Renewable Energy Act of 2008: Hits and Misses for the Philippine Geothermal Industry

Abstract

The enactment of the Renewable Energy Act of 2008 (“RE Act”) and its implementing rules and regulations was expected to open the way for the entry of risk capital in geothermal exploration, development and utilization. The Department of Energy (“DOE”) admitted that progress on implementing support systems for renewable energy development in the power sector has been hobbled by delays. The Philippine government initiated major structural reforms in the geothermal industry sector by undertaking the privatisation of geothermal generating assets and divesting its interests in the state-owned geothermal development company. Like in any resource development project, the Philippine government needs to address issues related to the complicated approval and permitting process to reduce and expedite procedures particularly in foreign ownership, land use, environment and social acceptability regulations. Needless to say, streamlining the permit process by government regulators will have an impact on geothermal development, as shorter project periods would reduce uncertainty for policy and market dynamics when modelling economic returns. As geothermal projects are characterized by significant upfront capital investment for exploration, well drilling, and the installation of plant and equipment, the DOE must develop publicly available database protocols and tools for geothermal resource assessments to facilitate access by developers to risk capital. Government regulators must also develop guidelines for the inclusion of non-conventional and leading edge geothermal technologies in the setting up of feed-in tariff rates. Risk mitigation instruments like risk guarantee schemes and geologic risk insurance will also encourage investments in geothermal exploration.