Despite abundance of sun and wind, the Philippines still has not tapped the full potential of these resources in its electricity requirements but had been increasing use of dirty energy, coal.
Despite the abundance of sun and wind in the Philippines, it still lags in terms of tapping these natural resources for its energy mix.
In fact, these resources accounted for only 10 percent of power generated in the region but solar and wind made up only 2.6 percent of its power mix in 2021, according to the report of Ember, an independent energy think tank that uses data-driven insights to shift the world from coal to clean electricity.
In ASEAN, electricity demand from 2015 to 2021 rose by 39 percent, of which 88 percent was service by fossil fuels. Clean energy’s share to the demand only accounted for 4 percent. This is below the 4% average across the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) and the 10% global average, Ember said.
The share of ASEAN electricity supply from solar and wind in 2021 was 11 percent, Ember said adding that ASEAN needs faster growth in clean electricity to keep with the rising demand and keep the power sector CO2 emissions down, said Achmed Shahram Edianto, Asia electricity analyst.
Among 10 ASEAN (the Association of Southeast Asian Nations) member states, five countries dominate the region’s total electricity generation (covering 89 percent generation). These major countries consist of Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, Thailand and Viet Nam. The contribution of these major countries will be essential to achieving the electricity transition towards clean energy in the region.
Despite having the second-highest demand growth in the region, only 12 percent of total electricity demand in the Philippines was serviced by clean sources, it said.
While clean electricity generation nearly doubled, power generated from coal power rose 75 percent.
The share of solar and wind grew from 1.1 percent to 2.6 percent during the period, but this was offset by the growth in the share of coal from 27 percent to 47 percent, the report stated.
The Philippine power sector’s CO2 emissions rose accordingly by 42 percent, Ember said.
Ember projects the Philippines to increase the share of power generated from solar and wind energy to 16.5 percent by 2030.
The Philippine Energy Plan of 2020-2040 aims to install an additional 0.76 gigawatts of wind and 18.5 gigawatts of solar power.
Ember said even with these augmentations, solar and wind will only satisfy 38 percent of the Philippines’ demand in the upcoming decade.
“Solar and wind need to grow rapidly in ASEAN nations, especially considering that they are currently the most economical and fastest way to replace coal,” Ember said.
Tags: #Ember, #energythinktank, #Phllagsincleanenergy, #climate