Aboitiz Power Corp., the investment arm of the Aboitiz Group for energy-related investments, is actively pushing for more government-to-government or G2G agreements to strengthen the country's exploration as a key enabler of energy security.

Speaking at an energy forum spearheaded by the Meralco Power Academy on Monday, AboitizPower President and CEO Emmanuel Rubio said such agreements can potentially boost the country's energy development.

"We actively engage with the government to initiate discussions and develop necessary protocols. We also recognize the importance of establishing country-to-country agreements for our energy initiatives," Rubio said.

Energy initiatives pushed

"Our active participation in these discussions aims to identify viable options to ensure a continuous supply of reliable energy as our nation grows and thrives," he added.

He pointed out that the industry should be open to adopting "cutting-edge, clean, and zero-emissions technologies" to generate a cleaner power supply that would cater to the needs of the consumers.

"In this context, we are actively exploring Small Modular Reactors, or SMR, for quick capacity deployment and flexibility when they become commercially viable and can be deployed in the country," he said.

Unlike other power sources, SMRs can deliver affordable electricity supply in the country, especially during summer months when demand is historically higher.

For instance, Rubio noted that one megawatt or MW of solar installed capacity typically requires 1.2 hectares of land. However, he said such a requirement could pose a potential downside in the country, where the average farmer holds just 1.29 hectares of land.

Rubio added that pursuing clean energy goals should not lead to potential social issues.

The Philippines has a vast potential for power development. With the sector's opening for foreign investors, even the Department of Energy or DoE said it is confident it can meet its objective of increasing the contribution of clean energy in our power generation mix by 35 percent by 2030 and 50 percent by 2040.

To complement this, AboitizPower also aims to expand its portfolio to support this goal by investing P190 billion until 2030 to have a portfolio of 9,200 MW evenly split between renewable energy and thermal sources.