Over 14,000 MW of committed projects to boost grid – DOE

MANILA, Philippines — Power projects with a total capacity of 14,022.55 megawatts (MW) are expected to reinforce the national grid by 2030, more than half of which will come from renewables.

Latest data from the Department of Energy (DOE) showed that around 9,142 MW of renewable energy (RE) capacity would be added to the grid from 2024 to 2030, making up 65 percent of all committed projects.

Committed refers to energy projects that have secured financial closure or are already in construction stages.

Of the total RE capacity, solar and wind, respectively, comprise the largest share at 5,976.02 MW and 2,125.49 MW, followed by hydropower (838.98 MW), geothermal (151.22 MW) and biomass (50.28 MW).

These RE developments bode well for the government’s target of expanding the share of renewables in the power generation mix to 35 percent by 2030 from the current 22 percent.

However, a key challenge with renewables is their intermittency, as they generate power based on natural conditions like sunlight and wind.

This highlights the need for complementary energy sources and battery energy storage system (BESS) facilities.

The DOE said conventional sources like coal, oil and natural gas accounted for 31 percent or 4,350.54 MW of total committed projects as of Oct. 31, while BESS contributed the remaining 530 MW.

Geographically, eight in every 10 committed projects will be developed in Luzon, with the rest distributed across the Visayas and Mindanao.

If successfully delivered on time, these new generation facilities are expected to power up to 14 million homes annually, providing a much-needed supply to meet the country’s growing energy demand.

The DOE is seeing power demand increase by six percent annually until 2028.

By 2050, the country’s peak demand is projected to reach 68.5 gigawatts, a threefold increase from the 16.6 GW recorded in 2022.