Mindanao’s renewable energy target ‘realistic’

By Alena Mae S. Flores – November 21, 2023, 8:40 pm
from manilastandard.net

The Energy Regulatory Commission  said Tuesday Mindanao’s target to increase the renewable energy share in its power supply mix to 50 percent by 2030 is “a very realistic ambition.”

ERC chairperson and Monalisa Dimalanta said the Mindanao region already reached its RE generation capacity to about 37 percent—even exceeding the national target of 35 percent that was meant to be attained by 2030.

“Mindanao is the only island that has excess capacity—with peak demand at 2,167 megawatts based on the DOE [Department of Energy] 2022 figures and installed capacity at already 4,570 MW,” Dimalanta said.

Dimalanta issued the statement during the  Mindanao Clean Energy Forum 2023 and Renewable Energy Congress, with the theme “Mindanao Gearing Towards a 50 percent RE Mix by 2030”, in Davao City on Nov. 20, 2023.

She said Mindanao’s energy story goes beyond just having the excess and the ability to export as “the composition of this capacity is actually the better story.”

“In terms of generation, coal is at 60 percent but RE is already at 37 percent. Mindanao has exceeded the national target that is meant to be for 2030. In this sense, the 50 percent RE by 2030 is a very realistic ambition for Mindanao than the rest of the country,” Dimalanta said.

Dimalanta said the government put in place policies to help the country’s transition to RE such as the clean energy scenario which pushes for increased RE utilization.

“In 2019, when I was still chairing the NREB, we were all dreaming to place RE at the core of energy planning. We thought it was a pipe dream. Yet, today, that is already the case. Funds are also steadily flowing to RE projects and R&D projects in this sector,” she said.