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Manila Bulletin devider Business devider Trade & Industry devider Energy players push for technologies to bolster grid resilience

Energy players push for technologies to bolster grid resilience

Published Jun 19, 2025 10:02 am
As the country intensifies its shift to renewable energy, a recent power outage in Europe served as a cautionary tale, with a British clean energy firm suggesting that grid infrastructure, not just renewable capacity, is key for a stable power future.
In an interview with Manila Bulletin, Naked Energy chief executive officer Christophe Williams explained that Europe, despite its strong focus on renewable energy (RE), has faced its share of challenges in electricity supply.
Williams, who also spoke at the South Summit Madrid 2025, said one of the potential factors that contributed to the recent power outage in Spain and Portugal in April was the struggling power grids.
While we cannot know exactly what caused this power outage, as we're not a party to the exact details, what is for sure is that Europe as a whole has been putting too much pressure on the electricity grids to deliver net zero, he said.
A recent report by Reuters stated that the Spanish government alleged the country’s grid operator failed to calculate the energy mix, resulting in difficulty in coping with a voltage surge.
It’s hardly surprising that grids are overheating across Europe. What we need to do is invest in grid-edge technologies. These are distributed RE solutions that don’t take anything from the grid,” Williams explained.
The technology is complementary to the power grid, as it frees up grid capacity,” he added.
While Europe heavily emphasizes its green energy fleet, Williams believes the recent blackout on the Iberian Peninsula and the state of grid networks in Europe would require a significant grid upgrade.
The European Commission estimates €584 billion (approximately ₱36.8 trillion) needed to upgrade electricity grids to reach 2030 net zero goals, and demand for electricity is set to go through the roof — in the UK it’s set to more than double by 2050,” the Naked Energy chief said.
Naked Energy focuses on commercial and industrial decarbonization through solar thermal and hybrid photovoltaic-thermal (PVT) technologies, which address the challenges of heat decarbonization. The company was recently presented at this year’s South Summit Madrid, a global platform co-presented by IE University for entrepreneurs, startup companies, and other businesses within various industries internationally.
Recent local actions
A two-nation power interruption, even in systems backed by renewables, has raised serious questions about how to prevent similar incidents in the future. In the Philippines, where power disruptions remain a persistent issue, the Spain-Portugal power disruption serves as a lesson for local energy players. It’s not just about adding more RE; this could be considered a wake-up call.
Ayala-led ACEN Corporation previously told the Manila Bulletin about the importance of scaling up battery storage, which would complement the intermittency of solar. Following this, recent developments in the Philippines’ RE integration include increased capacity and framework enhancements in the fourth round of the Green Energy Auction program (GEA-4), which would allow developers to bid for either stand-alone solar projects or integrated solar with energy storage systems (ESS). GEA-4 administers bidding for integrated ESS, specifically focusing on solar power plants with Battery Energy Storage Systems (BESS).

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Naked Energy Christophe Williams renewable energy (RE) South Summit Madrid 2025
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