OCEAN ENERGY AS AN ALTERNATIVE SOURCE OF ENERGY:

A SOLUTION TO THE ENERGY CRISIS IN MINDANAO

A Library Research Paper

In Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements

for ENG 2 College Writing in English (U-2R)

Submitted by:
OVRIC P. ESTIOKO
BS in Biology

Submitted to:
ERIC P. PALIGAT
Faculty-in-Charge

UNIVERSITY OF THE PHILIPPINES LOS BAOS

Second Semester, Academic Year 2012-2013
 OCEAN ENERGY AS AN ALTERNATIVE SOURCE OF ENERGY:
A SOLUTION TOTHE ENERGY CRISIS IN MINDANAO

Thesis Statement: Ocean energy is derived from the various component energies coming from
waves, tides and the sun that can help solve the energy crisis in Mindanao.

I. Mindanao is rich in natural resources.

A. It is the home to many floras and faunas.
B. It has many scenic spots.

II. Various problems are being faced in Mindanao.

A. There is lack of basic infrastructures such as roads and bridges that scares off
investors.
B. Due to lack of investors, Mindanao currently experience the energy crisis.

III. There is a current energy crisis in Mindanao.

A. The energy crisis of Mindanao will continue until 2015.
B. Lawmakers passed bills to promote alternative sources of energy in response to
the Mindanao energy crisis.
1. Senators Miriam Defensor-Santiago and Manny Villar both passed bills
regarding the promotion of solar energy.
2. Senator Antonio Trillanes IV passed two bills which seek to establish
separate governing body for ocean energy and wind energy.
3. Senator Ferdinand Marcos Jr. passed a bill that seeks to establish the
Philippine Hydrogen Research and Development Center.
C. In contrast with the use of solar and wind energy, the Foundation for Economic
Freedom (FEF) said that the use of solar energy as alternative source of energy
will not end the energy crisis experienced in Mindanao

IV. There are several alternative sources of energy that can help solve the energy crisis of
Mindanao.
A. Solar energy primarily comes from the heat of the sun.
1. The Earth gets 180, 000 trillion watts of power from the suns radiant
energy.
2. People can only get less amount of electricity from solar energy.
B. Wind energy is tapped from the movement of windmills by the wind.
C. The spinning of an electricity-generating turbine is due to the adequate pressure
of lower lake waters of a lake with sufficient depth created by damming a river
that produces hydroelectric power.
1. The power generated by hydroelectric power is less than the estimated
worlds potential of 3 trillion watts.
2. The use of hydroelectric power can affect agricultural lands.
 D. Nuclear energy is produced in nuclear power plants.
1. Nuclear power plants ran based on the nuclear fission of isotopes.
2. There are various hazards that hinders the use of nuclear energy.
E. Another alternative source of energy that can help solve the energy crisis in
Mindanao is Ocean Energy.

V. The ocean possibly contains stored energies in the form of heat, currents, waves, and
tides because the ocean is enormous and powerful.
A. The energy of the ocean comes from mechanical energy produced by waves and
tides caused by the gravitational pull of the sun and moon upon Earth.
B. The ocean absorbs the heat of the sun which is a form of thermal energy that
can be converted to electricity.

VI. Ocean thermal energy, wave energy, and tidal energy are the renewable electric energy
that can be harnessed from the ocean.
A. The World Energy Council estimated that 2 terawatts of power can be produced
from the combined components of ocean energy that can power almost 5
million households in America.
B. The thermal energy from the ocean can be generated to electricity by means of
the Ocean Thermal Energy Conversion (OTEC).
C. Considered as one of the most capable renewable technologies, wave energy is
a vast energy source that is more reliable than most of the known renewable
energy source.
D. Tidal power, compared to solar, wind and wave energy, has a unique advantage
of being vastly anticipated.
E. The three renewable electric energies from the ocean can help solve the energy
crisis in Mindanao.
 OCEAN ENERGY AS AN ALTERNATIVE SOURCE OF ENERGY:
A SOLUTION TO THE ENERGY CRISIS IN MINDANAO

Mindanao is located in the southern part of the Philippines and is the second largest island

in the Philippines. Many women that wears their culture-related malongs can be found here in

Mindanao. The famous boat vinta and other ethnic tribes can also be found in Mindanao.

Mindanao is also home to many floras and faunas which are located in the vast mountains, hills,

and forests. Many of the floras and faunas are found in Mt. Apo, which is located in Davao del Sur

(Mindanao general informations, 2013).

For tourists looking for scenic spots, there are many of these in Mindanao. One of them is

the Tiny Camiguin Isle. This place has white sand islands and chains of volcano can be found here.

