Use jobs creation as yardstick in energy contracts -- solon

NEWS RELEASE

Rep. Elpidio F. Barzaga Jr. (Lone district of Dasmariñas City, Cavite)

Suite 402 RVMB, House of Representatives

Contact: COS Aisa D. Sango @0917-4181305

June 22, 2010

Use jobs creation as yardstick in energy contracts -- solon

To check mounting unemployment, Cavite Rep. Elpidio Barzaga has urged the Department of Energy (DOE) to use jobs creation as one of the standards to help it decide as to which renewable energy contracts to approve.

"Government should spare no effort in generating jobs. All agencies should now consciously find ways to advance employment in every public contract and project," Barzaga said.

Barzaga made the statement shortly after the National Statistics Office reported that as of April, some 9.4 million Filipinos are either totally without jobs, or working only part-time and actively looking for full-time employment.

The DOE should give the highest priority to renewable energy projects that promise to produce the greatest number of jobs, Barzaga said.

"Every type of renewable energy, whether biomass, solar, wind, hydro, geothermal, ocean or hybrids thereof has its advantages," he pointed out.

"However, biomass energy tends to provide extra employment and livelihood opportunities, over and above other renewable energy sources," Barzaga said.

Biomass invariably involves mobilizing people to gather the material to be converted into gas, he pointed out.

Barzaga said biomass projects usually involve community-based livelihood programs, such as the farmers themselves selling and gaining from the rice shells or coconut husks to be turned into gas.

Last week, the DOE said it was still evaluating 50 additional renewable energy projects, mostly wind and geothermal.

This is on top of the 222 renewable energy projects already approved as of March. Worth a combined P88 billion, the projects are expected to yield some 4,567 megawatts in additional capacity for the country's three main grids.

The approved projects are broken down into hydropower, 125; wind, 45; biomass, 27; geothermal, 21; ocean, three; and solar, one.

Under the Renewable Energy Law of 2008, or Republic Act (RA) 9513, an initial P2 billion trust fund was established, partly to "support the development and operation of new renewable resources to improve their competitiveness in the market."

Money out of the fund may be used as grants, loans, equity investments, credit guarantees, insurance, counterpart fund or such other financial arrangements.

RA 9513 seeks to lessen national dependence on fossil and mostly imported fuels such as crude oil and coal, which has made consumers and the economy extremely vulnerable to global market price fluctuations.

30