WHEN the blades of the giant Bangui Windmills in the Ilocos Norte started spinning in 2005, the expectations were very high for cheaper and cleaner electricity in the region. It has so far not disappointed. The majestic 230-foot high wind turbines line up the part of the picturesque beach facing the West Philippines Sea generating about 33MW of electricity. This is not a small number because the Ilocos Region hosts four of the 11 wind power plants in the country.
In South Luzon, power is generated from underground steam fissures along the geologically active Laguna Caldera power the Makiling-Banahaw (Mak-Ban) Geothermal Power Plant in Bay, Laguna and the Maibarara Geothermal Power Plant in Santo Tomas, Batangas. Combined these steam-powered powered generators supply up to 500 MW of power, with Mak-Ban delivering 480MW at peak operation. The Malitbog Geothermal Power Station in Tongonan, Leyte feeds about 215 MW into the grid. Further down south in Bicol is the 234MW Tiwi Geothermal Power Plant which began operations in 1979. It is the grandfather of Philippine geothermal facilities.
Above ground, there are now 62 solar power plants in planning or in operation. Of these, the Calatagan Solar Power Plant is the largest solar facility in South Luzon. The 63.3-megawatt solar farm, located near the foothills of Mount San Piro has a photovoltaic array of over 200,000 solar panels. These were designed to withstand the hurricane-force winds that come at least five times a year. The solar farm also enjoys optimum weather conditions near the Batangas coastline where it receives the highest levels of sunshine in Southern Tagalog.
Early this year the Department of Energy published a list of all operational renewable energy projects that have agreed to provide the required energy supply in the regions and provinces they are situated in. The list only covers 6 of the 25 listed operation geothermal power plants with a combined capacity of 218.5 MW, 7 of the 11 wind farms projects of 409.9 MW, 36 of the over 50 hydropower of 412.8 MW, but listed all the 62 solar projects of 1,312.9 MW.
The list made available information to investors to explain how these projects are eligible for renewable portfolio standards (RPS), mandating local electricity providers to provide the agreed capacity of energy supply from its renewable energy projects.
Powering the future
Solar and wind now occupy very important places in the Philippines’ power-producing grid.
Angat, Ambuklao, Magat and Pantabangan dams form part of the more than 70 hydroelectric power plants in operation now with a total capacity of about 3,701 MW which is approximately 16 percent of the national total.
According to Andritz, a global supplier of comprehensive engineering solutions for special industries all over the world, around 566 MW are run-of-river and 3,135 MW are dam-type plants, including one 728 MW pumped storage complex. Andritz has been in doing projects in the Philippines since the 1930s starting with a small plant in Catuiran, Oriental Mindoro. The company received some large rehabilitation orders for other hydropower facilities in the country.
“Only about 24 plants (34 percent) have a capacity larger than 10 MW, but they provide around 96 percent of the total hydropower generation. The estimated technical and economic hydropower potential is about 20,334 GWh per year, 17 percent of which has already been exploited,” Andritz said in a study of Philippine hydropower facilities and resources.
From almost nil just two decades ago, more solar farms are being built within the last ten years than ever before. The ease of construction, relatively low cost of operations and start-up investments for solar farms and the availability of technology and foreign support for wind power generation have made these environmentally sound, renewable energy sources popular and profitable.
When the Burgos Wind Farm came into operation, wind power generation was in the measly 60 or 70MW. Currently the biggest windfarm, it now supplies about 150MW of electricity to the surrounding towns around the cuidad of the province–almost 5 times as much as the Bangui windmills could crank out. The town of Burgos could very well be the renewable energy capital of the country or possibly the world because surrounding the windmills is the 6.8 MW Burgos Solar Farm making the town the first location in the world to host a combined solar and wind farm.
Located on a 5.5-hectare site at Brgy. Saoit, the Burgos Solar Farm has 13,420 photovoltaic modules mounted on structures that feed power to 61 inverters. Operated by the Lopez-backed First Gen, the two Burgos solar power plants provide power to the Ilocos Norte Electric Cooperative (INEC) via a distribution line to the grid under a separate contract. This interconnection project included the development of a 1.6-kilometer, 13.2-kilovolt distribution line, distribution cables, concrete poles, and other related facilities.
Investing in renewables
Investing in renewable energy is now a priority of many businesses in the Philippines.
