DAVAO CITY, August 2 – Ayala-owned Bank of the Philippine Islands (BPI), and one of the country’s largest universal banks, sponsored the staging of the first Mindanao energy efficiency forum held in Marco Polo Hotel Davao recently.
One of its clients under its Sustainable Energy Finance program, ITALPINAS European Design & Eco-Development Corporation, presented its EE case for the real estate industry. In an interview, ITALPINAS Chairman Architect Romolo Valentino Nati said that there is a need to correct the misimpression that green design or initiative is costly.
Funded through a loan with BPI, ITALPINAS has built an eco-friendly mix use building in Cagayan de Oro City.
“The mix use building offers the same price range with the other buildings in the market. The building design provides natural ventilation and temperature control inside the building. Use of aircondition units is 60 percent of the total power consumption and with green designs the consumption of energy can be reduced,” shared Nati.
BPI provides funding for energy efficiency (EE) and renewable energy (RE) projects for companies interested in pursuing green initiatives, and the savings they generate from energy consumption are used to pay for the loan.
“Energy efficiency is the most reliable and cheapest means to contribute to achieving energy security. Power shortages are prevalent in the country and energy cost is increasing. The benefits of EE projects are immediate than building a new power plant which will take 2 to 3 years to operate,” said BPI Sustainable Energy Finance Head Nanette Biason.
Change of lighting and airconditioning systems, Biason said, and upgrade of equipment are the immediate source of savings that can be measured and quantified easily. “Energy efficiency applies to all sectors, and technologies are proven and replicable. If EE projects are rolled out nationwide with a corresponding government policy, everybody including the government can save a lot on energy cost.”
The DOE, she added, estimates cost of an EE project is just 2.5 cents per kilowatt hour compared to constructing a new power generation plant which will cost 6-15 cents per kilowatt hour. So you can just see the significant savings in investing in EE projects.
Featured on Malaya, 07 August 2013
