Solar, wind drive push for renewables in 2025

This year started off on a positive note with the good news that renewable energy will now account for the majority of new power projects in the country in 2025.

This development in local clean energy investments augurs well for limiting heat-trapping greenhouse gases that warm the planet. If everything goes according to plan, we can assume that the country is heading toward a more sustainable and clean energy future.

The Department of Energy (DOE) has set a goal to increase the share of renewable energy (RE) in the energy generation mix to 35 percent by 2030 and 50 percent by 2040.

As of June 2024, the DOE disclosed in a statement that renewable energy developers had been awarded at least 1,435 service contracts with an overall potential capacity of over 156,700 megawatts. There are already 6,100 MW of these service contracts that have been installed.

The Inquirer.net reported that “nearly 7,000 developments have been committed to the local energy sector this year, with clean power projects dominating the arena.” The majority of these projects (5,754) will be constructed in Luzon. (see “Renewables dominate pipeline of new power projects in 2025,” News, 1/13/25)

According to the DOE, solar remains the most favored technology at 3,060 among the 3,923 planned renewable energy facilities. Solar is followed by wind parks (759), geothermal projects (68), hydropower projects (35), and one biomass project.

With renewables now dominating the energy sector, trading of renewable energy certificates began last December (see “PH’s renewable energy trading goes full blast on December 26,” Inquirer.net, 12/11/24). This means that the renewable energy market (REM) is officially operational, facilitating increased compliance with the target to supply 11 percent of the country’s total power demand for grid-connected areas from clean energy sources.

According to the Inquirer.net report written by Lisbet Esmael, REM “is a marketplace for the trading of renewable energy certificates equivalent to an amount of power generated from clean energy sources. It is designed to increase the usage of renewable energy as well as boost the country’s shift to clean power.”

BIGGEST SOLAR IRRIGATION PROJECT President Ferdinand Marcos Jr., along with National Irrigation Administration Acting Administrator Eng. Eduardo Guillen and other government officials, leads the inauguration of the Solar-Powered Pump Irrigation Project in Quirino, Isabela, on Monday, June 10, 2024, aimed at lowering the production costs of around 237 farmers. For a long time, the farmers were dependent on gasoline or diesel-engine water pumps to irrigate their farms. The project is composed of 1,056 solar panels that can produce a total of 739,200 watts and 2 submersible pumps which can provide irrigation water service to 350 hectares of agricultural land. –INQUIRER/ MARIANNE BERMUDEZ

Termination of 105 RE projects

News that renewable energy is being harnessed in the country full blast this year is a welcome development, proving that the Marcos administration is serious about pursuing clean energy developments. This goal, crucial to having a clean energy path, was nearly sidetracked when the DOE terminated at least 105 renewable energy projects last year due to excessive project delays.

The majority of these contracts were awarded in 2017 and 2019, but the DOE stated in a statement that “common reasons for project delays include failure to secure possessory rights or system impact studies (SIS) indicating inability to connect to the grid.” Out of the 105 projects, 88 were either delayed in their predevelopment timeline or did not progress at all.

Hybrid systems

In July 2024, the Philippine National Oil Co. (PNOC) and the National Power Corp. (Napocor) wisely teamed up to develop a hybrid renewable energy system (see “PNOC, Napocor team up for hybrid renewables,” Inquirer.net, 7/27/24). To achieve this, the two state firms pledged to test solar and wind hybrid systems that utilize vertical axis wind turbines, particularly in windy areas. The deployment of this technology will benefit select areas under Napocor’s Small Power Utilities Group (SPUG), which covers isolated and off-grid areas in the countryside. In 35 provinces, there are currently 272 SPUG power plants operated by Napocor. PNOC expects the hybrid system to boost the delivery of sustainable energy while cutting down on diesel fuel. Napocor is tasked with dispatching renewable power generated through this hybrid system.

One of the provinces that will be testing this technology is Masbate.

“(W)e will be deploying the first few units to Masbate, and hopefully scale up soon after we get more data about the yield of this new technology in terms of the hybrid solar-and-wind units that we will be deploying here,” said PNOC president Oliver Butalid.

This hybrid RE project will immediately provide relief to marginal areas that frequently experience rotational brownouts, like the island province of Masbate, due to insufficient power supply.

While there’s good news, the power sector is still mired in challenges, with grid integration being the weakest link in the clean energy transition. It’s high time for the National Grid Corp. of the Philippines to accelerate the expansion of its transmission lines to fully integrate renewable energy into the grid, including offshore wind developments. The prolonged delays in its transmission projects—with some exceeding nine years—continue to cause a double whammy among electric consumers, from higher power rates to increased pollution from the use of fossil fuels.

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For comments: mubac@inquirer.com.ph