PH needs 8,000MW in additional power generation capacity by 2028

MANILA  -The Philippines needs an additional 8,000 megawatts (MW) of energy capacity by the end of President Marcos’ term to meet the projected 25,000-MW peak demand in 2028, the Department of Energy (DOE) said.

According to Energy Secretary Raphael Lotilla, 43 percent of this total must come from renewable energy sources, while the remaining 57 percent should be sourced from other incoming technologies, including natural gas.

The country’s current peak demand stands at 17,000 MW.

“[Forty-three percent] is pure renewable energy at this stage, but we’re looking precisely at combinations of renewable energy and batteries, where the battery storage is sourced from renewable energy,” Lotilla told reporters.

This came after Mr. Marcos reiterated in his second State of the Nation Address (Sona) the country’s goal of increasing the share of renewables in the energy mix from the current 22 percent to 35 percent by 2030 and 50 percent by 2040.

As it stands, the Philippine energy mix is largely composed of coal, covering nearly 60 percent of the total.

Lotilla had earlier admitted that the country still found it difficult to retire its existing coal plants, adding that “there is no way of denying that we need them still.”

However, the energy chief stressed that the growth in power demand would be met by new renewable energy sources, adding that the DOE had approved 126 clean energy service contracts in the first year of the Marcos administration.

These have a combined potential capacity of 31,131.74 MW.

Lotilla also pointed to the 3,580.76 MW of committed renewable energy capacities in the DOE’s second Green Energy Auction Program conducted last month as among the additional sources of power to meet demand.

“Then we have some other sources that may come into line by 2028. Developments in technology are moving fast and I hope they move faster,” he said.

According to the DOE, eight generation facilities became operational from July 2022 to June this year, increasing the Philippines’ installed capacity by 930.8 MW.

Data from the DOE show that total installed power generation capacity in the Philippines as of June 2023 was at 28,297 MW.

In his Sona on Monday, Mr. Marcos said the country currently had “over a thousand” active renewable energy projects, 299 of which were solar; 187, wind; 436, hydroelectric; 58, biomass; 36, geothermal; and nine, ocean-powered.