‘Philippines must adapt new tech for energy security’

MANILA, Philippines — The Philippines must adopt new technologies, like battery storage systems and new-generation nuclear power plants, to ensure energy security and accelerate the country’s transition to cleaner energy, Sen. Sherwin Gatchalian said yesterday.

Adoption of new technologies is necessary, according to Gatchalian, to ensure energy security as the demand for electricity is expected to surge in the next years and the country moves toward cleaner energy to protect the environment.

“We have to look at emerging technologies such as batteries and other energy storage systems. We’re also in the midst of filing a bill to promote energy storage which includes batteries. No matter how controversial, we should also look at new technologies for nuclear power such as smaller modular reactors and generation IV nuclear reactors,” he said.

“Although this needs a little more time, we have to look at these emerging technologies since we also have no law or any single regulation on these. We can come up with a corresponding legislation,” he added.

The senator noted that the country is currently 50-percent self-sufficient in energy supply, imports 100 percent of its coal requirement to meet the rest of its electricity requirement, while its only source of natural gas is dwindling.

On top of that, the demand for electricity in the country increases by an average of 6.53 percent a year, in tandem with economic growth, which means that the country needs to produce an additional 66,937 megawatts of additional power supply to sufficiently address electricity demand moving forward.

“Because we import a huge chunk of fuel for our electricity supply, any disruption overseas such as the Russia-Ukraine conflict, usually impacts the electricity, fuel cost and livelihood of our poorest folks. This is why we need to continually look for all possible ways to improve energy security and supply of electricity in our country,” Gatchalian said.

The senator has filed several measures in a bid to ensure energy security in the long term. One such proposal is Senate Bill 152 or the proposed Midstream Natural Gas Development Act, which will provide for third-party access to liquefied natural gas terminals and transmission pipelines.

He also filed SB 151 or the proposed Waste-to-Energy Act that seeks to legislate a sustainable way of waste disposal and energy generation, and SB 485 that removes a 100-kilowatt cap for the distribution of energy generated from solar panels.

This would enable more businesses, such as factories, to put solar panels on their rooftops.

Gatchalian has also filed SB 157 or the proposed Energy Transition Act that provides for the creation of an Energy Transition Plan to achieve net zero emissions by 2050 and remove dependence on imported fuel.