THE Department of Trade and Industry said manufacturers considering renewable energy (RE) investments stand to benefit from incentives apart from realizing power savings.
“We are encouraging these companies that are setting up their factories in the Philippines (to invest in RE),” Trade Secretary Alfredo E. Pascual told reporters in a recent briefing.
Mr. Pascual touted an incentive that allows RE investors to recover 50% of the cost of their investment.
He said the cost argument is also compelling for companies setting up their own power-generating facilities.
“Some companies have already done that; some Japanese companies have set up solar farms, and they are able to get their own supply of power,” Mr. Pascual said.
“With the incentive, they are able to recover the cost of the investment over the years,” he added.
Mr. Pascual said the government will also support such companies with manpower development to ensure a workforce that can function with new technology.
“Since we are inviting so many technology companies, we need to keep up with the training, education, and development of our workforce,” he said.
“We have to strengthen our education system so that we are able to encourage our students to go into STEM (science, technology, engineering, and mathematics) and information technology courses,” he added.
According to Trade Undersecretary and Board of Investments (BoI) Managing Head Ceferino S. Rodolfo, at least two project proponents are interested in the RE incentive.
“There is one in telco and another one in manufacturing — specifically pharmaceuticals,” Mr. Rodolfo said.
Currently, only one project has applied with the BoI for the incentives attached to installing RE facilities. This involves a 10-megawatt solar energy facility in which P500 million will be invested. — Justine Irish D. Tabile