According to the International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA), every dollar invested in the clean energy transition provides 3-8 times the return. But profit is not the only motivation for investing in renewables–in the slow and murky post-pandemic healing period, part of the recovery means ensuring a steady supply of electricity to help industries return to health.
Businesses need not set up energy franchises to produce power.
In many cases, enterprises now have the capability to produce power for their own use decongesting the grid and making the electricity supply less burdened. Take the SM Group of Companies as an example. The company has invested heavily in renewable energy using rooftop solar panels. To date, solar energy provides power to 10 SM Supermalls, generating a combined 55 MW. This move enabled the company to reduce energy consumption by 28 percent. It has also since 2017 shrunk its carbon emissions by 31 percent.
To complete the cycle of renewable energy and sustainability, some of the fifteen SM Malls that currently have electric car charging stations in their parking lots are powered from solar roof arrays. SM Prime Holdings Inc., a division of the SM Group of Companies, is on top of these investments in energy-efficient programs, inspiring other companies to adopt the sustainable corporate lifestyle.
In its latest sustainability report, Robinsons Land Corporation (RLC) announced the expansion of its solar energy portfolio to 23 Robinsons Malls nationwide, increasing its total renewable clean energy capacity to 29.5 MW.
“Through energy conservation and efficiency programs like this, RLC demonstrates its commitment to protect the environment from the adverse effects of carbon emissions and to become an industry leader in efficient energy use,” RLC’s 2020 annual report mentioned. The solar panel arrays help keep electricity costs low, reduce the country’s carbon footprint to achieve its sustainability goals.
The Ayala Group ACEN invests not only in the Philippines. It has about 4,000 MW generation capacity in the Philippines, Vietnam, Indonesia, India, and Australia. As the listed energy platform of the Ayala Group, the company has a share of 87 percent renewable power generation, which is among the highest in the region.
ACEN’s aspiration is to be the largest listed renewables platform in Southeast Asia, with a goal of reaching 20 GW of renewables capacity by 2030. In 2021, ACEN announced its commitment to achieving Net Zero greenhouse gas emissions by 2050. This will involve the early retirement of its remaining coal plant by 2040 and the transition of the company’s generation portfolio to 100 percent renewable energy by 2025.
The Energy Development Corporation (EDC) is the Philippines’ largest producer of geothermal energy. It has what is possibly the most complete renewable portfolio with hydro, wind, and solar energy making it the pure renewable energy company with a gross installed capacity of 1,480 MW.
EDC is a pioneer in the geothermal energy industry with over three decades of proven business viability. From the exploration to the production of water-based steam power into the generation of electricity for commercial use, EDC has developed some of the world’s pioneering and most complex steam fields. EDC aims to strengthen its position as a market leader by developing more steam fields and power generation projects locally and overseas.
EDC itself has likewise bid for and won several power plants from the Philippine Government since First Gen acquired the company. These were NPC-owned geothermal power plants that EDC supplies steam to. EDC won the bids for the then 192.5-MW Palinpinon and the 112.5-MW Tongonan geothermal power plants in 2009, and the Bac-Man geothermal power plants in 2010.
Clear directions from the new administration
Part of President Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr. hinged on sustainability, climate change, and renewable energy. In his first State of the Nation Address (SONA) the chief executive said the use of renewable energy will top his administration’s climate change agenda. Early in his administration already pushed for a clear transition to renewable energy to mitigate the worst impacts of climate change on the country.
Having the Burgos Solar and Wind Farm and the Bangui Wind Power Farm in his own backyard in Ilocos, the president said the shift to renewable energy is seen as a solution to help slow down the effects of climate change, emphasizing the need to promote the use of renewable energy, as he noted that the Philippines is a “disaster-prone country.”
“We will increase our use of renewable energy sources such as hydropower, geothermal, solar, and wind,” Marcos said adding that the country’s geographical situation and a number of natural calamities hitting the country over a period of time, “capacity-building for natural disaster resiliency is a must.”
On one hand, Marcos said investing in science and technology would enable the government to have accurate weather forecasts and on-time disaster alerts. Renewable energy, on the other hand, would lessen the country’s huge carbon footprint.
“For the welfare of our people, it is incumbent upon us to lessen our vulnerability,” he said. “Studies show that many areas in the Philippines are already at high risk from the rise in sea levels brought about by the increase in global temperature. We must adapt to this phenomenon with disaster-proof urban planning.”
Is the Philippines reaching the tipping point?
