The Department of Energy confirms that it is still making progress towards reaching its goal for renewable energy.
The Department of Energy (DoE) announced that the Philippines is making progress towards meeting its goal of increasing the proportion of renewable energy (RE) in the power generation mix to 35% by 2030 and 50% by 2040.
“In the energy investment forum, Energy Undersecretary Felix William B. Fuentebella stated that the Philippine Energy Plan (PEP) from 2020 to 2040 aims to have 35% of power generation coming from renewable sources by 2030, and plans to increase this to 50% by 2040. These targets also align with the minimum requirements set for the Philippine Energy Plan for 2023 to 2050.”
He stated that we are making good progress in achieving our renewable energy targets.
By the conclusion of 2022, renewable energy (RE) made up 22.1% of the overall energy mix, with coal comprising 59.6%. The remaining percentages were attributed to natural gas (16%) and oil-based sources (2.3%).
The goal of achieving 50% renewable energy is included in the revised PEP Clean Energy Scenario (CES). This plan aims to decrease the contributions of natural gas, coal, and oil to the power mix to 26.6%, 23.1%, and 0.1% by 2040, respectively.
“We are examining a potential future with increased use of clean energy, including offshore wind and nuclear power. Alternatively, we are also considering a scenario with a greater reliance on offshore wind technology,” stated the speaker.
Mr. Fuentebella stated that the Department of Energy (DoE) has incorporated all components into the revised energy strategy, which is expected to be finalized by the end of this month.
In addition to RE goals, he mentioned that the Department of Energy has established a cautious objective of reducing oil and electricity consumption by 5% by 2040, as well as achieving a 10% adoption rate of electric vehicles in road transportation by 2040.
He stated that once we combine these strategies with information and communication technology and safeguard them with our energy resilience policies, our targets will experience a significant increase.
According to Mr. Fuentebella, reaching the objective would entail a total investment of approximately $153 billion. This includes $97 billion for renewable energy, which covers the costs of pre-development and building power plants.
Investment of $10.05 billion will be allocated to the upstream sector, with a focus on oil and gas exploration and development. An additional $13.12 billion will go towards coal exploration and production, and $510 million will be invested in pre-development activities for renewable energy.
In contrast, the downstream industry will necessitate a total investment of $2.94 billion for the construction of oil distribution and import terminals, $1.78 billion for the establishment of liquefied natural gas terminals, and $2.38 billion for the production of biofuels.
Investments totaling $6.97 billion will be necessary for transmission projects. – Sheldeen Joy Talavera