Dev’t goals keep coal necessary

The Philippines surpassing China and Indonesia as one of the leading global coal users does not deter, the Department of Energy (DoE) as it defended the reliance on conventional fuel as necessary for energy security.

In a statement on Wednesday, the Energy Department said the country’s power generation mix, particularly the share of coal, should not be directly compared with other larger countries with different economic and energy profiles.

“While the Philippines relies heavily on coal-fired power generation, the absolute amount of generation and corresponding emissions are minimal as compared to those of China and Indonesia,” the DoE said.

“Therefore, the Philippines, cannot be reasonably compared to these large economies, which have different energy strategies and infrastructures adapted to their specific demographic and economic conditions,” it added.

Based on the 2023 report from the European Commission

— Emissions Database for Global Atmospheric Research, China retained its position as the leading emitter of greenhouse gases, contributing a substantial 29.2 percent of global emissions.

Meanwhile, Indonesia held the seventh spot with a share of 2.3 percent, while the Philippines’ contribution amounted to a relatively modest 0.5 percent of the world’s emissions.

As of January, China’s installed coal power plant capacity stands at an impressive 1,136.7 gigawatts (GW), dwarfing that of Indonesia and the Philippines.

Indonesia’s coal power plant capacity trails behind at 51.6 GW, while the Philippines’ capacity is significantly lower, at just 12.1 GW, according to the Global Energy Monitor Report.

Additionally, in 2021 alone, China generated 5,417,848 gigawatt hours (GWh) from coal, Indonesia generated 189,683 GWh while the Philippines only generated 65,052 GWh.

Even with the increase to 69,472 GWh in 2023, the Philippines’ figures remain significantly lower than those of China and Indonesia.

“This underscored the vast difference in the scale of energy economic infrastructures among the three countries. Moreover, the disparity is evident in the gross generation mix from coal power plants,” the DoE added.

New coal capacities

Relatedly, Energy Undersecretary Rowena Guevara said at a forum on Wednesday that approximately 1,300 megawatts (MW) of coal-fired power plants are scheduled to be operational by next year.

Guevara, however, clarified that these coal capacities from four projects had been approved before the moratorium on coal projects was implemented in 2020.

While new capacities of conventional plants are admittedly needed to support the growing demand, Guevara noted that the DOE expects the renewable energy’s share in the power mix will overtake coal by 2028.

The Philippine Energy Plan for 2023-2050 aims to boost the use of renewable and local energy sources to account for 35 percent of the power generation mix by 2030 and 50 percent by 2040.

According to DOE data, the country’s total installed on-grid power capacity at the end of 2023 was 28,291 MW, of which 43.9 percent (12,406 MW) came from coal-fired power plants.

In contrast, the Philippines’ total installed renewable energy capacity, comprising solar, wind, hydro, geothermal, and biomass technologies, stood at 8,416 MW, representing 29.7 percent of the total mix.