The Philippines is far from shying away from the use of conventional coal-fired plants despite its ambitious goal of transitioning to renewable energy.

At a forum organized by the Philippine Chamber of Commerce and Industry on Wednesday, Energy Secretary Raphael Perpetuo Lotilla emphasized the need to maximize the use of relatively young coal plants.

He said this measure is necessary to guarantee affordable and sufficient baseload capacity until 2030.

“Maximizing the use of existing energy infrastructure avoids placing an added cost burden on both the economy and consumers. Nevertheless, we do not set aside our responsibility to ensure adequate baseload capacities in conjunction with our push to increase RE share in the power mix,” Lotilla said.

Dependable coal facilities

Based on the latest industry data provided by the Department of Energy (DoE), the country has about more than 6,300 megawatts (MW) of dependable coal facilities aged 10 years or younger.

These plants can be relied on to operate for at least another 30 years.

Meanwhile, approximately 3,400 MW of reliable coal-fired power plants are between 10 and 30 years old, whose operational lifespan can be expanded by an additional 10 years.

In the next four years, the DoE expects power generators to produce roughly 2,255 MW of additional coal supply. This forms part of the required 11,000 MW of new capacities needed to cater to the projected peak demand growth of around 5.3 percent annually from 2023 to 2028.

Indispensable power sources

Conventional fuels such as coal and gas remain to be an indispensable source of power as they remain a cheaper alternative to baseload supply. Unlike renewable energy, this type of baseload is available all-day round.

“While there is an existing moratorium on building coal-fired power plants, there are also exemptions for committed, indicative, and expansion plans. It is not the moratorium but the market that has discouraged the construction of coal plants,” Lotilla said.

In 2020, the DoE, then led by former Secretary Alfonso Cusi, imposed a moratorium on building brand-new coal power plants. This decision was made to facilitate the transition to a more adaptable mix of renewable energy sources.

Moratorium

The moratorium aims to establish a flexible power system capable of accommodating an increase in indigenous, cleaner energy sources, according to Cusi.

Last year, coal made up 43.9 percent of the entire 12,406 MW on-grid installed capacity. Off-grid, the total installed capacity was 684.666 MW, with coal accounting for 2.2 percent of such capacity.