Offshore renewable energy projects threat to biodiversity?
ENVIRONMENT Secretary Maria Antonia Yulo-loyzaga has suspended the acceptance, processing and approval of environmental compliance certificates (ECC) for offshore wind and floating solar energy projects pending the approval of guidelines for these renewable energy (RE) projects.
The “freeze order” momentarily keeps at bay applications for ECC for these projects.
Renewable energy policy, targets
RECOGNIZING the country’s renewable energy potential, Congress passed into law Republic Act 9153, or the Renewable Energy Act of 2008.
Among others, it aims to accelerate the exploration and development of renewable energy resources, such as biomass, solar, wind, hydro, geothermal and ocean energy resources, including hybrid systems, among others, to achieve energy self-reliance.
To further demonstrate the country’s commitment to promoting renewable energy, the government has put in place the National Renewable Energy Program (NREP).
Through NREP, the Philippines affirmed its commitment and set an ambitious target to increase the share of renewable energy in the country’s energy mix to 35 percent by 2030 and 50 percent by 2040.
Offshore wind, floating solar what?
OFFSHORE wind power, and floating solar energy, however, are both new to the Philippines.
Offshore wind is defined as the generation of electricity through wind farms in bodies of water, usually at sea.
As the title suggests, floating solar power, or floating photovoltaic system, captures sunlight to generate electricity.
But instead of sitting over land, floating solar sits atop platforms that float over bodies of water.
Huge investment
THE Department of Energy (DOE) continues to receive applications seeking to secure service contracts for both offshore wind and floating solar projects.
There are already 57 approved service contracts waiting for the green light for an ECC for offshore wind power alone.
The 57 projects have a potential combined capacity of 42,000 megawatts.
Similarly, the DOE is expecting more investments for floating solar energy generation.
According to DOE, there are currently a total of 237 solar energy contracts with an aggregate installed capacity of 1,282 MW and a potential capacity of 21,452 MW that have been awarded by the DOE.
These have generated around P8.46 billion in investments for the country.
Precautionary principle
RENEWABLE energy, however, has some issues. They require space and often are in conflict with other equally important sectors in the utilization of the same limited and very important economic resources—land and water.
Worse, they can also impact the environment and threaten biodiversity.
Environment Undersecretary
for Finance, Information System and Climate Change Analiza R. Teh said there were a lot of uncertainties, particularly in implementing offshore wind projects.
Teh said the proposed projects are mostly eyed to be built in the Verde Island Passage (VIP), a biodiversity-rich region that it is regarded by experts as the “center of the center of marine shore fish biodiversity” in the world.
“Even the noise created by turbines has impacts on marine mammals. Even during the pre-operation phase, [when] structures will be put up, we believe several projects in one area may have a cumulative impact [on marine resources],” Teh told the Businessmirror via telephone on May 29.
Floating solar energy also has environmental impact, Teh pointed out, because putting a blanket of solar panels may also deny fisherfolk access to their source of income and livelihood.
The solar panels alone, she explained, can also deny sunlight to the underground environment, which might affect the ecological balance, including the spawning behavior of fish.
Marine spatial planning
ACCORDING to Teh, the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) also needs to do marine spatial planning to further boost safeguards that will be integrated into the guidelines.
“Because there are many uncertainties, we are applying the precautionary principle, including the climate lens. This is something we must consider to protect the investment. We need sciencebased, not merely generic mitigation measures, for all our projects,” Teh pointed out.
“We need to map out first how to use our ocean [and inland water resources]. Anyway, the pre-development stage is five years to seven years yet. During that period, we will be able to get the necessary data and complete the marine spatial planning,” she explained.
More importantly, Teh said that in implementing the projects, the DENR is also putting in place measures that will protect and conserve biodiversity, such as identifying “no-go zones” like protected areas, which are set aside for conservation.
Alternative source of energy
ENVIRONMENT and climate advocates support the decision of the DENR in stopping the acceptance, processing and approval of ECC applications for RE projects.
Asked to comment, Asean Centre for Biodiversity (ACB) Executive Director Theresa Mundita S. Lim said that with the increasing intensity of climate change impacts, RE has become a very viable alternative as a source of power in order to reduce dependency on fossil fuels.
