# DOE targets 8,000MW add'l capacity until 2028 By MYRNA M. VELASCO The Department of Energy (DOE) is eyeing roughly 8,000 megawatts of capacity addition to meet peak demand growth of up to 25,000MW (MW) until 2028 of the Marcos administration. The energy chief said the projected demand escalation will be a leap from the current 17,000MW peak demand base across grids recorded this year. Of the targeted capacity buildup in the power system, Lotilla emphasized that the bulk of 43-percent will be coming from renewable energy (RE) installations; while the balance will be from coal and gas plants plus all other possible emerging technologies that will turn commercially viable within the planning period. On the RE projects, he specified that the current plan just integrates pure RE, but there is also consideration for eventual coupling with energy storage systems. The balance of the targeted capacity ramp up, he added, will be coal-fired power plant projects plus gas-fed generating assets which may be fueled either by indigenous gas or imported liquefied natural gas. Lotilla qualified that the additional capacity from coal plants will be those that had already been classified as ‘committed’ or have aleady been advancing on project pre-development works and permitting prior to the issuance of the country’s coal moratorium in 2020. “More than 27-percent will be coming from natural gas; then of course, you would still have coal…as you know, there are already committed (projects), so that’s where it (coal capacity) will be coming from,” the energy chief stressed. Essentially, the percentage-breakdown of the targeted 8.0-gigawatt capacity addition in the power mix will be 3,440MW of RE; 2,160MW gas-fired fleets; and 2,400MW of coal plants. Beyond the planned capacities already being cast in the energy plan. Lotilla indicated that the DOE is also keeping track of further technological developments that will soon run the show in the constantly-evolving energy markets -- including those on hydrogen as well as other innovations. “There are other sources that may come into line by 2028, developments in technologies are moving fast - and I hope they move faster. There are now proposals for converting the old coal-fired power plants --- there are new technologies in the US that they can use the coal-fired facilities to produce graphite; and then with hydrogen as a byproduct… so let’s hope that these mature in time,” he noted. The Marcos administration is aiming for sustained economic expansion through 2028; and its fervent push for digitalization across sectors and industries is also seen as a key driver for robust growth in the country’s energy use. In fact, many of the hyperscaler companies – primarily those with targeted investments in data centers, have been constantly appealing to the DOE to prudently integrate in the country’s energy plan their discriminating requirement not just for reliable electricity supply, but clean energy in powering up their facilities.