GE joins push for renewable energy in Philippines

The Philippines is now committed to reduce energy emissions by 70 percent by 2030 as a part of the Paris Agreement on Climate Change. This has brought a renewed thrust to develop the nation’s renewable energy sector.

“With the looming threat of climate change, sustainability needs to be at the forefront of our concerns when it comes to servicing the country’s power needs,” said Jocot de Dios, chief executive of GE Philippines, during the digital-industrial company’s ‘Powering the Philippines’ conference.

The event organized by GE and the American Chamber of Commerce of the Philippines, aimed at assessing the future of RE in the country and was attended by more than 100 stakeholders from both the public and private sectors—including the Department of Energy, Energy Regulatory Commission and members of the Philippine Independent Power Producers Association.

Based on figures from the DoE, coal, oil, and natural gas contribute over half of the Philippine energy mix, while RE sources like biomass, geothermal, solar, hydro, and wind add up to around 36.1 percent, with geothermal being the biggest contributor at 17.9 percent.

The DoE’s National Renewable Energy Program seeks to increase the RE-based capacity of the country to an estimated 15,304 MW by 2030, and to at least 20,000 MW by 2040, almost quadruple its 2010 level.

As of June 30, 2017, the DoE has awarded 831 RE projects under the RE bill, a huge increase from 22 projects since the RE bill’s passing in 2008.

“The increased generation from geothermal, hydro, and solar resources has lessened the country’s dependency on fossil fuels,” de Dios said. “Now, more than ever, the country is open to new ideas and solutions to produce more reliable, sustainable, and affordable electricity.”

GE, a global solar solutions provider, offers customers with an entire plant-wide development strategy and solution that are less complex and with reduced cost and risks to ultimately lower the levelized cost of energy.