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Geothermal Geothermal Power Plants in the Philippines Field Installed Capacity (MW) Field Operator Power Plant Operator(s) Tiwi 330 CGPHI Napocor Makban 425 CGPHI Napocor, Ormat Tongonan I, II, III 112, 210, 386 (Total 784) PNOC Napocor, Cal Energy Palinpinon I, II 115, 80 (Total 195) PNOC Napocor Bacman I, II 110, 40 (Total 150) PNOC Napocor Mindanao I, II 52, 48 (Total 100) PNOC Oxbow, Marubeni Source: Philippines Department of Energy
The Philippines is the second-largest producer of geothermal energy in the world behind the United States, with more than 1,900 MW of installed geothermal capacity. The government has set a goal of increasing this figure to 3,100 MW within a decade, which would make the Philippines the largest geothermal energy producer, surpassing the United States. Most geothermal power projects were developed by a division of PNOC, while two of the country’s largest projects were originally developed by Philippine Geothermal, Inc. (today known as Chevron Geothermal Philippines Holdings, Inc. or CGPHI, and formerly Unocal Philippines, Inc. ). In March 2004, the Philippines kicked off the Department of Energy Geothermal Contracting Round (known as GEOTHERMAL 1), in an effort to sell off Napocor’s geothermal assets and attract private investors to new projects. As part of this process, there are currently a number of new geothermal power proj. Hydroelectric Hydroelectric sources made up approximately 2,900 MW of the Philippines’ installed electricity generation capacity, or 19 percent of the total, in 2004.
The country has not seen a significant expansion in hydroelectric capacity during the last two decades, although some new projects are currently being developed, particularly small-scale hydroelectric facilities. Biomass Philippine is known to have an abundance of bio-energy fuel sources at its disposal because of its extensive agricultural, forestry, and livestock industries. Potential fuel sources include bagasse (60-70% utilization), coconut residues (40-50% utilization), wood, rice hulks (10-20% utilization) and municipal solid waste.
The DOE has identified a biomass (bagasse) potential of 250 million barrels of fuel oil equivalent in the country. In terms of capacity, the country has a total installed capacity of 235. 7MW from the different regions, with Western Visayas having the biggest potential of 127. 8 MW. In 1996 bagasse contributed 3. 6% to the energy mix, with 39 operating sugar mills producing an estimated 4600 tons of cane daily. More than 653 biogas systems for generation from animal wastes are installed in the Philippines, with the technology having been used since 1970s.
Solar Power Solar energy refers to energy derived from solar radiation which can be converted into useful thermal or electrical energy. Considering that the country is situated near the equator, there is a nationwide potential for harnessing solar energy. In 2000, the Philippines installed a PV (photovoltaic) capacity of about 567KW. And presently, there is a 960KW CEPALCO solar power plant which is located in Cagayan de Oro in Mindanao. There are eight solar energy programs, seven of which are funded by foreign donors.
The Solar Power Technology Support (SPOTS) Project was designed to install solar energy systems in about 80 Agrarian Reform Communities (ARCs). There are also 5,600 solar energy systems completed in 154 barangays under this program. The Environmental Improvement for Economic Sustainability (EIES) Project also promotes the use of photovoltaic system for rural-based electrification through the installation of 15,000 Solar Hybrid Systems (SHS) in the target regions. The said regions include Region I to VII, the Mindanao area and the Cordillera Administrative Region (CAR).
As of the first quarter of 2006, 9,191SHS have already been installed in the country. Wind power Wind energy refers to the energy that can be derived from the wind. Philippines situated on the fringes of the Asia-Pacific monsoon belt, exhibits a promising potential for wind energy. In 2004, 16 potential wind energy power sites were offered to private investors in the first wind contracting round. And it was estimated that the total capacity of these sites is 345MW. According also to Philippine Geo-physical Astronomical Services Administration (PAG-ASA), the country has a mean average of about 31W/m2 of wind density.
