22/02/2022
Tidal Stream Power Development in San Bernardino Strait, Phil.
By Blandine Battaglia #1
7, rue Félix Le Dantec – 29000 Quimper - FRANCE
[email protected]
VI.TECHNICAL, ECONOMIC, SOCIAL AND
ENVIRONMENTAL STAKES
A. First tidal power plant in the Philippines and in ASEAN
The San Bernardino ocean power project envisions to
become a reference project in ASEAN, by demonstrating the
viability of an insular energy model based on tidal power
generation. Already tested in Europe with the integration of
D10 in the energy mix of Ushant, this energy model can be
duplicated in ASEAN, especially in the Philippines and
Indonesia, archipelagic countries counting over 7,000 and
17,000 islands respectively. The San Bernardino ocean power
plant will trigger an international market pe*******on of tidal
stream power in these areas, where tidal energy is already
cost-competitive with the existing power generation sources,
mostly fossil-fuel solutions, provided that the tidal resource is
sufficient.
B. Decarbonization of Capul
The ocean power plant will come as a substitution to these polluting devices, saving 850 tCO2 a year in average, without considering transport and logistic to Capul.
C. Energy security and cost competitiveness
As the island relies upon four ageing generators, with only
two running at a time, failures leading to prolonged blackouts
in the barangays happen on a regular basis. The tidal turbines
will secure the energy supply of the island and two diesel
gensets will be kept on site only as back up supply. Besides,
the diesel power plant inherently depends on the fuel (and
lubrication oil) supply coming from the main islands, either
from Allen (Northern Samar) or Matnog (Sorsogon), thus
power generation is conditioned to the availability of fuel
supply and weather conditions suitable for navigation. Even if
tidal is a “fit-and-forget” solution, the ocean power plant
functions without requiring external supply. Moreover,
contrary to diesel generators, tidal turbines are not subject to
fuel price volatility. Based on the current velocity predictions
and the techno-economical maintenance model, the generation
costs of the ocean power plant can be assessed prior to the
commissioning for the whole service life of the tidal turbines.
D. Economic development
Since the first quarter of 2017, power supply in Capul has
been increased from 8 to 16 hours per day, from 9am to 1am.
Electricity is a key driver in the development of a region,
including economic growth and social welfare. First, the San
Bernardino Ocean power project will increase the energy
access for over 5,500 people in Capul, so all the islanders can
be grid-connected. Second, the tidal power plant will secure a
24-hour service. Besides domestic use, it will provide a steady
electricity source for critical services such as medical facilities
and schools. Capul counts one hospital l and 17 health centres.
Electrified health facilities will improve treatment of patients,
enable better sanitation, permit longer storage of medicines
and allow the investment in modern equipment. On the other
hand, none of the 14 schools in Capul is electrified at the
moment. Besides, a reliable 24-hour energy access would
boost the local economy, starting with the fishing activities.
For example, the Local Government Unit would consider the
creation of a refrigeration plant for the storage of fishery
products, which would allow the fishermen to store and export
their products. The enhanced electricity access is also an
opportunity to tackle the issue of limited stocks of drinking
water, by developing a desalination plant. Finally, a
continuous electricity access would reinforce the tourist
attractiveness of the island, which has a real potential with
environmental attractions and historical landmarks inherited
from the 400-year Spanish presence, the American imprint
and the Japanese experience. Thus, the pilot farm would open
real new service opportunities leading to economic growth.
E. Environmental and social acceptation
The objective is to achieve the environmental integration of
tidal stream turbines, a new type of construction at sea in the
Philippine waters. Return on experience can be drawn from
the D10 project in Ushant, which provides some insights
regarding the potential impacts and the mitigating measures.
Social acceptance is also critical for such pioneering projects.
In view of the welfare and economic opportunities that the
ocean project will bring, Mayor Isidro Bandal stated his being
in favour of the ocean project in a support letter, provided in
the Annexes of the application. Public consultations will be
organized on a regular basis for the whole development phase
and during the lifetime of the power plant.
F. Large-scale commercial deployment
The strong currents observed in San Bernardino Strait lead
to an estimated potential of 500 MW. After the first phase of
the project in Capul, the ocean power plant located in Capul
pass can be scaled up in order to provide power to the
inhabitants of Capul and San Antonio Islands. The concession
area in Matnog pass also encompasses very energetic points,
so another tidal power plant could be deployed there to supply
the island of Calintaan and eventually major towns in the
province of Sorsogon, like Matnog, which await economic
development provided electricity becomes reliable.
Text and photo source:https://tethys-engineering.pnnl.gov/sites/default/files/publications/AWTEC2018-360.pdf
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