MORE power plants in Mindanao are needed to be able to meet the power demands in the island in the next three years, a Mindanao Development Authority (Minda) official said.
“This is because of the rising demand. Now, a power plant needs a five-year timeline to be built, others six years. That’s why thinking ahead if we need electricity, we need already power capacities to be applied in order to be operational in the next years to come,” Minda assistant secretary Romeo M. Montenegro said Wednesday, January 16, at Habi at Kape, Abreeza Mall.
Montenegro, who is also the Minda deputy executive director, the current demand in the island is around 1,600 megawatts (MW) to 1,700 MW.
He said this is a 500 MW growth from the 1,200 MW demand five years ago.
“Based on that, we are looking on a growth of around 100 MW every year in Mindanao. So if we have an excess of 800 MW today, then, by 2025 we will be needing additional 500 MW to 600 MW,” Montenegro said.
He also said there is also a need for more renewable energy plants to enter Mindanao's power grid. This is to increase the contribution of renewable energy to Mindanao's portfolio mix. Data from the Department of Energy showed that as of 2017, of the 3,559 MW installed capacity in Mindanao, power generated by coal-fired power plants accounts for 39 percent, followed by hydropower (30 percent), oil-based (25 percent), geothermal (3 percent), solar (2 percent), and biomass (1 percent).
“Since we are looking on the entry of renewable energy projects, based on our tracking we have more than 200 pending projects in several agencies of the government. And many of these are awaiting approval after complying with the set requirements,” Montenegro said.