There are six regions identified with wind electric potential, these includes the following: 1. Batanes and Babuyan Island 2. Northwest tip of Luzon (Ilocos Norte) 3. Higher interior terrain of Luzon, Mindoro, Samar, Leyte, Panay, Negros, Cebu, Palawan, Eastern Mindanao and adjacent islands 4. Well exposed east-facing coastal locations from Northern Luzon southward to Samar 5. The wind corridors between Luzon and Mindanao (including Lubang island) 6. Between Mindoro and Panay (including the Semirara and Cuyo island) At present, wind energy is already used in some parts of the country.
Batangas Province for example, puts up a 25KW stand-alone system of wind energy using six different loads. A 3KW wind diesel system is also used for telecommunications relay station. A 40MW and a 25MW wind farm were also built in Burgos and Bangui Bay, Ilocos Norte. The said wind farm in Bangui was the first wind farm to be fully functional in the country and in the Southeast Asia. The government wished to expand this energy to be the number one wind energy producer in the future. Electricity In 2004, the Philippines had total installed electricity generating capacity of 15. gigawatts (GW). The country produced 53. 1 billion kilowatt-hours (Bkwh) of electricity in 2004, while consuming 49. 4 Bkwh. Conventional thermal sources make up the largest share of Philippine electricity supply, comprising more than 65 percent of the total in 2004. However, the Philippines is also the world’s second-largest producer of geothermal energy. Sector Organization Philippine Electricity Generation by Source, 1984-2004 The Philippine Department of Energy sets overall policy goals in the energy industry, while the Energy Regulatory Commission (ERC) is charged with egulating the electricity sector. After experiencing a sever power crisis in the early 1990s, the Philippine government set out to restructure and privatize the power sector with the aim of ensuring adequate electricity supply and increasing investment in energy infrastructure. After several years of legislative debate, the Electric Power Industry Reform Act (EPIRA) of 2001 was enacted. Among other things, EPIRA set into motion the deregulation of the power industry and the breakup and eventual privatization of state-owned enterprises.
EPIRA required the state-owned utility, National Power Corporation (Napocor), to break up its vertically integrated assets into separate units for electricity generation, transmission, and distribution. The Act also mandated the eventual sell-off of most of the company’s transmission and generation assets. Napocor’s assets designated for privatization were organized into two state holding companies: the National Transmission Corporation (TransCo), which took on much of the company’s transmission assets, and the Power Sector Assets and Liabilities Management (PSALM) Corporation, which assumed control of Napocor’s power plants.
Under EPIRA measures, the government was also required to sell off its equity stake in the Manila Electric Company (Meralco), the country’s largest electricity distribution company that serves the island of Luzon and the metropolitan Manila area. The government set an initial goal of selling TransCo assets by mid-2005, but this process has been delayed as previous bidding rounds failed to yield an acceptable proposal. PSALM began selling off Napocor’s power generation assets in 2004, although the effort has also proceeded more slowly than the government had hoped.
PSALM originally set a target of privatizing 70 percent of its generation assets by the end of 2005. However, a progress report dated April 2006 noted that PSALM had only sold off 14 percent of its power stations, well short of its goal. Conventional Thermal Conventional thermal sources of electricity generation have grown in importance, especially as the Philippine government promotes the increased usage of natural gas-fired power plants. As oil prices have risen over the last two years, the country has looked to promote the development of domestic energy sources to displace oil imports.
The largest projects to come onstream in recent years are connected to the Malampaya Deepwater Gas-to-Power Project, which began commercial operations in late 2001. Natural gas from the large Malampaya field is pumped ashore to supply three combined cycle power plants totaling 2,700 megawatts (MW): the 1,000-MW Santa Rita plant, the 500-MW San Lorenzo facility, and the 1,200-MW Ilijan power station. The Ilijan power plant is owned by Napocor and operated by the Korea Electric Power Corporation (KEPCO), while the other two facilities are owned and operated by the First Gas Power Corporation.