The President’s pronouncements clearly show a direction skewing away from fossil fuels, currently, coal, diesel, and natural gas which continue to dominate the Philippines’ power supply generation scene. There are nearly 50 fossil fuel plants–28 of these use highly pollutive coal to produce energy.
The REN21 is an international policy network dedicated to building a sustainable energy future with renewables and companies that have developed unique ways to harness renewable energy. In a report, it released in late 2021, identified 7.1 giga-watts (GW) of potential and actual renewable energy capacity in the Philippines.
Over half, or 4.3 GW, came from hydropower, with a further 896 MW sourced from solar energy. For this year, solar energy in the Philippines is estimated to rise to 3 GW and may overtake other renewables. Wind energy has the potential of 76 GW but currently only delivers about 427 MW. The current administration targets just 2.3 GW by 2030 for wind, when there is much, much more potential. Alongside Indonesia, the Philippines has the highest concentration of geothermal power generation in Asia at 1,918MW.
According to the Philippine Department of Energy (DoE) “like many developing countries, especially those in Asia, the Philippines needs to respond and recover fast to the economic impacts and human devastation of the COVID-19 pandemic.” To do this the DoE is investing in climate-proof, economically smart energy systems to chart a bold path toward a renewable energy future. — with Raymond B. Tribdino
The National Renewable Energy Program: A Summary
On June 14, 2011, the Department of Energy (DoE) launched the National Renewable Energy Program (NREP) to meet the requirements under the Renewable Energy Act of 2008. The program led the development and optimal use of renewable energy resources. As the Philippines is blessed by many months of sunlight and multiple sources of wind along the archipelago, a sustainable, renewable-energy agenda is an essential part of the country’s low-emissions development strategy and is vital to addressing the challenges of climate change, energy security, and access to energy.
Last November, the DoE revised some of these goals, to fast-track the Philippines’ growing power needs but at the same time veer away from fossil fuels and focus on clean energy technologies. Adapting to renewable energy means that there is a need to install another 102 gigawatts (GW) of electricity capacity by 2040 including 27GW solar, 17GW wind, 6GW hydro, 2.5GW geothermal and 364MW biomass.
However as of December 2021, it was estimated that by the end of 2022, a total of 901MW committed renewable power generation projects–54 percent solar and 26 percent hydro is expected to be operational from 2022-2027.
The National Renewable Energy Program (NREP) outlines the policy framework enshrined in Republic Act 9513. It sets the strategic building blocks that will help the country achieve the goals set forth in the Renewable Energy Act of 2008. The NREP signals the country’s big leap from fragmented and halting RE initiatives into a focused and sustained drive towards energy security and improved access to clean energy.
The NREP sets out indicative interim targets for the delivery of renewable energy within the timeframe of 2011 to 2030.
Meeting the massive targets up to 2020 will be challenging as detailed planning, financing, and building of renewable energy infrastructure will have to be undertaken at a scale, and within a time frame, never done before.
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 planning that will help identify the most feasible and least-cost renewable energy development options.
The NREP proceeds from the assumption that certain activities can be taken right away; while others will take time to implement. As a national program, it will require periodic review to ensure it conforms to the policy objectives set out in RA 9513.
Beyond the scale, however, are fundamental issues of transmission and grid integration for intermittent RE resources. Social and economic impacts cannot be overlooked. These are issues that will be kept under close review. An action shall be taken toward meeting the challenges of balancing the country’s energy security needs and the overriding goal of providing clean, affordable, and sustainable energy for all.
The NREP promises a continuing and well-coordinated effort to drive development in the RE industry, promote technology advancements, and achieve economies of scale. It provides the basis for national and local renewable energy planning that will identify specific actions and times upon which outcomes will be generated. Such plans will factor in cross-cutting issues and essential interventions in the areas of transmission development and integration, energy efficiency, off-grid electrification, climate change, technology transfer and development, local capacity building, and partnerships.
Given the dynamic nature of the country’s energy sector, the NREP is a living document. Forecasts and targets will be updated periodically as key developments in the energy sector emerge. Programs will be reviewed. Deployment of RE projects will be monitored to ensure that stakeholders make good on their promise to deliver. Above all, partnerships will be enhanced to ensure a country-wide approach in developing the country’s renewable energy resources.
The NREP is initially focused towards the addition of RE-based capacity for power generation. The program for non-power applications shall be incorporated subsequently. — Source: National Renewable Energy Program portfolio, Department of Energy.
