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Philippines – Tidal Stream

Tidal stream marine energy machinery
Partner Ministries
Department of Energy (DoE); Philippine Climate Change Commission (CCC)
Implementation Organisations
Frankfurt School of Finance & Management gGmbH; Friedrichsdorfer Institut zur Nachhaltigkeit (IzN) e.V.
Project Partners
National Electrification Administration (NEA), Energy Regulatory Commission (ERC), National Power Corporation – Small Power Utilities Group (NPC-SPUG), Association of Isolated Electric Cooperatives (AIEC), Landbank of the Philippines (LBP), Development Bank of the Philippines (DBP), Asian Development Bank (ADB), Southeast Asian Energy Transition Partnership (ETP – UNOPS), Ocean Energy Europe (OEE), OceanPixel Pte Ltd (OP), Marine Environment Resources Foundation (MERF), Electric Cooperative (EC) DIELCO, Cagdiano farmers’ and Fishers’ Marketing Cooperation, Electric Cooperative (EC) Norsamelco
Funding Volume Provided
EUR 20 Million
Project Duration
2023-2029
Status
Active
Phase
Implementation Phase 1 (Pilot stage)
Call
7th Call

Background: The Philippine energy sector relies heavily on fossil fuels, which stand as the largest contributor to the country’s greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. This is reflected by the fact that most of the 2,000 inhabited islands of the Philippines are not connected to the national electric grids. Instead, they often rely on inefficient diesel generators as their only source of electricity supply. Consequently, these off-grid islands suffer from high local environmental pollution due to diesel combustion, a largely unreliable and part-time electricity supply, and high cost of electricity generation. This high cost requires considerable subsidies to cover the gap between affordable end-user tariffs and the true cost of generation.

In this context, a combination of tidal stream energy (TSE), and TSE hybrid systems using other renewable energy technologies, are a highly efficient solution. However, these systems are rarely used on a utility scale due to challenges such as (1) lack of access to favourable financing products, (2) lack of awareness about the effectiveness and effectivity of TSE and TSE hybrid systems and (3) the lack of a regulatory framework to promote these technologies.

Approach to Transformational Change: The project “Philippines – Decarbonisation of Electricity Generation on Philippine Islands – Using Tidal Stream and Solar PV”, will provide both funding (via the financial cooperation (FC) component) and advisory support (via the technical cooperation (TC) component). The FC component will offer long-term concessional loans and blend them with CAPEX grants thus rendering the TSE hybrid system investment project viable. The TC component will support the local government in adjusting regulations applicable for TSE, and in the standardisation of processes for licensing of new projects while supporting the review of existing power supply agreements.

The expected impact of this project is that small island grid operators will be able to substitute fossil fuel-based electricity generation through TSE hybrid systems via replicable sustainable private investment projects. These projects will install 64 MW of TSE hybrid systems, and around 100 MWh battery storage in off-grid islands in the Philippines during the lifespan of the project. Additionally, the project expects to catalyse the market for privately financed TSE hybrid investment projects by making financing sources accessible, supporting the establishment of favourable regulatory conditions.

Through the long-term concessional loans to be provided by the project, over EUR 164 million are expected to be leveraged from the public and private sectors.

Mitigation potential: The project will directly mitigate 1.2 million tons CO2e over the lifetime of the TSE hybrid systems.

Image: © Sustainable Marine Energy