Philippines' Manila Electric eyes wind and nuclear to boost coal-free push

MANILA, Feb 28 (Bloomberg): Manila Electric Co., the Philippines’ largest power retailer, plans to tap nuclear and wind energy sources to accelerate its push to stop using coal by 2050.

The company that distributes electricity in Metro Manila and nearby provinces is building solar farms that can generate 188 megawatts, in line with its target to have 1,500 megawatts of renewable energy capacity by 2027.

Plans for small modular nuclear reactors, battery energy storage systems and large-scale wind farms are also being considered, it said.

Manila Electric is "embarking on a just, orderly and affordable transition to clean and earth-friendly energy,” Chairman Manuel Pangilinan said in a statement Monday.

Coal-fired power plants account for a third of the retailer’s sales volume, according to company data.

It will also assess more advanced technologies including carbon capture and green hydrogen to support its clean energy push.

Pangilinan last year said shifting to renewable energy was "not an easy choice” as it may translate to higher costs which consumers will likely oppose.

The Covid-19 situation in the country also has been easing over the last few weeks.

The Philippines' Department of Health (DOH) reported 1,038 new Covid-19 infections on Sunday, bringing the number of confirmed cases in the Southeast Asian country to 3,661,049.

The DOH said 51 more people died from Covid-19 complications, pushing the country's death toll to 56,401. Of the new deaths, the DOH added that 11 died this year, with the rest last year.

The number of patients ill with the highly contagious disease dropped to 52,961 from Saturday's 53,934. The country's positivity rate dropped to 5 per cent from 5.3 per cent the previous day.

The DOH has reported under 2,000 new cases for nine straight days as the wave of infections triggered by the Omicron variant of Covid-19, which peaked in mid-January, was ebbing. - Bloomberg