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Being the most powerful cornerstone of the country’s future, it is now the turn of the youth to think of ways how to inculcate in their generation the responsible use of energy so they can also win the noble cause of preserving the environment.   This is the key theme of an essay writing competition launched for college/university students this March 22, 2010 at the Asian Institute of Management (AIM). It revolves on the topic: “The Role of the Youth: In Tackling the Challenges of the New Energy Future.”   Qualified participants are students enrolled in undergraduate courses or Master’s degree during academic year 2009-2010 or at the time of the submission of their entries; and they must be 30 years old or younger. Entries shall comprise of 1,000 to 2,000 words.  

Seeing the huge potential for investments in renewable energy power in the Philippines, an official from the British government vowed to invite power stakeholders from the United Kingdom (UK) to invest in the country.   “Renewable energy is a big opportunity for investment in the Philippines and companies in the UK have the expertise and technology to impart that here,” said British Ambassador to the Philippines Stephen Lillie.  

  ‘Green energy taking the epicenter of transformation’ is all too-familiar script in policy agendas. Yet, for a company turning that vision into a reality and having the foresight and willpower to take initiatives ahead of the rest would spell the difference.   Claiming moral high ground to crack people’s ‘old habits’, especially when it comes to senseless disregard and wastage of resources in energy usage is indeed a lofty aspiration. But Aboitiz Power Corporation (AP), through its Cleanergy brand, is out to prove that it can buck the odds – that given the mounting stimulus for Filipino consumers “to go green”, they will in time, embrace such option as part of their lifestyle changes.   

The Philippines’ competitive ranking globally has been sliding rock bottom in the past years. Nevertheless, instead of treating that as a signal for government to shape up on the policy front, investment prospects are being skewed further because of the State’s proclivity on arbitrarily rule-changing.   Such show of fickle-mindedness on policy enforcement had been most pronounced in the latest ‘double taxation’ hitch being hurled against Pilipinas Shell Petroleum Corporation (PSPC) – supposedly to sanction the collection of alleged back taxes of P7.3 billion for its raw material importation of catalytic crack gasoline (CCG) and light catalytic crack gasoline (LCCG).  

      In this interview with National Electrification Administration (NEA), it was clearly noted by Administrator Edita S. Bueno that the country’s electric cooperatives are very much on their shaping-up mode to keep pace with the envisaged competitive environment in the restructured electric power industry.

LPG: Ensuring Good Safety Practices Worldwide By Mercedita Pastrana Executive Director, Philippine LPG Industry Association Inc.     Members of the LP Gas Industry assume responsibilities for operating their businesses in conformity with applicable laws, regulations and standards. Its objective is to work closely with governments as there are some issues over which only government has the authority to enforce action.  

It wasn\'t long ago that the mighty oil refining industry was pulling in record profits as demand and prices for gasoline and diesel soared in the booming economy.   Average profitability was 22 percent from 2004 to 2007, a level not seen since the U.S. Energy Department started keeping track more than three decades ago. Refiners sunk billions of dollars into beefing up their facilities to produce more fuel. And, even that wasn\'t enough. Millions of extra gallons flowed into the U.S. from other countries.  

In a move to protect its citizens from unscrupulous Liquefied Petroleum Gas (LPG) dealers and retailers, the Sangguniang Panlungsod (City Council) of San Juan late last year passed City Ordinance No. 42-2009 that will penalize illegal refilling, adulteration, underfilling, and underdelivering of LPG and automotive LPG in the city.

Heeding Brazil’s experience? The country’s ethanol mandate should now be cruising at full speed, but implementation has slowed down as policy drivers seem heading in the wrong direction. Caution, because the way ahead could be a cliff.   The plan was borne out of the lavish twin goals of reducing the country’s fossil fuel dependence and at shoring up cash-for-farming opportunities; yet, these hopes along with the policy are now teetering at the brink of -- failure.  

Mr. Jess N. Alcordo, President of Global Business Power Corporation, recently discussed the power firm’s initiatives for the coming year and how this will help solve the problem of power supply shortages in the Visayas.

SN Aboitiz Power (SNAP) Group held a simultaneous tree planting activity on November 14, 2009 in Marikina, Benguet and Ifugao in response to the one million trees challenge set by the Aboitiz Group of Companies earlier this year.

Article by Mr. Peter Voser, Chief Executive of Royal Dutch Shell plc We are seeing early signs of a far-reaching shift in our world’s energy system. Desire for secure energy supplies and concern over global warming have consumers, companies and governments embarking on a long journey toward a more sustainable energy future.

Two power executives offer answers If anchored on the promise of deregulation for the power industry, a choice between ‘high’ or ‘higher energy prices’ could not have been the case for the Filipino consumers. From the start, the mindset inculcated and policy stimulus presented to them was that: by dismantling the monopoly of state-run National Power Corporation (NPC) and allowing competition to thrive in the marketplace, electricity consumers are supposed to benefit from better choices and lower rates.

SEOUL, South Korea – With trepidation over climate change risks, the charted path toward the world’s energy future conjures shift to cleaner energy options -- and it invariably factors in renewable energy (RE) into the equation.   Various countries gear up for multi-speed races into turning their energy sector as green as possible, but the envisioned precipice of fossil fuels in the mix appeared harder-to- achieve than imagined.

Opening Remarks at ADB Regional Study on the Economics of Climate Change in SE Asia, 29 October 2009 I am delighted to address you all at this Roundtable Discussion on the Asian Development Bank’s review of the Economics of Climate Change in South East Asia.

The Asian Development Bank is turning to ordinary people for solutions to global warming as it unveils a video contest ahead of the 2009 United Nations meeting to address climate change.   ADB said the Asia and the Pacific is most vulnerable to climate change and the region\'s families, food supplies, and financial prosperity are at risk. “The poor face the greatest threat from climate change because of their high dependence on natural resources and limited livelihood and mobility options.”

Simply put, Renewable energy is energy derived from natural processes that are replenished constantly. In its various forms, it derives directly from the sun, or from heat generated deep within the earth. Included in the definition is electricity and heat generated from solar, wind, ocean, hydropower, biomass, geothermal resources, and biofuels and hydrogen derived from renewable resources.

As promised in the previous article, we will discuss one by one the different sources of renewable energy. We will start with the power coming from the sun – solar power. The sun’s heat and light provide an abundant source of energy that can be harnessed in many ways. Basically, its use can be categorized into two. They either can be converted into heat or can be transformed into electricity depending on the desired application.

The recent onslaught of typhoons Ondoy and Pepeng literally smashed up many parts of the country – primarily Metro Manila and north Luzon provinces.   For many affected Filipinos, it will take much effort for them to rise back from the rubbles. And for the government – it thrived a perfect opportunity to declare a ‘national emergency’.

In this interview with the former finance chief, energy journalist Myrna Velasco unearthed the policy muddle that paved the way for the abolition of the Oil Price Stabilization Fund (OPSF) which underpinned subsidized pricing when the oil industry was still under a regulated regime.   Dr. Estanislao took account of the fiscal mess that the Philippine government had to contend with because of the depletion of the buffer fund.