Think tank asks NGCP to modernize transmission highway

By Alena Mae S. Flores – May 15, 2023, 7:32 pm
from manilastandard.net

Energy think tank Institute for Climate and Sustainable Cities asked the National Grid Corp. of the Philippines to modernize the country’s transmission highway to prepare for the influx of renewable energy.

ICSC energy transition advisor Alberto Dalusung III welcomed NGCP’s pronouncement to integrate RE projects into the grid, which is a huge step forward in the country’s energy transition.

“However, in order to achieve affordable, reliable, and secure power in the Philippines, what we need is to modernize the grid, geared towards flexible and distributed generation through renewables. Simply integrating RE in the current transmission setup is not enough,” Dalusung said.

He said the grid is centralized on large baseload coal power plants which he said is unsuitable for the country’s variable load demand and recurring supply shortages.

“The low capacity factors of coal power plants are a result of their intermittency and numerous unplanned outages, similar to the recent outages this month, leading to service interruptions in the areas serviced by Meralco,” Dalusung said.

“Unlike coal, renewable energy is not intermittent, as previously stated by the NGCP. It may be variable, but it is highly available and predictable,” he said.

Dalusung said RE is the most viable option for cost-effective grid operations, as it is not affected by the volatility of prices in global markets as it is readily available in the country.

“RE power plants such as geothermal have the highest capacity factors at 71 percent in 2022, compared to coal power plants at only 65 percent,” he said.

Dalusung said there is an urgent need to shift towards flexible and distributed power generation using indigenous and readily available renewable energy sources.

“Everyone in the Philippine power sector has a role to play, we need all hands on deck to achieve an energy system that is affordable, reliable, and secure, and that suits the needs of all Filipinos,” he said.

ICSC is a Manila-based international policy group advancing climate resilience and low-carbon development.