QUEZON CITY, (PIA) – The Department of Health (DOH) and the Department of Energy (DOE) are partnering to help the country’s health sector transition to the use of cleaner and cheaper sources of energy for its operations and services.
In a meeting with health and energy stakeholders from the public and private sector, the DOH underscored the need for the healthcare industry to develop renewable energy pathways as a response to challenges brought about by climate change.
“The prospect of using renewable energy in our health facilities are viable ways for future proofing of investments [for health], and ensuring health infrastructures are capable of adapting to the modern challenges of global warming,” said DOH Assistant Secretary for Health Regulation and Facility Development Cluster (HRFDC) Charade B. Mercado-Grande.
In particular, the healthcare sector significantly contributes to global greenhouse gas emissions at around 5 percent alongside the use of the current fixed-rate energy resources.
By transitioning into renewable energy, hospitals and other medical facilities in the country will not only lessen its carbon footprint but also reduce its operational expenses and power consumption costs.
According to the Grid Planning and Competitive Renewable Energy Zones in the Philippines Report by DOE, hydropower, one of the indigenous sources of renewable energy, can approximately harness 655,034 megawatts which is significantly higher than the country’s 16,000 megawatts peak demand.
The use of renewable energy has also proven to lower the settlement price of electricity by at least 28 percent during peak hours despite its small share in the country’s energy mix.
This, in turn, can lead into a more sustainable financial portfolio for the healthcare sector while gearing the direction of its budget allocation towards improving patient care and medical facilities.
Green Energy Option Program
As such, the DOH identified the implementation of the Green Energy Option Program (GEOP) as the most viable option to pave the way for the slow transition of the healthcare sector into the use of renewable energy.
GEOP is a voluntary policy and a non-regulated activity under the Renewable Energy Act of 2008 that provides electricity end-users the power to choose renewable energy sources, highlighting their efficacy to contribute to the solutions addressing climate change, particularly decarbonization.
Opting for the GEOP can primarily help healthcare facilities to establish energy self-sufficiency by sourcing 100% renewable energy resources without capital costs.
The DOE, for its part, underscored the importance of this transition towards reaching the goal of increasing the renewable energy in the country’s power mix to 35 percent by 2030 and 50 percent by 2040.
However, the adoption of GEOP is confronted by a significant challenge in terms of the limited renewable energy supply.
As of January 2024, the International Trade Administration (ITA) identified that the Philippine renewable energy market only comprised 14.6 percent geothermal resources, 1.4 percent solar and wind resources, 4.1 percent hydropower, and 12.6 percent biomass.
To date, there are only four (4) hospitals that were recorded to have switched to the use of renewable energy as a source through GEOP. These are the Asociacion Benevola De Cebu, Mercado General Hospital Sta. Rosa as well as the Mercado Ambulatory and Surgical Centers in Laguna, and the Urology Center of the Philippines in Quezon City.
In this regard, the energy department expressed its commitment to implement policy initiatives that will support the construction of additional renewable energy infrastructures in the country by encouraging more developers, investors, generation companies, and suppliers who can potentially invest in renewable energy power plants.
The Climate Change Commission (CCC), the country’s lead governmental policy-making body on climate change, also pledged to provide the DOH and the DOE with the necessary policy, technical, and climate financing support in order to accelerate the transition of the healthcare sector to GEOP.
The GEOP is complemented by other resource-specific programs of the DOE including the Waste-to-Energy Program, the Expanded Rooftop Solar Program, and the Derisking of Geothermal Power Projects which are all geared towards harnessing the renewable energy potential of the country.
“As we transition to clean energy by developing renewable energy sources such as wind, solar, and hydroelectric power, we can mitigate the environmental impact of plastic pollution and carbon emissions,” said the DOE.
The “Making Renewable Energy Accessible to Health Facilities” roundtable initiative was spearheaded by the Asian Development Bank (ADB) in partnership with the Climate Reality Project Philippines. (JMP/PIA-NCR)
