DOE: Private sector help vital in energy transition

MANILA  -Energy transition in the Asia-Pacific region remains costly and is going “slower than expected,” the Department of Energy (DOE) said, as developing countries still carried the burden of having to retire their coal plants sans help from financiers.

Energy Secretary Raphael Lotilla noted that Indonesia and Vietnam already have energy transition partnerships (JETPs) but their progress had been relatively slow since last year.

Indonesia, for example, got a pledge of $20 billion for its transition plans last year, but it had only so far established a JETP secretariat.

“Indonesia is actually complaining that developed countries are not willing to fund even coal transition,” he said.

The Philippines is qualified to receive funding but it has not yet been included in transactions since the mechanism was launched in Nov. 2021.

“Whereas it is easier for other countries to commit because their power assets are state-owned, it is more difficult for a country like the Philippines to do so and any transition arrangement would have to make business sense for the private sector,” he said.

Source: https://business.inquirer.net/424827/doe-private-sector-help-vital-in-energy-transition