PHL 53 GW away from hitting RE goal — DoE

THE PHILIPPINES is around 53 gigawatts (GW) away from hitting its 2040 renewable energy (RE) capacity goal, the Department of Energy (DoE) said.

“We would be needing around 53 gigawatts of additional renewable energy capacity by 2040, with an equivalent of 175 terawatt-hours of renewable energy generation,” Energy Assistant Secretary Mylene C. Capongcol said in a forum in Iloilo City last week.

The government is aiming to raise the share of renewable energy in the power mix to 35% by 2030 and 50% by 2040.

The target is “almost seven times” the current capacity of 8,264 megawatts, Ms. Capongcol said.

In 2022, the Department of Energy (DoE) raised the share requirement of on-grid power suppliers to 2.52% from 1% previously under the renewable portfolio standards (RPS) program.

RPS requires distribution utilities, generation companies, and retail electricity suppliers to source a certain portion of their energy supply from eligible renewable energy resources.

Ms. Capongcol said that the renewable energy goal has yet to include the share of nuclear energy as envisioned in the Clean Energy Scenario 1 and Clean Energy Scenario 2.

“While we have already implemented most of the renewable energy policy and development mechanisms, there are still actions and strategies that we need to undertake,” Ms. Capongcol said.

Aside from RPS, she said that the DoE has been implementing other mechanisms such as allowing 100% foreign ownership of renewable energy projects, the development of an offshore wind policy framework, and the green energy auction program.

“We’re looking forward to renewable energy market operations and soon, we will be coming out with the revised omnibus guidelines for the awarding of the service contract,” Ms. Capongcol said.

As of January, the DoE has awarded 1,282 renewable energy contracts with an equivalent total potential capacity of 130.3 GW. — Sheldeen Joy Talavera