Renewable energy in the Philippines

In 2013, renewable energy provided 26.44% of the total electricity in the Philippines and 19,903 gigawatt-hours (GWh) of electrical energy out of a total demand of 75,266 gigawatt-hours. The Philippines is a net importer of fossil fuels. For the sake of energy security, there is momentum to develop renewable energy sources. The types available include hydropower, geothermal power, wind power, solar power and biomass power. The government of the Philippines has legislated a number of policies in order to increase the use of renewable energy by the country. The government has committed to raising to 50% the contribution of renewables of its total electricity generating capacity, with 15.3 gigawatts (GW) by 2030. The move would help the country in its commitment to reduce its carbon emissions by 75% by 2030. Background There is momentum to decrease reliance on fossil fuels due to the negative effects such as pollution, climate change and financial uncertainty because of

Explaining the diversity of motivations behind community renewable energy

Thomas Jean F Bauwens

Community-based renewable energy initiatives may be important actors in the transition toward low-carbon energy systems. In turn, stimulating investments in renewable energy production at the community level requires a better understanding of investors' motives. This paper aims to study the heterogeneity of motivations that drive individuals to participate in community renewable energy projects and the underlying explanatory factors behind this, as well as the implications for their level of engagement in initiatives. Based on quantitative data from an original survey conducted with two renewable energy cooperatives in Flanders, the statistical analysis shows that cooperative members should not be considered as one homogeneous group. Several categories of members with different motives and levels of engagement can be distinguished. This heterogeneity is explained by contrasts in terms of institutional settings, spatial patterns and attitudes to the diffusion of institutional innovations. Regarding policy implications, the findings suggest that this heterogeneity should be taken into account in designing more effective supporting policies to stimulate investments at the community level. The activation of social norms is also shown to be a promising mechanism for triggering investment decisions, although the implications of its interplay with economic incentives should be further explored.

Elsevier2016

Impacts of extreme climate conditions due to climate change on the energy system design and operation

Vahid Moussavi Nik, Amarasinghage Tharindu Dasun Perera, Jean-Louis Scartezzini

Extreme climate events occur more frequently and stronger in the future due to climate change. Maintaining the energy security during extreme conditions is essential to reduce the impacts of extreme climate and avoid disasters. Resilient design of the energy system to resist against extreme climate events are investigated considering four scenarios, namely, typical demand (TD), extreme demand (ED), extreme renewable energy generation (ER) and, extreme demand and renewable generation (EDR). A regional climate model is used to develop the four scenarios with the assistance of a building simulation model. Subsequently, multi-energy hub is optimized for each scenario considering net present value (NPV) and grid integration (GI) level as the objective functions. A significant difference in objective function values is observed when analyzing the four scenarios. Similarly, a significant difference in the energy system design is observed when moving from one scenario to another. The results of the study reveal that a energy system design is strongly influenced by extreme climate scenario considered which will make the energy system to be a sub-optimal when operating at a different climatic condition with a significant performance gap. Therefore, improving the climate flexibility of energy systems is an essential task which is challenging at the early design process. (C) 2019 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Ltd.

ELSEVIER SCIENCE BV2019