Renewable energy sector still a bright spot, says DoE

MANILA, Philippines—The Department of Energy said renewable energy remained an attractive investment destination in the country, as it vowed to push for the massive use of these resources to ensure national energy security.

Energy Secretary Jose Rene D. Almendras, however, admitted there was a need to pace the installation of renewable energy facilities, explaining that “each technology has its inherent economic and technical characteristics and must be applied to specific local realities.”

“There are also primary economic considerations that require that we pace our RE programs, learning from the difficulties experienced by other countries,” Almendras said in a statement.

There are, however, available technologies that are now ready for aggressive implementation, he said.

Proof of the government’ resolve to harness renewable energy sources was the launching of the National Renewable Energy Program (NREP) in June. This, he said, marked the country’s continued pursuit for energy security through the use of renewable energy resources.

The NREP, according to Almendras, is a program anchored on the broader context of indigenous energy resource development as espoused in the Philippine Energy Plan (PEP) and the Energy Reform Agenda (ERA).

Almendras re-emphasized the need for the NREP in the context of national RE targets and trajectories in the country’s energy and power mix for the short and long term.  It is also envisioned to establish a framework for existing and planned policies for the promotion of RE and a roadmap which will guide efforts toward realizing market penetration targets of each RE resource in the country.