Another scenic spot of Mindanao is the caves of Davao wherein cavers may set their adventures

there (Mindanao general informations, 2013).

However, in spite of the positive aspects of Mindanao, there are various problems being

faced in Mindanao. One of the problems faced by Mindanao is the lack of foreign investors in the

island. According to Ochiai Naoyuki, the First Secretary of the Japanese Embassy, many Japanese

investors wanting to invest in agriculture in Mindanao are downcast by the lack of road networks

and basic infrastructures (Basa, 2012). This lack of foreign investors might have led Mindanao to

another problem it currently faces; the energy crisis that have caused regular blackouts in the whole

island of Mindanao.

The energy crisis that was experienced in Mindanao, which resulted to a series of blackouts

in the region during the summer of 2012, is expected to last until the year 2015. According to the

Philippine Chamber of Commerce and Industry (PCCI), Mindanao will experience this power
outages until 2015 due to lack of power plants that will be constructed on the region. Because of

disagreement and the so-called red tape in host local government offices, none of the Department

of Energy (DOE) approved projects on power plant constructions have been started yet. Experts

say that the electricity demand in Mindanao has greatly surpassed the available power supply

during peak hours of the day, with a peak demand of 1, 515 megawatts last 2012. As the El Nio

phenomenon starts in Mindanao, this will greatly affect the power supply that will be produced by

the hydroelectric plants along the Agus and Pulangi rivers that it is anticipated that Mindanao will

experience regular blackouts during the summer of 2013 (Olchondra, 2012).

In response to the currently experienced energy crisis in Mindanao that threatens to spill in

Luzon, various senators passed bills to promote the use of alternative energy sources, such as solar,

wind, ocean energy and hydrogen. Senators Miriam Defensor-Santiago and Manny Villar both

passed bills regarding the promotion of solar energy. Senator Santiagos bill seeks to encourage

the establishment of solar energy systems in the local governments that will give them

competitive grants and incentives while Senator Villars bill seeks to establish the Solar Energy

Development Authority that will take charge in the implementation of solar power as an alternative

source of energy. Senator Antonio Trillanes IV passed two bills which seek to establish separate

governing body for ocean energy and wind energy that will take charge of the implementation of

both energies as alternative source of energy. Senator Ferdinand Marcos Jr. passed a bill that seeks

to establish the Philippine Hydrogen Research and Development Center under the Department of

Science and Technology that will promote the use of hydrogen as an alternative source of energy

(Esguerra, 2012). Other senators and congressmen also passed bills to promote the use of

alternative of energy.
 In contrast with the use of solar energy, the Foundation for Economic Freedom (FEF) said

that the use of solar energy as alternative source of energy will not end the energy crisis

experienced in Mindanao. They have given three key reasons on why solar energy cannot solve

the Mindanao energy crisis:

First, renewable energy resources such as wind and solar, cannot solve the power
crisis in Mindanao due to their alternating and unreliable nature, Second, Solar cannot
produce electricity at night and during cloudy days, and third, Solar cannot even be a
peaking power facility in Mindanao because peak loads are at night where solar facilities
do not produce electricity. (Solar power, 2012, para. 3)

The FEF also stated that the use of solar energy will add more burden to the consumers instead of

solving the Mindanao power crisis through available and cheap sources of energy (Solar Power,

2012).

There are various alternative sources of energy that can help solve the energy crisis of

Mindanao. Those that can be used in the Philippines include solar, wind, hydroelectric, nuclear,

and ocean energy.

The first alternative source of energy is the use of solar energy. Solar energy primarily

comes from the heat of the sun. The suns radiant energy goes to Earth through radiation. The

Earth gets 180, 000 trillion watts of power at a 0.9 watt per square inch rate from the suns radiant

energy. But as the solar radiation coming from the sun goes to earth, only 46 percent is absorbed

by the earth and its atmosphere with 30 percent being reflected. About 23 percent of this solar

radiation is the cause of water evaporation. Only about 0.2 percent controls the movement of the

wind and only about 0.05 percent is used in the photosynthesis of green plants (Rocks & Runyon,

1972). Because of this percentage which shows how the suns energy is scattered, people can only

get less amount of electricity from solar energy. As what the FEF has said, the use of solar energy

cannot end the energy crisis of Mindanao.

 Another alternative source of energy is the use of wind energy. Wind energy is tapped from

the movement of windmills by the wind. This wind movement is driven by sunshine. Since wind

is more dispersed than solar power, wind power generates less electricity than solar power for

about 0.9 watt per square inch. But, windmills, for it to tap more wind energy, should be installed

in high places since the wind blows strongly in the high atmosphere (Rocks & Runyon, 1972).

