Government says Filipinos unwilling to accept renewable energy

Public believes renewable energy will increase their power bills.

The Philippines has 33 megawatts of wind power and 1 megawatt of solar power available but increasing this capacity faces serious hurdles. One of these is “social acceptance.”

Mario Marasigan, Director of Renewable Energy Management Bureau of the Department of Energy said that social acceptance is a hurdle "... not only because of the cost ... Public information is the key... In the next five to seven years, I think, the main hurdle is social acceptance."

Marasigan says the prevailing public sentiment that the use of renewable energy will result in higher electric bills. He admits the use of renewable energy will be costly initially, but added that the cost will be reduced in the long run.

He adds that another hurdle to overcome is finding the perfect system for integrating renewable sources of energy into the Philippines’ power grid.