MANILA – The Department of Energy (DOE) and the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) are now discussing the integration of the guidelines on energy conserving design of buildings to the Philippine Green Building Code.
During the journalists’ bootcamp on Energy Efficiency and Conservation Law of the European Union-Access to Sustainable Energy Programme on Wednesday, Energy Utilization Management Bureau Director Patrick Aquino said requiring the use of solar photovoltaic (PV) and other renewable energy (RE) technologies will also be incorporated into the Green Building Code.
The Energy Efficiency and Conservation law has added solar PV and other RE technologies in the energy conserving design of buildings guidelines as a requirement for new and existing commercial and industrial buildings.
“This is what we like to highlight, that work is being undertaken and is now required under this law that new and existing buildings used for commercial and industrial use as well as the retrofit of the existing buildings would have to meet the energy conserving design for buildings,” Aquino said.
“We are now in talks with the Department of Public Works and Highways to have the Philippine Green Building Code updated,” he added.
He said the share of solar PV and other RE technologies will be dependent on the building owner.
To encourage building owners to install RE technologies and technologies on energy efficiency and conservation, the DOE’s direction is to give incentives to these kinds of projects.
“In terms of minimum requirements for solar buildings, the direction really for us is to incentivize private institutions and individuals and give them the power of choice,” Aquino said.
He added investments in energy efficiency are low since energy efficiency and conservation is the less attractive portion of the entire sustainable energy equation.
“Our challenge really is energy efficiency projects are not like solar projects or windmills that you can see physically. It goes into really sometimes just improvements on wirings, introduction of systems in buildings,” Aquino said.
But Aquino said the impact of investing in energy efficiency and conservation is seen in the bottomline of consumption. (PNA)
