By Lenie Lectura - September 2, 2019
The National Renewable Energy Board
(NREB) is working on an updated National Renewable Energy Program (NREP) which
will cover the renewable-energy (RE) road map until 2040.
NREB Chairman Monalisa C. Dimalanta
said the current NREP, which covers the period 2011-2030, is under review
because the targets set therein were not met.
“This is a good time to reassess.
It’s been 10 years. The programs are in place. Let’s reassess and shift gears
if we need to. Because the challenge is still there, to meet the targets, and
probably to increase the targets. What we’re doing is reevaluate the program so
that we can see why we did not meet the target, what work do we still need to
do,” said Dimalanta.
The NREP outlines the policy
framework of 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.
Under the current NREP, the country
is targeting 22,000 megawatts (MW) in RE capacity, with RE accounting for 35
percent of the total energy mix by 2030.
“In the supply mix, more than 30
percent, now it’s 23 percent as of last year. Instead of increasing the share
of RE in the supply mix, we’re reducing. But there are a lot of factors that
explains that, it’s not just because we’re using less RE,” said Dimalanta.
“There are a lot more plants that
we’re built that were using non-RE. The pie got bigger with the share of non-RE
getting bigger. For RE, the increase was not proportional,” she added.
An official of the Department of
Energy (DOE) commented on the delays in policy implementation that may have
contributed for missing the targets.
“The target is to triple the
capacity by 2030. At the time NREP was issued, the existing RE capacity was
5,000 MW. The target is by end of 2030, it should be 15,000 MW. However, based
on our assessment, around 7,000MW was recorded from 2011 to 2017,” said Mylene
C. Capongcol, Department of Energy-Renewable Energy Management Bureau Director.
“When we assess the NREP and its
implementation, there were delays in issuances of development of support
mechanism, like RPS [Renewable Portfolio Standards] on grid and off grid, GEOP
[Green Energy Option Plan], RE market,” Capongcol added.
An updated NREP could be out in
October this year.
‘Parochial
mentality’
Advocacy group Murang Kuryente
criticized the DOE’s technology-neutral policy, saying this declaration does
not rule out a moratorium on the construction of coal-fired power plants in the
country.
According to Murang Kuryente
Spokesman Gerry Arances, Energy Secretary Alfonso Cusi’s remarks during last
week’s budget hearing “betray a parochial mentality that focuses on megawatts
produced, while dooming consumers to paying more for unreliable and polluting
energy.”
The Philippines vowed to reduce its
greenhouse gas emission by 70 percent by 2030.
Cusi said the DOE will continue to
approve coal power plant projects “if we need it.”
He added during the hearing that a
“moratorium on any technology is a disservice to our country.”
Murang Kuryente said the agency’s
technology-neutral policy runs counter to the spirit of the directive issued by
President Duterte in his State of the Nation Address. The president earlier
said the country needs to develop more RE sources and reduce dependence on traditional
energy sources, such as coal.
The group blames the coal power
plants of the country for aggravating the “power crisis” experienced in the
run-up to the 2019 midterm elections.
“It’s a no-brainer. If you have
technology that is more reliable, more affordable, and more sustainable in
producing energy, you go for it and abandon old technology, especially if it’s
destructive,” he said.
The Philippines is one of the few
countries in the world that insists in constructing new coal-fired power plants
despite a global trend to halt their continued use.
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