Philippines: Plans for 33% Renewable Energy by 2040

PH sees bigger role for gas, renewables in new energy plan (Manila Bulletin)

The Philippine government is working on a new energy plan it hopes the next administration will adopt to curb the expanding share of coal in its fuel mix for power generation, an official said.

The plan could see the Philippines generating a third of its electricity each from natural gas, coal and renewables between 2016 and 2040, Loreta G. Ayson, undersecretary at the Department of Energy said.

Ayson said the energy department was finalizing a fuel mix policy that pushed for an increased share of cleaner fuels, hoping the successor of President Benigno S. Aquino III, who will step down next June, will support it.

The Philippines currently generates 42.5 percent of its electricity from coal, with that share likely to increase in the short-term as projects that will boost coal-fired power capacity by more than 25 percent in just three years are already in place.

Investments in power generation from clean fuels such as gas and renewables have lagged coal as the latter is cheaper and quicker to build to meet growing electricity demand in the Philippines.

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