Coal expansion by the Philippines’ biggest energy companies could lead to the fossil fuel’s share of the energy mix growing from 52 per cent today to a whopping 75 per cent by 2025.
Using government data, environmental advocacy group Greenpeace identified how four of the country’s biggest conglomerates are set to substantially increase their coal portfolios. Should all their proposed coal projects in the next two to six years be pushed through, the Philippines’ coal capacity will more than double, Greenpeace said in its new report, Dirty Business. By 2030, coal supply would be more than twice its 2015 level.
The plans of Meralco PowerGen Corporation, San Miguel Corporation, Aboitiz, and DMCI Holdings will cause the Philippines’ coal supply to grow by 6.2 per cent annually under the business-as-usual scenario of the 2016-2030 Philippine Energy Plan.
Coal—the single biggest source of global warming—currently represents 52 per cent of the country’s energy mix, followed by renewable energy at about 22 per cent and natural gas at about 21 per cent.
“If all proposed coal-fired power plants are approved in the next five years, coal will represent at least three-fourths of the country’s energy mix,” Greenpeace campaigner Khevin Yu said at the launch of the study last Friday in Quezon City, Philippines.
Total coal supply will increase at a faster rate of 6.2 per cent annually, rising by more than twice its 2015 level of 11.6 million tonnes of oil equivalent (MTOE) to 28.1 MTOE in 2030 due to new coal plants. Image: Department of Energy
The Manila Electric Co—the country’s largest power distribution utility through its subsidiary, Meralco Powergen Corporation (MGen), established in 2010—has the most coal projects under construction. Its proposed 5,470 megawatts (MW) is a 672 per cent increase from its current coal capacity.
Together with San Miguel Corporation, whose flagship product is the nation’s most popular beer, they account for 67.8 per cent of all current coal proposals.
Greenpeace called for the companies to halt all coal expansion plans before phasing out existing capacity and replacing it with renewable energy.
It also urged President Rodrigo Duterte’s administration to order a moratorium on all new coal power plants, for the Department of Energy to prioritise renewables as the country’s main energy source and remove financial incentives and other forms of support for coal.
If all proposed coal-fired power plants are approved in the next five years, coal will represent at least three-fourths of the country’s energy mix.
Khevin Yu, campaigner, Greenpeace
When contacted, two of the energy companies told Eco-Business that the country still needs coal to meet its energy requirements.
San Miguel spokesperson Mary Jane Llanes said the company continues to invest in coal because the country is “not yet ready” to give it up.
Llanes told Eco-Business: “We are not saying coal is bad, we’re not saying it is good. But it is what we need for now to meet the energy needs of the nation.”