The next alternative source of energy is the use of hydroelectric power. The spinning of an

electricity-generating turbine is due to the adequate pressure of lower lake waters of a lake with

sufficient depth created by damming a river that produces hydroelectric power. Providing half of

the worlds present total power spending (3 trillion watts) will require the creation of dams in all

major rivers. The power generated by hydroelectric power is less than the estimated worlds power

potential of 3 trillion watts (Rocks & Runyon, 1972).

Despite of the energy that can be produced from hydroelectric power, there is a certain

disadvantage on the use of this alternative source of energy. Take for example the case of the Nile

River in Egypt. For eons, the Nile River carries with it a suspended matter that is rich in natural

nutrients coming from its watershed. This nutrients enriches farm lands along the banks of the Nile

during seasonal floods that brings food for the population. After the construction of Aswan Dam

in the waters of the Nile, the water was gathered into a lake, now called Lake Nasser. Since this

water does not freely move as before, it lost the suspended matter and became sediments formed

in the bottom. As the lake water is released from the dam, the lake water provides less nutrients to

the farm lands of the Nile (Rocks & Runyon, 1972).

Another alternative source of energy that can be used in the Philippines is the use nuclear

energy, which is probably one of the most controversial of all alternative sources of energy because

of environmental issues. Nuclear energy is produced in nuclear power plants. Nuclear fission
drives the production of nuclear energy in commercial nuclear power plants and most forms of

nuclear weapons. Uranium-235 was the first isotope that was made to undergo the first nuclear

fission reaction. This isotope undergo fission when struck by a slow-moving neutron (Brown,

LeMay, Bursten, Murphy & Woodward, 2012).

Despite of the promising energy that can be provided by the use of nuclear energy, most

people, including environmentalists, dislike the use of nuclear energy as a method of energy

production. Various products of a nuclear fission reaction are dangerous radioactive isotopes

having long half-lives. Other isotopes, such as Plutonium-239, is one of the most toxic substance

known. Nuclear accidents may also happen. The accident at the Three Mile Island reactor and the

Chernobyl nuclear plant both released radioactive materials to the environment. People near these

plants died because of exposure to intense radiation. Because of all the hazards, there is a troubled

future for the use nuclear reactors. Hailed as one the crucial solution on the energy needs, it is now

currently debated in the scientific community (Chang & Overby, 2011).

Another alternative source of energy that can help solve the energy crisis in Mindanao is

ocean energy. According to Trillanes (2010) in his proposed senate bill:

The Philippines has a total of 36, 289 km of coastline and is surrounded by different
bodies of water. As such, the Philippines geographical location may prove to be conducive
to the establishment of Ocean Energy as it is surrounded by abundant bodies of water. (p.
1)

Also, technological advancements make ocean energy a viable energy source since it is a

renewable and clean energy source (Trillanes, 2010). In the application of ocean energy in the

Philippines, Senator Trillanes IV proposed the development of a governing body that will help

initiate the use of Ocean Energy as an alternative source of energy in the Philippines. Trillanes

(2010) on his proposed bill:

 The bill seeks to establish the Ocean Energy Development Authority that would help
initiate and promote the use and development of Ocean Energy in the country. It is
envisioned that with the use of Ocean Energy the country will be able to address the
growing energy demands of the society (p. 1)

Since the use of ocean energy as an alternative source of energy is considered safe and the fact that

the Philippines is surrounded by the vast ocean, the use of ocean energy can be applied in the

Philippines. Ocean energy is derived from the various component energies coming from waves,

tides and the sun that can help solve the energy crisis in Mindanao.

The ocean possibly contains stored energies in the form of heat, currents, waves and tides

because the ocean is enormous and powerful. It might meet for many times the total worldwide

power demand (Pelc & Fujita, 2002). Many forms of renewable electric energy that can be

generated from the ocean are the so-called ocean and marine energy. Mechanical energy and

thermal energy are the two principal types of ocean energy. Mechanical force is created by the

rotation of both the earth and the moons gravitational pull. Waves are produced from the created

wind on the ocean surface by the earths rotation. Coastal tides and currents are formed by the

gravitational pull of the moon. The thermal energy from the ocean comes primarily from the sun

that heats the ocean surface, with the lower part of the ocean being cold (Etemadi, Emdadi,

AsefAfshar & Emamin, 2011).

Ocean thermal energy, wave energy, and tidal energy are the renewable electric energy that

can be harnessed from the ocean. As estimated by the World Energy Council, 2 terawatts of power

can be produced from the combined renewable electric energy harnessed from the ocean that can

power almost 5 million households in America (Scigliano, 2005).

