Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jr.  eyes more renewable energy, gas exploration in the country 

By Edward Era Barbacena 

President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. on Monday bared his plans to further improve the country’s energy sector through cleaner sources.

“We are aggressively promoting renewable, so that it provides a 35% share in the power mix by 2030, and then on to 50% by 2040,” Marcos said during his second State of the Nation Address (SONA).

Data from Statista showed that the country’s power generation mix in 2021 was 57.5% coal, 23.4% renewables, 17.7% natural gas, and 1.4% oil-based.

To achieve his administration’s power mix goal, Marcos said the government has opened renewable energy projects to foreign investments.

He said 126 additional renewable energy contracts were awarded in the past year, with a potential capacity of 31,000 megawatts.

The president said there are currently over a thousand active ventures all over the country, where 299 are solar projects; 187 wind; 436 hydroelectric; 58 biomass; 36 geothermal; and 9 ocean-powered.

While the Malampaya project, whose contract to operate was renewed for another 15 years, has been a big help, Marcos said there is a need to explore and develop more gas fields in the country.

He said the national government has partnered with the Bangsamoro region “in regard to energy exploration, development, and utilization within its territorial jurisdiction.”

“We therefore expect to see renewed investor interest in its promising sites,” he added.

In May, Marcos said the Philippines “will take bold steps to transition to renewable and alternative energy technologies in a secure and sustainable manner.”

He also said in his first SONA last year that the country would increase its use of hydropower, geothermal power, solar, and wind energy sources. To attain this, he directed relevant departments to explore partnerships with the private sector for the development of the needed infrastructure.