Philippines, Singapore looking at deeper bilateral agreement

Philippines, Singapore looking at deeper bilateral agreement

Philippines and Singapore are looking to deepen its bilateral agreement through various power projects.

“We are looking at a lot of cooperation with Singapore, on waste to energy, solar, on top of water and many others,” Energy Secretary Alfonso Cusi said in a report.

In a bilateral meeting at the 35th ASEAN Ministers on Energy Meeting, DOE Secretary Alfonso Cusi met with Singapore representatives had a meeting where they discussed issues on electric vehicles, liquefied natural gas (LNG), and renewable energy (RE).

“We talked about approaches on e-vehicles, steps towards LNG, what are more collaborations that we will make on RE, specifically on biomass, floating solar pv and battery,” DOE undersecretary William Fuentabella said.

“There was also an invitation by Singapore delegate for (DOE) secretary (Alfonso) Cusi and Philippine delegates to join a Singapore energy forum,” he added.

The energy department undersecretary also highlighted Singapore’s advancements in LNG, where the Philippines is looking to enter.

“Initially, Singapore said it is quite advanced in LNG trading but noted it has certain limitations as far as the area. So, the Philippines, on the other hand, was heard in trying to come up with its LNG policy and what is the design for the LNG infra given the fact by 2024, Malampaya gas field is expected to be depleted,” he said.

As far as LNG is concerned, the two countries are “looking for more ways to complement each other,” Fuentebella said.

A potential development for waste-to-energy projects and floating solar panels were also discussed in the bilateral meeting.

They also discussed the best approach for e-vehicles “considering that we have for example more than 25 percent of our electricity is coming from coal.”

PHOTO COURTESY: DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY