The Department of Energy (DOE) is pushing for policies that will facilitate clean energy investments in far-flung communities a to achieve current national renewable energy (RE) targets.
DOE Undersecretary Rowena Guevara said the country targets to achieve a 35 percent RE mix by 2030 and 50 percent by 2040.
“This target requires collective efforts from all stakeholders in the public and private sectors… The enforcement of a supportive policy and regulatory environment in RE development and applications at the local level will increase RE investment and commercialization,” said Guevara at the concluding rites of the Development for Renewable Energy Applications Mainstreaming and Market Sustainability (DREAMS) in Pasig City recently.
The DOE said remote areas face critical challenges like lack of access to potable water, unreliable health services and unstable electricity supply.
The DREAMS project being implemented by the DOE through its Renewable Energy Management Bureau in partnership with the Global Environment Facility and the United Nations Development Program Philippines, aims to promote RE investments that can address such issues by enabling installations of solar-powered water systems, rooftop solar PV installations and renewable energy-powered facilities like hospitals and fire stations.
So far, the DREAMS project successfully implemented 18 RE initiatives with a total of 1.64 megawatts (MW) installed capacity backed by a grant of $1.7 million that benefited nearly a thousand households with direct access to energy while more than 21,000 households were connected to electric cooperatives (ECs) with grid-tied renewable energy sources.
The DOE said the initiative also involved 17 local government units including Ajuy and Carles in Iloilo; Goa, Camarines Sur; and San Remigio, Antique as well as seven ECs, academic institutions and civic organizations.
As of end-June, total installed capacity from RE sources including geothermal, hydro, biomass, solar and wind stood at 8,259 MW or 29.2 percent of the total mix.
