Amid RE push, coal plants still needed, says exec

A unit of the Aboitiz Group said a potential repeat of power crises from decades ago may happen if the government fails to prop up the country’s clean energy shift with reliable baseload capacity.

Aboitiz Power Corp. chief engineering and project officer Don Paulino highlighted during his presentation the need for the Philippines to continue banking on coal-fired power facilities to beef up and support rising electricity demand.

“We need to make sure that the coal power plants, the fossil fuel power plants that we have will continue to run and support our baseload,” he said Friday at the renewable energy forum organized by the Economic Journalists Association of the Philippines and Aboitiz Power Corp.

“Without that, we might end up going back to 1998. We might end up like Mindanao (2012),” the Aboitiz official added.

Mindanao more than a decade ago suffered a power crisis during the summer months due to inadequate baseload supply.

Baseload

Coal plants are the leading source of baseload as it is the available technology that can deliver the cheapest power around the clock.

While Filipinos need electricity 24/7, wind and solar are not always readily available, prompting these companies to invest in storage and backup power, making the costs more expensive.

However, the Department of Energy (DOE) moved to ban in 2020 the construction of new coal plants as the government embraces renewables.

A “balanced approach,” Paulino said, should include renewables, baseload capacity, and the adoption of advanced technologies, such as artificial intelligence to predict possible issues in power plants.

In a separate presentation, BDO Capital and Investment Corp. president Eduardo Francisco also made a quick comment on efforts to heavily push for renewable energy developments despite possible blackouts in the absence of insufficient baseload.

“Kulang talaga tayo sa baseload kaya we’re doing coal,” he said.

Asked if the government has a plan to drop the coal ban, DOE secretary Raphael Lotilla said existing plants that are under the committed list, or those not covered by the moratorium, can still expand their capacities.

“To make sure financing doesn’t dry up for those already committed, we need to clarify the exemptions of coal power plant construction,” Lotilla said.