There are various other conventional thermal power plants under construction or consideration in the Philippines, although most companies are concerned with the restructuring and sell-off of Napocor’s existing power plants rather than the construction of additional capacity. One large project that is planned is the GNPower Energy Park, currently being developed by GNPower. GNPower led the construction of the Philippines’ first large-scale IPP project with its 470-MW coal-fired facility in Quezon.
The Energy Park project is being developed in the Bataan province, and envisions the eventual establishment of 1,900 MW in new generating capacity, including a 600-MW coal-fired power station, 1,200-MW natural gas-fired plant, and a 100-MW wind farm. Tidal Energy Tidal energy is energy that could be obtained from the changing sea levels. In other words, tidal energy is a direct result of tide shifting from low to high. Tidal energy is considered to be a renewable source of energy since it only uses the energy from the changing of the tides instead of burning or consuming any form of energy source.
It is also considered to be inexhaustible because tides always rise and fall due to gravity. Tidal power utilization is also considered to be a very reliable source of energy due to its predictability. Compared to other sources of energy such as wind or solar energy, tidal changes are easier to predict. They’re also sure to occur consistently. Unlike solar or wind energy, tidal power does not depend on the season or the weather type. Instead, tidal energy relies purely on the orbital kinetic energy that the sun exerts as the earth orbits around it. The same goes with the moon and earth orbital system.
As the moon orbits around the earth, a gravitational force is experienced by both bodies. Consequently, all of the forces that work within the orbital systems create an imbalance in the earth’s water levels. Thus, some places have higher water levels while other places have decreased water levels. . Oil According to Oil and Gas Journal (OGJ), the Philippines had 138 million barrels of proven oil reserves in January 2006. The country’s oil production is limited, averaging just over 25,000 barrels per day (bbl/d) during the first nine months of 2006.
Between 1996 and 2000, the Philippines had no oil production. During the last several years, production has increased primarily due to the development of new offshore deepwater oil deposits. The increased production volume is still modest, however, in relation to the country’s needs. The Energy Information Administration (EIA) estimates that the Philippines will consume 349,000 bbl/d of oil during 2006. Sector Organization The Philippine National Oil Company (PNOC) has historically dominated the country’s oil sector.
However, market reforms beginning in 1998 aimed at deregulation of the oil industry have brought many new oil companies to the Philippines. PNOC remains the primary player in upstream oil market activities, although it frequently partners with foreign companies on its major projects. The principal government agency charged with monitoring the oil sector is the Department of Energy (DOE), which holds responsibility for issuing exploration and production licenses and ensuring compliance with relevant regulations. Exploration and Production Historically, the Philippines has not had significant domestic oil production.
Recently, exploration and production activities in deepwater areas off the Philippines have increased the country’s domestic petroleum resources. This increase was due primarily to the development of new deep-sea oil deposits in the Malampaya Oil Rim, which are found underneath the large Malampaya natural gas field. The Malampaya project is the country’s largest oil-producing area. Other recent exploration and production activities have also focused on offshore oil prospects, and during 2005 the DOE awarded eleven Service Contracts, mostly concentrated in the Mindoro, Salawan, and Sulu Sea basins.
The Malampaya project was inaugurated in October 2001, with Shell as the operator (45 percent stake), and Chevron (45 percent) and PNOC (10 percent) as project partners. While natural gas production from the Malampaya area is significant, associated oil production in the deepwater structure has been difficult to exploit. After committing $2 billion in exploration and development costs, Shell and Chevron relinquished their right to develop the oil rim project to PNOC in 2004, citing lack of sufficient oil reserves and concerns over possible damage to the overlying natural gas-producing reservoir.
In June 2006, PNOC awarded a contract to Malaysia’s Mitra Energy to develop the Malampaya Oil Rim. However, on August 10, 2006, President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo issued executive order 556, which declared that oil exploration and production activities must occur through a strict bidding process rather than the farm-in deal that Mitra had won. A spokesman for the Philippine DOE declared in September 2006 that PNOC will open a new bidding round for the Malampaya oil rim project, which Mitra estimates put recoverable oil reserves at 35 to 40 million barrels.
