by Alan S. Cajes
Summary
This paper presents the power situation
of the Philippines, including the main sources of energy, the main barriers in
promoting new and renewable energy, including the key energy-related policies
and programs. It also describes the related policies that have impacts on
energy efficiency and conservation.
Current
Status of Renewable Energy
The total installed generating capacity
of the Philippines in 2014 is 127,944 MW broken down as follows: Oil Based,
3,476 MW; Hydro, 3,453 MW; Geothermal, 1,918 MW; Coal, 5,708 MW; New and
Renewable Energy, 437 MW; and Natural Gas, 2,862 MW. In terms of power
generation by source (in Gwh), the country has the following data as of 2014:
Oil-thermal, 463; diesel, 4,730; gas turbines/CC, 515; hydro, 9,137;
geothermal, 10,308; coal, 33,064; other renewable (wind, solar, biomass), 364,
and natural gas, 18,690 or a total of 77,261 Gwh.
Issues
Related to Renewable Energy
Almost 33 percent of the total installed
capacity comes from renewable energy, namely, hydro, geothermal, solar,
biomass, and wind power. In the past, the barriers in promoting renewable
energy (RE) in the Philippines include the high cost of doing business in the
country, the high cost of RE projects, the long period of time needed to
recover the investments, limited technical support system (repair and spare
parts) for established RE projects, the high cost of using RE power, and the
limited capital available for RE projects. Lately, the government has
established the feed-in tariff for RE projects. This has resulted in the
surging interest to put up RE projects, such as wind, solar, hydro and biomass
power.
Due to the increasing demand for power,
however, and the slow process of putting up new power plants, as well as poor
maintenance of aging plants, the country experienced rotating power outages,
especially in the Mindanao Island, which is highly dependent on hydropower
plants. As a result, the government hastened the process of putting up
coal-fired power plants in various parts of the country.
Existing
Policies and Programs
Republic Act No. 7638 or the Department of Energy Act
of 1992, the Department of Energy (DOE)
is pursuing a long-term energy security strategy for the adoption of the use of
clean, green and sustainable sources of energy.
The country’s long-term national energy plan is directed towards meeting
the immediate need for energy while making sure that it will cause least damage
to people and the environment.
Notwithstanding the fact that fossil
fuels contribute significantly to the country’s energy and electricity needs in
view of its reliability, the 60 percent energy self-sufficiency level target of
the country aims to harness indigenous energy.
In particular, renewable energy sources like geothermal, wind, biomass,
ocean and alternative fuels like biofuels and compressed natural gas (CNG), are
seen to augment the country’s energy requirement.
Another key component in the country’s
strategy on energy security is the need to minimize demand for energy brought
about by the country’s economic growth by taking the lead in increasing public
interest on the use of energy-efficient technologies and conservation
practices. The launching of the National Energy Efficiency and Conservation
Program (NEECP) in August 2004 is an evidence of the energy sector’s commitment
to continuously work in the development and promotion of new technologies and
the practice of good energy habits in the household, business and transport
sector. In line with the NEECP, the DOE
has targeted a 10 percent energy savings on the total annual energy demand.
The enactment of Republic Act No. 9513
or Renewable Energy Act of 2008 establishes the policy and program framework to
advance renewable energy (RE) resources and technologies, and increase their
utilization. On June 14, 2011 the
Government unveiled the National Renewable Energy Program (NREP) or the “Green
Energy Roadmap” of the Philippines. The NREP is anchored on the DOE’s Energy
Reform Agenda, which aims to ensure greater energy supply security for the
country. It establishes a policy and
program framework for the promotion of renewable energy and a roadmap to guide
efforts in realizing the market penetration targets of each renewable energy
resource in the country. The NREP lays
down the foundation for developing the country's renewable energy resources,
stimulating investments in the RE sector, developing technologies, and
providing the impetus for national and local renewable energy.
Under
the Renewable Energy Plans and Programs (2011-2030), the long-term goal is to
increase the renewable energy (RE)-based power capacity of the Philippines to
15,304 MW by the end of year 2030. This is about 300 percent higher than the
5,438 MW capacity level as of year 2010. On a peer technology basis, the goal is
to 1) increase geothermal capacity by 75.0 percent, 2) increase hydropower
capacity by 160 percent, 3) deliver additional 277 MW biomass power capacity,
4) attain win power grid parity with the commissioning of 2,345 MW additional
capacity, 5) mainstream an additional 284 MW solar power capacity and attain
the 1,528 MW aspirational target, and 6) develop the first ocean energy
facility for the country.
The Philippines also has a law, Republic Act
9729 or the Climate
Change Act of 2009, which is the country’s response to climate change.
Towards the attainment of this goal, RA 9729 mainstreams climate change into
the formulation of government programs and projects, plans and strategies, and
policies, the creation of the Climate Change Commission, and the formulation of
the National Framework Strategy on Climate Change (NFSCC).
The
NFSCC identified mitigation strategies aimed to facilitate the transition of
the country towards low greenhouse gas emissions for sustainable development in
the long run. The NFSCC targets include the enhancement of clean energy source,
realization of full potential of country’s renewable energy capacity,
improvement in efficiency of the transport sector through increased uptake of
alternative fuels and expansion of mass transport system, reduction of carbon
footprints through energy-efficient design and materials for public
infrastructure and settlements, reduction of emissions from deforestation and
forest degradation, and full implementation of proper waste management.
In
December 2015, the 21st Session of the Conference of Parties (COP21) in Paris adopted the Paris Agreement that calls for all parties
to “pursue efforts to” limit the temperature increase to 1.5 °C to be
reached during the second half of the 21st century, sometime between 2030 and
2050. The commitments of countries were outlined in actions in the document
known as Intended Nationally Determined Contributions or
INDCs. Together, the INDCs would reduce global warming from an estimated
4–5 °C (by 2100) to 2.7 °C, and reduce emissions per capita by 9% by 2030,
while providing hope for further reductions in the future that would allow
meeting a 2 °C target. The Philippines’ INDC commitment is for a
reduction in emissions of about 70% by 2030, relative to a business-as-usual
scenario. This ambitious target is subject to the availability of financial and
technical support coming from donor countries.
Note: This is taken from a Country Paper that the author presented at the "Workshop on Advanced Renewable Energy Technologies and Assessing their Adoption and Application" held on 14–18 May 2016 in Tehran, IR Iran
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