To support the country’s goal of transitioning to cleaner energy, the Philippines is eyeing to secure almost Php 31 trillion in renewable energy (RE) investments by 2040.
Philippine Star reported that in a forum yesterday, Energy Undersecretary Rowena Cristina Guevara said that the Philippines needed around Php 20 trillion to Php 31 trillion to achieve the RE target.
The country is expected to have already accomplished 10% electric car adoption, 5% energy savings, and 50% renewable energy in the generation mix by 2040.
Additionally, in response to the rising demand, the goal was set to reach a total renewable energy (RE) capacity of over 52.8 gigawatts (GW). This includes 27 GW of solar power, 16.6 GW of wind energy, 6 GW of hydropower, 2.5 GW of geothermal energy, and 360 megawatts (MW) of biomass energy.
However, the country had encountered hurdles like financing in meeting the objectives. After awarding almost 1,300 service contracts totaling 130 GW of renewable energy by 2040, the Department of Energy (DOE) found that many developers were unable to move further with the development phase.
In addition to limited financing, the industry had to deal with difficult permitting procedures and problems with grid connectivity.
To this, according to Guevara, the National Grid Corporation of the Philippines (NGCP) and the energy department have been working together to ensure that all transmission projects have the right of way and are finished on schedule.
The undersecretary went on to say that while the transition system could accommodate about 28 GW of generation at the time, the country will need to double its transmission system by 2040 to transfer 52.8 GW of RE.
The DOE shared that the NGCP had successfully energized the Mindanao-Visayas Interconnection and the Cebu-Negros-Panay projects, with the Hermosa-San Jose transmission line slated for completion by next month.
