Is coal still king? Pressure mounts on lifting of moratorium on coal-fired plants
by Pedro H. Maniego Jr. | Published by the Philippine Daily Inquirer | August 23, 2024 | READ THE FULL ARTICLE The call to lift the moratorium on new coal-fired power plants in the Philippines has intensified recently. Proponents argue that coal is the most affordable and reliable power source, referring to a recent study by the ASEAN Centre for Energy and Germanyʼs decision to extend the life of some nuclear and lignite plants. They also cite frequent power shortages in recent months to justify this contention; but in fact, these outages were actually caused by coal [...]
Indonesia’s retreat on coal export ban highlights battle to meet climate goals
by Prime Sarmiento | January 20, 2022 | Published by China Daily | READ THE STORY HERE Indonesia's decision to lift its coal export ban, in response to lobbying by its key clients in Asia, illustrates why the region continues to struggle with its climate commitments, experts said. The Southeast Asian nation, the world's largest thermal coal exporter, announced on Jan 1 a monthlong ban on coal exports to avoid domestic outages caused by low coal supplies. It partially lifted the ban on Jan 13 after Japan, South Korea and the Philippines lobbied against this move. Most Asian governments [...]
ICSC welcomes ADB push to end coal financing, but wary on gas stand
MANILA, 7 May 2021 — The Asian Development Bank (ADB) released today their draft energy policy, which aims to stop the bank’s financing of new coal power plants and support a rapid phaseout of coal among its developing member countries in the Asia Pacific region. The draft policy also calls for a “strong and flexible grid”, which would allow for an increasing share of variable renewable energy such as solar and wind, and allows for the expansion of natural gas projects. Reacting to this, Atty. Pedro H. Maniego Jr., senior policy advisor of the Institute for Climate and Sustainable [...]
ICSC lauds DOE moratorium on new coal plants
28 October 2020 — The Institute for Climate and Sustainable Cities applauds and fully supports Department of Energy (DOE) Secretary Alfonso Cusi’s announcement yesterday of a moratorium on new coal plants. Atty. Pedro H. Maniego Jr., senior policy advisor of the Institute for Climate and Sustainable Cities, chairman of the Energy Lawyers Association of the Philippines, and former chairman of the National Renewable Energy Board, stated: “By declaring a moratorium on new coal plants, Secretary Cusi is adhering to DOE’s mandate to enable competition in the energy sector and provide reliable and cost effective power, while giving preference to indigenous [...]
Owning the sun
Lifting the 60/40 equity yoke on Renewable Energy investments, as advocated by DOE Secretary Alfonso G. Cusi, sparks an interesting debate on the ownership limits for RE. By Pedro Maniego Jr. | Published in Business Mirror - September 19, 2020 I’M looking at allowing 100-percent investment or ownership in renewables.” Energy Secretary Alfonso G. Cusi made this bold statement during an online forum of the Philippine Energy Independence Council in July. Cusi was also quoted having said he is “hoping it could be done with a circular through DOE, but if not, I will go through legislation. [...]