While Philippine authorities hope to conclude the new bidding round by year-end 2006, companies interested in the oil rim have expressed concern that the project’s oil reserves are shrinking, as continued natural gas production reduces the quantity of recoverable oil deposits. PNOC has also engaged in exploration activities in the South China Sea, where longstanding territorial disputes among countries in the region have limited development of oil deposits. PNOC, the Chinese National Offshore Oil Corporation (CNOOC), and PetroVietnam have signed an agreement to jointly explore the Joint Marine Seismic Undertaking (JMSU) area.
The companies have acquired initial seismic data, and will reportedly decide whether or not to pursue the next phase of the JMSU project after results from initial tests are released in November 2006. Downstream/Refining According to OGJ, the Philippines had 333,000 bbl/d of crude oil refining capacity at two facilities: Petron Corporation’s 180,000-bbl/d plant in Limay, Bataan; and Shell’s 153,000-bbl/d Tabango refinery. Petron, the Philippines’ largest oil refining and marketing company, is formerly a state-owned enterprise.
Since privatization efforts began in the 1990s, PNOC and Saudi Aramco each acquired a 40 percent equity stake in the company, and the remaining 20 percent is owned by stockholders. Oil market deregulation, beginning in 1998, continues to have a significant effect on the industry. Since deregulation started, more than 60 new firms have entered the retail oil sector in the Philippines. Petron, Shell, and Chevron remain the dominant industry players, but new entrants have increased their downstream market share from 10 percent in 2000 to 20 percent in 2005.
Natural Gas OGJ reported that the Philippines had 3. 9 trillion cubic feet (Tcf) of proven natural gas reserves as of January 2006, almost all of which is located in the Malampaya natural gas field. The country had no significant natural gas production until 2001. During 2004, natural gas production and consumption in the Philippines stood at 102 billion cubic feet (Bcf). Although natural gas consumption has ballooned in recent years, in 2004 natural gas supplied less than 8 percent of the Philippines’ total energy consumption.
A major impetus for changes in the country’s natural gas sector has been the Malampaya offshore natural gas field. Shell (the operator of the project, with a 45 percent stake), Chevron (45 percent), and PNOC (10 percent) have come together to form the $4. 5-billion Malampaya Deepwater Gas-to-Power Project. The project is the largest natural gas development project in Philippine history, and one of the largest-ever foreign investments in the country. The Malampaya Project was officially inaugurated on October 16, 2001 and holds an estimated 3. 7 Tcf of natural gas reserves.
Natural gas from Malampaya is pumped via a 312-mile sub-sea pipeline to a natural gas processing facility and three power plants in Batangas with a combined generating capacity of 2,700 megawatts. In October 2006, Forum Energy announced that a natural gas prospect at the Sampaguita field could hold up to 20 Tcf of possible natural gas reserves, based on seismic data retrieved from the Sampaguita natural gas field. The field was originally discovered in 1976, but never pursued because companies believed it to hold few reserves. Some industry analysts question the 20 Tcf figure, saying that revious exploration work at Sampaguita revealed a more likely range of 3. 5 to 5 Tcf of natural gas reserves. Forum Energy plans to test drill at Sampaguita in the future, and if testing confirms substantial natural gas reserves, the company will reportedly consider a liquefied natural gas (LNG) project. Coal Philippines Coal Production and Consumption, 1984-2004 The Philippines has recoverable coal reserves of 260 million short tons (Mmst). In 2004, the country consumed 10. 1 Mmst of coal, up 45 percent since 1999, while producing only 2. 9 Mmst.
The Philippines relies on imports for much of its coal consumption, primarily from Indonesia, China, and Australia. Fossil Fuels Are being investigated, such as bituminous sands and oil shale. The difficulty is that they need expensive processing before we can use them , which makes it economic for them to produce a great deal of energy this way. As far as we know, there is still a lot of oil in the ground. But although oil wells are easy to tap when they’re almost full, it’s much more difficult to get the oil up later on when there’s less oil down there.
