Largest renewable energy conference in the country convened last week

MAKATI CITY, September 5, 2022 – Last August 31 to September 1, Manila-based climate and energy policy group Institute for Climate and Sustainable Cities (ICSC) participated in the World Clean Energy Conference Philippine Edition (WCEC PH) 2022. Held in official partnership with the Department of Energy (DOE), Global Zero Carbon Partnership, and Escom Events, WCEC PH 2022 was a venue for leading international experts, policymakers, scientists, engineers, technology developers, and business professionals to tackle pressing issues in the advancement of innovative sustainable energy sources and the achievement of the energy transition.

The DOE, represented by policy and planning bureau director Michael Sinocruz, showed in this event the total energy investment requirements indicated in the Philippine Energy Plan (PEP) for the next 20 years. Out of USD153 billion, 115.3 billion will be allotted for development of new power plants, more than 80 percent (USD94.3 billion) of which is allotted for renewables.

“The PEP targets to have a sustainable path towards clean energy. It is time to optimize a different energy mix to sustain our growing energy needs,” Sinocruz said.

ICSC executive director Renato Redentor Constantino and senior policy advisor Atty. Pedro H. Maniego, both panelists, shared insights in different panel discussions. Constantino’s panel took up the Philippines’ zero carbon energy path, while Maniego’s panel tackled how to measure the value of solar projects beyond the kilowatt hour. Jephraim Manansala, ICSC’s chief data scientist, presented the cornerstone role of data in achieving the energy transition.

“While net zero is a really important global goal, the country needs to prioritize the needs of its people. By paying more attention to resilience and working-class needs, we gain the support of the public. Because what they need is affordable, reliable power. If we want a more resilient power sector, then we will need more flexible distributed generation, which means more RE. The people in this event prove that they can provide renewable energy (RE) in our country. What they require, though, is for other parts of government to work as well. The banks and department of finance should stop the “pawnshop mentality” and step up to provide more lending opportunities for RE investments,” Constantino shared during his panel discussion.

As an official partner of the two-day conference, ICSC set up a booth featuring work on advancing the energy transition in the region, under the Clean, Affordable and Secure Energy for Southeast Asia (CASE) programme. The Institute also put on the spotlight the work of its post-Haiyan initiative RE-Charge Pilipinas, which empowers local communities by integrating renewable energy innovations in humanitarian response and disaster risk reduction.

Atty. Pedro Maniego Jr., senior policy advisor of ICSC, discussed the importance of resilience during the panel on the impact of solar and RE projects in the country. “In missionary areas, we have no choice but to go with solar and other forms of renewables, because the cost of electricity in these areas are high as they’re being served by diesel generators. I hope that as we continue to advance RE technologies, all grid and missionary communities will have access to power 24/7. More jobs will also be created by using renewables. We cannot leave anybody behind,” Maniego said.

Jephraim Manansala shed light on the importance of data science and digitization of the energy system in achieving net zero. This is already being done in the Philippines, Manansala said, citing the report of CASE Philippines entitled “Towards an Affordable and Reliable Grid with Energy Transition (TARGET),” where data from the Wholesale Spot Electricity Market was used to assess the performance of existing coal and variable renewable energy plants from 2017 to 2021.

“Data and digitalization are essential to accelerate the energy transition through informed policies, accurate forecasting and planning, smarter system operations and other applications. However, data and digitalization alone will not necessarily lead to CO2 emission reduction. It is just the enabler for the technologies and initiatives that drive down CO2 emissions,” said Manansala during his presentation.

WCEC PH 2022 brought to the fore strategic issues in achieving energy transition, including investment, decarbonization, opportunities and challenges of RE, battery storage, just transition, green employment, and energy efficiency. It also highlighted the importance of technological advancements in technology and how the energy sector can maximize them–as well as the crucial role every sector has to play in helping the country achieve the energy transition while ensuring that no one gets left behind.

NOTE TO EDITOR
CASE is a regional initiative jointly implemented by GIZ and international and local expert organizations in the area of sustainable energy transformation and climate change. In the Philippines, ICSC serves as its expert organization and the DOE Renewable Energy Management Bureau (REMB) is its political partner.

PHOTOS OF THE EVENT:

Day 1: https://flic.kr/s/aHBqjA5s7t

Day 2: https://flic.kr/s/aHBqjA5pnH

CONTACT
AC Dimatatac, ICSC: media@icsc.ngo, +63 998 546 9788, +63 917 149 5649
Trina Apuad, Escom Events: trina.apuad@escom-events.com, linkedin.com/company/wcecph2022
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Photos: AC Dimatatac/ICSC