Around 2000 megawatts (MW) of renewable energy projects are lined up in Mindanao, a Mindanao Development Authority (MinDA) representative said.
Projects with a combined capacity of 400 MW are already committed, MinDA’s deputy executive director, Assistant Secretary Romeo M. Montenegro said. This implies they have financial backing and are in the process of obtaining the necessary permissions.
In a report by BusinessWorld, MinDA deputy executive director assistant secretary Romeo Montenegro said that 400 MW have already been committed with financial backing and is currently in the process of securing the necessary permits.
No specific details about the projects were disclosed, but Montenegro said that among the proposed projects include biomass and battery storage.
The remaining 1,600 MW are indicative renewable energy projects, or those that have been registered with the Department of Energy but have not yet received funding agreements.
The targeted completion of the proposed power plants is in 2028, along with the target to increase the share of renewable energy in the country’s energy mix.
MinDA chair Secretary Maria Belen Sunga Acosta said that Mindanao’s goal is to achieve a 50:50 share of fossil fuels and renewable energy in its energy mix.
She said that one way to achieve this involves tapping a variety of green energy sources, including hydro from waterfalls, solar, and biomass from waste products of agriculture.
MinDA officials also stated that they want to investigate the possibilities of “blue energy,” which includes wind, waves, and currents from the marine environment.