ENG104: ENGLISH FOR ACADEMIC AND PROFESSIONAL PURPOSES

POSITION PAPER
WRITTEN WORKS NO. 3

November
Group Number Date of Submission
1 30, 2022
Shonn Kayle B. Sir. Majesty
Group Leader Name Of Teacher
Andal P. Agosto
Group Vince S. Alfonso, Justin Elias D. Bello, Andreic P. Garcia,
Members Michael Angelo M. Ravanera

Renewable Energy: Philippines’ future or not?

Renewable energy is defined as something that is harnessed from

sources that naturally replenish and do not run out, or run out but over a
long period of time. This source of energy would be very beneficial since
climate change has been getting worse, especially in countries on the
equator, like the Philippines. Because of major contributors like the
exponentially increasing consumption of non-renewable energy. Therefore, it
is only logical to look for a solution, and, the solution most countries found,
is switching to utilizing renewable energy instead. This, however, has a huge
cost and requires extensive technological capabilities. Therefore, it is
surmisable that the Philippines does not have the capabilities to fully utilize
renewable energy, because of its high cost, large area requirement, and low
output rate.

Installing a renewable energy power plant has a high initial installation

cost, ranging from $2.5 million per megawatt for hydroelectricity (The
Philippine Star, 2014), to $3.5 million per megawatt for off-shore wind farms
(Statista, 2023). The Philippines also has a $2.336 billion debt to the World
Bank (ABS-CBN News, 2023), these two factors combined make it all the
more difficult for the Philippines to fully utilize renewable energy. It should
also be taken into account how many of these power plants would need to
be built, with the Philippines having a population of over 100 million, each of
those people’s energy consumption rate would be quite high, especially with
the continuous rise of electrical appliances like air fryers. Leading to higher
costs, and lower probability of accomplishing the goal of fully utilizing
renewable energy. Another thing is that the currently used fossil fuels are far
cheaper than renewable energy, leading to a dependence on it for
particularly poor countries like the Philippines.

Creating renewable energy power plants requires a large area, and this
area's development would affect the local wildlife and residents. Creating
power plants or power plant activities in general takes away habitat space
for plants and animals, harms animals by stressing them out or physical
harm, destroys the land’s layout, and displaces animals (Marsh, 2023). This
land development would also affect regular citizens. Renewable energy
power plants require specific areas to function efficiently, not just any area
would do, therefore if the area is already inhabited, a choice must be made
whether or not to continue construction there. This aspect of renewable
energy creates a dilemma “Which is more important, the lives of the animals
living there, or the betterment of the environment through renewable
energy?”.

Renewable energy has a low output rate to be utilized by a country as

overpopulated as the Philippines. In comparison to what the Philippines uses
today, renewable energy is far too unreliable. A majority of renewable
energy sources rely on uncontrollable factors, like sunlight, wind, or oceanic
waves and tides, this leads to a lower output rate and far less reliability than
fossil fuels. This once again leads to the point that while the current energy
sources being utilized may not be eco-friendly, it is far more efficient.

As a counter to these points, some may say that the Philippines is

already utilizing renewable energy, it would be good to note however, that
these arguments are about “fully” utilizing renewable energy.

Some other counter-arguments they could have is about the cost,

saying that foreign investors or allied nations could help the Philippines.
Nations like the U.S.A., and organizations like the International Renewable
Energy Agency (IRENA), which seek to invest in the Philippines’ renewable
energy sector, could help in funding the renewable energy power plants.

Another counter-argument could be about the space requirement,

citing that the Philippines is a vast archipelagic nation, comprising over
7,000 islands. And that, these islands collectively cover 298,170 square
kilometers of land and 1,830 square kilometers of water (LandLinks, 2017),
providing enough space for renewable energy power plants.

Some could also say that since the Philippines is a resource-rich

nation, the problem of space requirements wouldn’t matter much. The
Philippines is both a tropical country and is within the “Pacific ring of fire”,
therefore it both gets a large amount of sunlight and has a large number of
volcanoes domestically.

Lastly, the issue of renewable energy’s low output rate will be solved
as a by-product of the first two issues being solved.

These counter-points have some loopholes, however:

First, whilst there are a handful of nations willing to help in the

Philippines’ endeavors for renewable energy, there are just as many who
would benefit if the Philippines continued to use fossil fuels. Countries like
China and Saudi Arabia have an annual income of $10.5 billion (Aizhu,
2022), and $311 billion (eia, 2023) respectively. These nations are also far
richer than the Philippines, therefore it would not be too far-fetched to
believe that they would hinder the Philippines’ progress for their own benefit.

Next, would be about the space requirement and the Philippines’

resources. The space to be used in the construction of power plants would
either be forested areas or residential areas, which will then lead to the
dilemma of what is more important, the lives of animals and people
currently living there or the future of the environment. As for the Philippines’
resources, the Philippines lacks the proper technological capabilities to fully
utilize these resources. Even more so since the Philippines dropped to 54th
place in the UNCTAD’s Frontier Technology Index, after placing 44th the
previous year (Ochave, 2023).

Lastly, because solving the problem of the low output rate relies on
solving the first two issues, this problem would be impossible to solve under
the circumstances currently facing the Philippines.