That’s one reason why we’re increasingly looking at these other fossil fuels. Fossil fuels are not a renewable energy resource. Once we’ve burned them all, there isn’t any more, and our consumption of fossil fuels has nearly doubled every 20 years since 1900. This is a particular problem for oil, because we also use it to make plastics and many other products. Nuclear power Nuclear power is a form of energy which arise from a reaction between atomic nuclei. Mostly this form of energy comes out of nuclear fission. To explain how this process works, we give a little explanation about the structure of atomic nuclei.
Atomic nuclei excist out of neutrons and protons. these little parts (neutrons and protons) are held together in the center of the atomic nucleus through a special energy, called binding-energy. In a process in which the atomic nuclei collide whith eachother, they fall apart and the loose parts come out of the atomic nucleus. The energy which kept the parts together is not necessary anymore and this energy comes ‘free’. At the technique of nuclear fission, atomic nuclei collide with eachother in a central boiler to become as much energy out of it as possible.
The so called ‘binding-energy’ falls apart and this energy comes out of the atomic nucleus. This energy is used for heating up water and this water becomes steam. Through the steam a turbine can be driven and so electricity is a fact. The speed in which the atomic nuclei collide is controlled by special rods. These rods can pull atomic nuclei towards them and so there become less atomic nuclei which can collid and then there is less binding-energy to come ‘free’. Petroleum Petroleum, or “crude oil,” is a liquid fuel that is present in various locations throughout the world.
It has many uses, from the generation of electricity to the manufacture of medicines, plastics, and other commercial items. Much like coal, petroleum is formed from the remains of biodegraded organic material. When animals that lived in the sea millions of years ago died underwater, their remains were gradually covered by layers of very fine dirt known as “silt” on the ocean floor. Then, as the years passed, pressure from the layers built up and compressed the organic material, forming the oil. Petroleum has many different “viscosities,” or thicknesses. The viscosity depends on the amount of gases and solids that are present in the oil.
Often, natural gas is disolved in the liquid and can be extracted for other uses. Petroleum take three main forms: paraffin, asphaltic, and mixed-base. These forms are based upon the chemical makeup of the hydrocarbon-based oil. Liquid Petroleum Gas and the Environment Most consumers know liquid petroleum gas (LPG) as butane or propane. These liquids are removed from oil and gas during the refining process.. A flexible fuel, LPG can be used for everything from running residential water heaters to powering farm tractors. Propane is second only to natural gas in terms of heat content.
It is considered an alternative fuel because it burns cleaner than coal or gasoline. One-third of the nation’s propane is produced in Texas. According to the National Propane Gas Association, propane is the nation’s third largest engine fuel source and the most widely used for alternative transportation fuel. The Propane Association claims that propane-powered engines contribute less to the problems of acid rain, smog, and global warming than other fossil fuels because propane combustion produces less carbon monoxide, hydrocarbons, nitrogen oxide, and other toxins as compared to combustion of coal or oil.
Moreover, LPG tanks can be stored above or below ground, and, because propane readily vaporizes, there is less risk of underground tanks causing groundwater and soil contamination. The costs of operating propane vehicles have also been shown to be lower than the costs of gasoline-powered vehicles. * LPG, which is used as a chemical feedstock, is the leading petroleum product consumed in the state. Texans consumed approximately 12. 2 billion gallons of LPG in 1996, most of which was used by the petrochemical industry for making plastics and fertilizers. Millions of rural Texans rely on propane and butane for cooking and water heating. Nuclear Power – energy from splitting Uranium atoms Nuclear power is generated using Uranium, which is a metal mined in various parts of the world. The first large-scale nuclear power station opened at Calder Hall in Cumbria, England, in 1956. Some military ships and submarines have nuclear power plants for engines. Nuclear power produces around 11% of the world’s energy needs, and produces huge amounts of energy from small amounts of fuel, without the pollution that you’d get from burning fossil fuels.