KORONADAL CITY – The United States government has allotted $73 million for what it has termed as a "green plan" for the Southern Philippines.
US Ambassador Kristie Kenney said that under the plan, Washington would support the development and implementation of energy and environment projects that in one way or another would also help address the peace-and-order problem in Mindanao.
“We all have a stake in the environment; environment affects us all,” she said during the opening of the 18th Mindanao Business Conference here Wednesday.
Kenney said one of the focal points of the green plan for Mindanao would be rural electrification.
“One of our focuses is rural electrification through clean energy because it really helps the people in the community,” she said.
Kenney said the US government has been implementing aggressive, broad-range activities in the country’s poorest provinces in Mindanao, including the promotion of environmentally friendly energy projects.
In Mindanao for example, these efforts are being implemented by the Alliance for Mindanao Off-grid Renewable Energy (Amore) program, she said.
Kenney said the fresh funds would be used to support Amore’s renewable energy-based electrification projects.
By the end of September, the second phase of Amore’s program will end.
Amore, according to data provided to reporters, would have spent $18 million for its second phase, which consists of procurement of solar photovoltaic systems for community facilities such as streetlights, barangay (village) halls, as well as lighting for households; and microhydro power plants.
“Amore phase three is coming up and we are signing the agreement soon,” Kenney said.
She explained that Amore wanted to intensify its activities in Mindanao because despite the gains of rural electrification, the island has remained the least energized in the country.
The Department of Energy said earlier that 454 villages in Mindanao remained without access to electricity as of March 2009.
Kenney said aside from funding renewable solutions for use in the country, the US government is also looking at development of alternative fuels under its anti-global warming campaign.
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