition lines.”
The company is already preparing to sort out the necessary permits to pursue its interest in a floating solar power project, which, Francia said, could be done in the next two to three years. “That’s ripe for the picking, we are hopeful the LLDA (Laguna Lake Development Authority) will finalize its policy and start issuing the water rights to the various developers.”
Aside from floating solar, AC Energy is also looking at offshore wind power projects.
“Offshore wind is much talked about lately. It is 5 to 10 years away in terms of the competitiveness of the technology, similar to battery storage. Definitely, it is something that we, as an industry, should look at,” said Francia.
Hydrogen power is also being recognized as fuel of the future. Though it is still in the early days and the technology is still expensive, Francia said hydrogen is “something that could take the trajectory of solar and battery storage.”
The Department of Energy (DOE) is keen on looking into the potential applications of hydrogen in the Philippine setting. After creating the Hydrogen and Fusion Energy Committee (HFEC), the DOE has entered into two Memoranda of Understanding (MOU) on research and development activities.
The government signed an MOU with Australian firm Star Hero, to evaluate the conversion of coal-fired power plants to hydrogen sourced from RE feedstock and with Japan’s Hydrogen Technology, Inc. to assess hydrogen utilization for power generation.
“Energy transition is upon us, not overnight. You cannot just switch off all the carbon emitting power plants, it has to be an orderly transition. We need to have a long-term roadmap.
Renewables will have a big role to play, gas will have a transition role and all of these enabling technologies will have to be factored in as they get developed over time,” he said.
