DOE Confident in Meeting 10,000 MW Power Capacity Target by 2028

MANILA, Philippines — The Department of Energy (DOE) is confident that it will meet the Marcos administration’s target of boosting the power sector with an additional 10,000 megawatts (MW) of new capacity, with more than 6,000 MW expected to come online in the next two years. At a media briefing on Monday, Energy Secretary Sharon Garin said that out of the 10,000-MW goal, the sector would complete 4,100 MW this year. So far, Energy Undersecretary Mario Marasigan said the market had completed 45 power developments, with over 1,900 MW of capacity. An additional 31 projects will deliver about 1,800 MW of supply by year-end, he added. Marasigan said the mammoth solar project of Meralco PowerGen Corp. will inject more electricity to the grid network after its approved allowable capacity to connect to the system was increased to 950 MW from 750 MW. MTerra Solar is a P200-billion solar farm in Luzon slated for full commercial operations by next year. The project is seen generating up to 3,500 MW of solar power, complemented by a 4,500 megawatt-hour battery energy storage system. The last stretch of President Marcos’ term would see the activation of more power projects, consisting of renewable energy assets with about 5,300 MW of capacity, as well as 1,300 MW of conventional energy technologies. “That will comprise more or less 124 additional projects for the entire country,” Marasigan said. “So we will meet the directive to complete within this administration a total of 10,000 MW,” he added. The government is particularly focused on expanding the renewable energy market, with a series of auctions meant to attract more investments in the sector. By 2030, it hopes to scale renewables share in the electricity generation mix to 35 percent from the current 25 percent. INQ