The Philippines is not yet ready to fully utilize renewable energy as an

alternative source. While the idea of using renewable energy is not a bad
one, however, doing it in practice is another matter entirely. As of right now
the Philippines lacks in both the technological and financial department,
therefore solving these issues first would be a key step in realizing the
potential of the Philippines to fully utilize renewable energy.
References:

United Nations. (n.d.). Renewable energy – powering a safer future | United

Nations.
https://www.un.org/en/climatechange/raising-ambition/renewable-
energy?fbclid=IwAR3RfZ-_snhYFl-mvvKPoZ5ItiCfLW7CI-O3hp-LH6-
L4cbHTdr9pCC0wsg
WWF. (2017, Feb). Renewables Best Way to Power Philippine Development.
WWF
https://wwf.org.ph/what-we-do/climate/renewables/renewables-to-
power-ph-dev/?fbclid=IwAR1Kt9aW7FyST-
54wd997wKP_XfipdYuMMdCo1RToNRfdKTf7wby7D2U5eo
Why green energy can’t gain ground in the Philippines. (n.d.).

https://pcij.org/article/10019/why-green-energy-cant-gain-ground-in-

the-philippines?

fbclid=IwAR1nxpkFs5YTf287kYTPpRj46UUVFF4Jtk5dXESYPVI6aaTPaVf

WBj1Fdxk

What are the problems faced by renewable energy? - Regen Power. (n.d.).
Regen Power. https://regenpower.com/what-are-the-problems-faced-
by-renewable-energy/
How is climate change affecting the Philippines? (2016, January 19).

The Climate Reality Project.

https://www.climaterealityproject.org/blog/how-climate-change-

affecting-philippines

Briefing, A. (n.d.). Philippines Opens Renewable Energy to Full Foreign

Ownership. ASEAN Business News.

https://www.aseanbriefing.com/news/philippines-opens-renewable-

energy-to-full-foreign-ownership/

Renewable energy. (n.d.). Energy.gov.

https://www.energy.gov/eere/renewable-energy

Renewable energy capacity worldwide by country 2022 | Statista.

(n.d.). Statista.

https://www.statista.com/statistics/267233/renewable-energy-

capacity-worldwide-by-country/

Liang, L. (2022, February 24). The wind turbines standing up to the

world’s worst storms. BBC Future.

https://www.bbc.com/future/article/20200903-the-wind-turbines-

standing-up-to-the-worlds-worst-storms

House, W. (n.d.). FACT SHEET: Investing in the Special Friendship and

Alliance Between the United States and the Philippines. The White

House. https://www.whitehouse.gov/briefing-room/statements-

releases/2023/05/01/fact-sheet-investing-in-the-special-friendship-

and-alliance-between-the-united-states-and-the-philippines/
 Philippines Land use - Geography. (n.d.).

https://www.indexmundi.com/philippines/land_use.html

. (n.d.). Why Developing Countries Go through an Unsustainable

Energy Transition Pathway? The Case of the Philippines from a Political

Economic Perspective.

https://repository.kulib.kyoto-u.ac.jp/dspace/handle/2433/252759

First gen. (n.d.).

https://www.firstgen.com.ph/our-business/wind

Esc. (n.d.). How Renewable Energy Impacts Biodiversity. Endangered

Species Coalition. https://www.endangered.org/how-renewable-

energy-impacts-biodiversity/

How Many Solar Panels Do You Need: Panel Size and Output Factors |

SunPower. (n.d.). https://us.sunpower.com/solar-resources/how-

many-solar-panels-do-you-need-panel-size-and-output-factors

Admin. (n.d.). 2023 Solar Panel Prices in the Philippines. GoSolar Philippines.

https://gosolarphilippines.com/solar-panel-prices-philippines-2023/

How much land is needed for wind turbines? (2019, March 2). Sciencing.

https://sciencing.com/much-land-needed-wind-turbines-

12304634.html

Team, I. (2023, July 5). The world’s top oil producers. Investopedia.

https://www.investopedia.com/investing/worlds-top-oil-producers/
CEDadiantiTyClea. (2023, March 16). Philippines falls to 54th spot in
UNCTAD’s Frontier Technology Index. BusinessWorld Online.
https://www.bworldonline.com/top-stories/2023/03/17/511177/philipp
ines-falls-to-54th-spot-in-unctads-frontier-technology-index/
ABS-CBN News. (2023, October 4). PH is World Bank's fifth biggest borrower
in 2023. ABS-CBN News.
https://news.abs-cbn.com/business/10/04/23/ph-is-world-banks-fifth-
biggest-borrower-in-2023
Juth, T. S. (2020, November 24). How can we increase the use of

renewable electricity, especially when natural gas is so cheap? - The

Science Behind It. The Science Behind It.

https://thesciencebehindit.org/how-can-we-increase-the-use-of-

renewable-electricity/

Philippines Land use - Geography. (n.d.).

https://www.indexmundi.com/philippines/land_use.html

Philippines | LandLinks. (2018, June 19). LandLinks.

https://www.land-links.org/country-profile/philippines/

Statista. (2023, November 13). Global average cost of installed

offshore wind projects 2010-2022.

https://www.statista.com/statistics/506756/weighted-average-

installed-cost-for-offshore-wind-power-worldwide/

Phl awash with hydropower potential but needs 13B in investments.

(2014, August 22). Philstar.com.

https://www.philstar.com/business/2014/08/22/1360206/phl-awash-

hydropower-potential-needs-13b-investments

Aizhu, C. (2022, August 25). China CNOOC’s profit more than doubles

to record $10.5 bln. Reuters.

https://www.reuters.com/business/energy/china-cnoocs-profit-more-

than-doubles-record-105-bln-2022-08-25/

International - U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA).

(2023.june) https://www.eia.gov/international/analysis/special-

topics/OPEC_Revenues_Fact_Sheet