RELIABILITY and affordability of power should be the priority in the transition to renewable energy, Aboitiz Power Corp.’s (AboitizPower) finance chief said, while calling for an upgraded electricity transmission grid to attract investments.
“The realistic pace to do transition is underscored by the available technology that allows you to do it in a reliable and affordable way. Given what is available today, we believe what is realistic is a practical and gradual approach that will allow for technology development,” AboitizPower Senior Vice-President and Chief Finance Officer Liza Luv T. Montelibano said in a media release.
“If we really want to hasten the transition, a lot of the support has to go into [the] development of technology. Once it’s economically viable, I think the rest will fall into place,” she added.
As the country shifts to renewable energy, liquefied natural gas would serve as a transition fuel in the near term to gradually displace coal, Ms. Montelibano said.
She said that “the existing capacities play the role of buying time to keep the grid stable, so that renewable and low-carbon technologies can develop.”
Meanwhile, Ms. Montelibano said that there is a critical task to develop the energy transmission sector as “there is no transition without transmission.”
“Delayed transmission projects have plagued the industry for a long time. We have a history of stranded capacities because the transmission was not there [due to a] long development cycles,” she said.
She added that the country’s power grid should be upgraded to “accept more variable renewable energy without compromising the stability of the whole power system.”
AboitizPower has a 10-year growth strategy of growing its renewable energy assets to reach 4,600 megawatts by 2030.
“The next goal for AboitizPower is to [further expand] its megawatts and to shift its portfolio mix to 50:50 [thermal and renewables] by end-decade, very much aligned to what the energy trilemma is trying to address in terms of security, equity, and sustainability,” Ms. Montelibano. — Sheldeen Joy Talavera