The thermal energy from the ocean can be generated to electricity by means of the Ocean

Thermal Energy Conversion (OTEC). OTEC produces electricity from the thermal energy of the
ocean by means of driving a turbine by created steam from the heat that is stored in the warm

surface of the water. Cold, deep water is pumped to the surface during the process to bring back

the steam through condensation. The use of OTEC is only viable to countries in the tropical areas

wherein there is at least 22C thermal gradient between the surface of the ocean and the ocean

depth of about 1000 m (Pelc & Fujita, 2002). Basing on the figure about Ocean Temperature

Differences between Surface and 1,000 Meters deep by Etemadi, Emdadi, AsefAfshar and Emami

(2011), the Philippines is suitable for the use of the OTEC since the ocean that surrounds the

Philippines has a temperature difference of 22C to 24C, which meets the requirement of the

OTEC usage.

Considered as one of the most capable renewable technologies, wave energy is a vast

energy source that is more reliable than most of the known renewable energy resources. At a

specific geographical location, the availability of wave power is 90% of the time, compared with

solar and wind power that is available only about 20% to 30% of the time. Countries with the

greatest potential for the use of wave of energies are those found at the moderate latitudes between

40 and 60 north and south (Pelc & Fujita, 2002).

Tidal power, compared to solar energy, wind energy and wave energy, has a unique

advantage of being vastly anticipated. Tidal energy are generated from the use of tidal barrages.

Energy from the water resulting from the flowing out of the estuary from high to low tide is

captured by this tidal barrage. The use of tidal energy depends on geographical location where

tidal range are augmented by certain factors such as shelving of the sea bottom, reflections by large

peninsulas, etc. The environmental impact on the use of tidal power is also similar to the one in

hydroelectric power in the use of dams. This environmental impact can be avoided by the use of

tidal turbines instead of tidal barrages (Pelc & Fujita, 2002).

 The combination of the usage of these three renewable electric energies from the ocean, its

proper usage, and full implementation can help solve the energy crisis in Mindanao. With the help

of the bill filed by Senator Antonio Trillanes IVs establishing the Ocean Energy Development

Authority, which is still on pending status, the use of ocean energy will be promoted, and further

researched in the Philippine setting to minimize, if not avoid, some environmental impacts on the

use of this alternative source of energy.

 LIST OF REFERENCES

Books

Brown, T.L., LeMay, H.E., Bursten, B.E., Murphy, C.J. & Woodward, P.M. (2012). Chemistry:
The central science. USA: Pearson Prentice Hall.

Chang, R. & Overby, J. (2011). General chemistry: The essential concepts. New York, NY:
McGraw-Hill.

Rocks, L. & Runyon, R.P. (1972). The energy crisis. New York, NY: Crown Publishers, Inc.

Magazine and Newspaper Articles

Etemadi, A., Emdadi, A., AsefAfshar, O. & Emami, Y. (2011). Electricity generation by the ocean
thermal energy. Energy Procedia, 12, 936-943.

Pelc, R. & Fujita, R.M. (2002). Renewable energy from the ocean. Marine Policy, 26(6), 471-479.

Scigliano, E. (2005, December). Wave energy: Can a mechanical snake that surfs the ocean
squeeze enough watts from water? Discover Magazine.

Senate of the Philippines. (2010). An Act Establishing the Ocean Energy Development Authority
and Appropriating Funds Therefor. Senator Antonio Trillanes IV. Senate Bill No. 2610.
First Regular Session.

Website or Webpage

Basa, M.M. (2012). Mindanaos power, infra problems scare investors away envoy. Retrieved
February 18, 2013, from http:// http://www.rappler.com/business/9798-power,-
infrastructure-aggravate-mindanaos-image-problem

Mindanao general informations. (2013). Retrieved February 18, 2013, from

http://www.philtravelcenter.com/philippines/mindanao.php

Solar power wont be the solution for Mindanaos energy crisis. (2012). Retrieved February 17,
2013, from http://www.renewableenergy.ph/solar-power-wont-be-the-solution-for-
mindanaos-energy-crisis.html
Esguerra, C.V. (2012, April 03). Legislators scramble to thwart energy crisis. Philippine Daily
Inquirer. Retrieved from http://newsinfo.inquirer.net/171355/legislators-scramble-to-
thwart-energy-crisis

Olchondra, R.T. (2012, October 02). Mindanao power crisis seen extending to 2015. Philippine
Daily Inquirer. Retrieved from http://business.inquirer.net/85032/mindanao-power-crisis-
seen-extending-to-2015