PH going greener in energy use

THE Department of Energy has awarded 41 renewable energy service contracts in the second half of 2022 in a bid to reduce the country’s reliance on fossil fuels. This will help the country meet its target to increase the renewable energy (RE) share in the country’s power generation mix from the current 22 percent to 35 percent by 2030 and 50 percent by 2040. There has been a global push to reduce the use of fossil fuels, which include coal, petroleum, heavy oils and natural gas--the byproduct of whose combustion is carbon dioxide, a greenhouse gas that causes global warming and climate change. The Philippines also imports much of its supply of fossil fuels, making it vulnerable to foreign exchange fluctuations and geopolitics such as Russia’s invasion of Ukraine last year that continues to this day. In contrast, indigenous sources of energy, such as the wind, sun and ocean water are seen as more sustainable forms of energy that could help the Philippines attain energy security. These include increasing the annual percentage increment for participants of the Renewable Portfolio Standards for on-grid areas from one percent to 2.52 percent beginning 2023 to enable the country to meet the RE target of over 50 percent of total power generation mix by 2040, as well as starting preferential dispatch of RE-generating units in the Wholesale Electricity Spot Market.