The National Grid Corporation of the Philippines (NGCP) said its current Transmission Development Plan (TDP) considers variable renewable energy (RE) and committed RE plants which will connect to the grid in the next few years.
NGCP said this supports the energy sector’s move towards cleaner sources of energy.
It, however, cited the need for policy help from the government for the TDP to be successful.
“The annual TDP prepared by NGCP and presented to stakeholders in public consultations is aligned with the Department of Energy’s National Renewable Energy Program 2020-2040.
This targets 50 percent integration of renewables in the grid’s installed capacity by 2040,” the company said in a statement.
NGCP said it has access to world-leading technologies from technical partner State Grid Corporation of China, making it “more than capable to accommodate the increasing integration of renewable energy into the grid for a more sustainable energy mix.”
However, NGCP said integrating more RE into the grid will also require more from the energy sector including significant transmission backbone expansion that needs reinforcement from both policy and support infrastructure.
The company also said capital expenditure -heavy projects will require regulatory approval from the Energy Regulatory Commission (ERC).
It added the entry of more conventional and non-variable generation and energy storage systems to support variable RE installations must be planned simultaneously.
NGCP called for a revision of the Philippine Grid Code as well as the prioritization of the development of Competitive Renewable Energy Zones to synchronize and coordinate generation and transmission projects, among others.
The company also said roads and ports must be able to accommodate the expected influx of materials that will be needed to build the needed transmission facilities.
It assured access to funding was never a problem for NGCP. “External limitations, including regulatory caps on capital expenditures, protracted permitting processes by the local government units, and difficult rights-of-way procurement, have proven to be the primary roadblocks to project completion,” NGCP said.
The company said if the ERC will allow the company “to spend the capital expenditures needed to support this laudable push towards green energy,” it can assure to deliver further transmission projects to support RE. -Jed Macapagal
