The Philippines closes the door on new coal power proposals



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MANILA: The Philippines has stopped accepting new proposals for coal-based power projects to encourage investment in other energy sources such as natural gas and renewables, the government’s energy chief said on Wednesday.

The moratorium on endorsements for new coal-fired plants comes as the government aggressively pursues natural gas as a major source of energy, not only for power generation, but also for the industrial, commercial and domestic sectors.

However, coal will continue to be the dominant energy source in the coming years, as coal-based projects are already in process and proposals already presented to the government are not covered by the moratorium, said Energy Secretary Alfonso Cusi.

A series of approvals for coal-fired power plants in recent years has boosted the dominance of coal in the country’s energy mix, which accounted for 41% of capacity last year, when the country’s total installed energy capacity was at 25,531 megawatts, data from the Department of Energy showed.

Renewable energy accounted for 29% of the mix, while natural gas took 13.5%. The remainder was for oil-based fuel.

“We see that we have sufficient supply for base load power and we are looking for a more flexible source such as gas, geothermal, hydroelectric and others,” Cusi said in a briefing.

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