“Addressing climate change, however, should not only be through technological and engineering solutions, but must also consider harnessing nature, including biodiversity, as a costeffective measure for adaptation and mitigation that can achieve a multitude of benefits,” Lim, an expert on biodiversity, told the Businessmirror via Messenger on May 22.
She said it is for the same reason that when establishing renewable energy infrastructure, one must also ensure that “we leave as little footprint as possible, especially in areas known to be rich in biodiversity.”
Environmental impact assessment
LIM added that environmental impact assessments (EIAS) should include biodiversity and ecosystem services as essential elements.
Biological Diversity-focused Strategic Environmental Assessment “is another tool that can be used to guide the planning processes at a seascape/landscape level,” she added.
Lim pointed out that the following considerations in selecting the specific location for a project should be included, among others: Is it a habitat for species (flora or fauna) that are limited in range? Is it a migratory species pathway? Is it adjacent, connected to, or within a unique ecosystem that provides vital services, such as water, flood control, food source, aesthetic and cultural value, pharmaceutical potential, etc?
“To respond to these queries, it is important to have baseline information, an inventory and a profile of the biodiversity in the area prior to the development,” Lim explained.
These data, in addition to symbiotic relationships and dependency studies, should also be useful to determine ecological capacity thresholds, and, hopefully, allow us to move forward on the development of renewable energy while preserving nature-based solutions, providing a holistic and integrated means to address the climate crisis, she added.
Proceed with caution
OCEANA Philippines, an international nongovernment organization that advocates ocean conservation, also expressed full support behind the DENR’S move to hold in abeyance the approval of ECCS for offshore renewable energy projects pending the crafting of guidelines.
Atty. Lisa Osorio, Oceana Philippine’s Legal and Policy head, highlighted to the Business Mirror the need for guidelines that will help hasten the country’s energy transition.
However, she said via Zoom on May 29 that the DENR must proceed with caution, and should strengthen and strictly implement the EIA for every environmentally critical project, especially in areas like Laguna de Bay and the VIP.
“I am for local energy transition, such as RE, but we must make it a last resort to put it in ecologically critical areas,” she said.
Broad stakeholder participation
RONNEL ARAMBULO, Pamalakaya national spokesman, for his part, said: “We recognize Environment Secretary Yuloloyzaga’s consideration of the impacts of offshore-based renewable energy projects on the marine environment.”
Arambulo added: “We agree that such projects deserve thorough scrutiny from experts and stakeholders to assess their environmental and economic sustainability.”
However, he pointed out that the DENR “should directly involve stakeholders, including fishing communities, progressive environmentalists, scientists and experts with regards to the guidelines of offshore-based renewable energy.”
He told the Businessmirror via Messenger on May 23 that “broad stakeholder participation will ensure that no rights to socioeconomic, as well as balanced and healthful ecology, will be compromised in the course of promoting renewable energies.”
Due diligence
CENTER for Energy, Ecology and Development (CEED) Executive Director Gerry Arances told the Businessmirror via e-mail on May 23 that there is no doubt to the urgency of ending the Philippines’ dependence on coal, gas and other fossil fuels, and in shifting to renewable energy.
However, the CEED leader said the success of renewables and the country’s ability to optimize its benefits would depend greatly on exercising due diligence to prevent any unwanted and avoidable negative impacts of their development.
Saying that they welcome DENR’S freeze order, he added that the delays and losses for renewables that come alongside it is a wake-up call to the need to be proactive to ensure that necessary studies are conducted long before projects are pursued,” Arances said.
“At the same time, we ask the DENR to employ the same level— if not higher—of due diligence for notoriously polluting fossil fuels. Coal and gas should not be allowed to continue recklessly polluting our environment and communities host to their facilities,” he added.
Thorough study
KHEVIN YU, Energy Transition Campaigner at Greenpeace Philippines, for his part, said that like any other project, there’s a need for thorough study or safeguards for offshore wind and solar projects.
Citing the plan for a floating solar energy project in Laguna de Bay, he agreed that there’s a need to do more research and establish baseline data on the target area.
The same due diligence, he told the Businessmirror via telephone on May 23, should be done in offshore wind projects, although he said there’s a study that says such projects have their benefits to marine ecosystems.
“Of course, each area is unique. Especially in the Verde Island Passage, if there’s offshore wind structures, definitely navigation will be limited, therefore, there will be added layer of protection for biodiversity,” he added.