Cagayan de Oro City – Leading policymakers, energy sector leaders, and development institutions gather in the city today for the 2nd Mindanao Clean Energy Forum, to discuss ways to foster clean and sustainable energy for the island.
Spearheaded by the Mindanao Renewable Energy Acceleration and Coordination Hub (Mindanao REACH), the event dives deep into the challenges and opportunities for local governments and the private sector in adopting renewable energy in their respective communities.
It also serves as a launching pad for policy development, investment opportunities, and community-driven strategies that leverage renewable energy for sustainable growth.
The forum also deliberates the re-transition of Mindanao to renewable energy dependence after the island’s energy mixed shifted from hydropower to fossil fuel, primarily coal dependence in the last 10 years.
Prominent speakers include Mindanao Development Authority (MINDA) Sec. Leo Tereso Magno, Department of Energy (DOE) Undersecretary Giovanni Carlo Bacordo, and Cagayan de Oro City Mayor Rolando Uy.
Their presence underscores the importance of collaborative efforts in shaping Mindanao’s clean energy future.
Mindanao REACH is advocating for a 50:50 renewable energy to fossil fuel sharing in 2030. This target is a decade earlier than the national target of 50:50 by 2040.
As of May 2024, data from the DOE reveals that fossil fuel supplies 69 percent of the island’s energy. Coal is the islands leading source energy with 51.31 percent, followed by diesel at 17.81 percent. For renewable energy impounding hydro power plants produce 15.56 percent of the island’s energy needs, followed by run-off-river hydros with 10.4 percent. Geothermal contributes 2.67 percent, while ground-mounted hydro contributes 1.31 percent and 0.94 percent from biomass.
REaching the unserved and underserved through Mindanao REACH
The movement to advocate for clean and reliable energy for Mindanao through the Mindanao REACH started in October 2020 through the memorandum of understanding signed between the Peace and Equity Foundation (PEF), Ramon Magsaysay Awards Foundation, and SELCO Foundation in India to create a coordination hub that will help push for the shift towards renewable energy in the region, focus on alleviating poverty and supporting local enterprises through sustainable energy solutions.
The commitment was further strengthened in 2022 with a memorandum of agreement between PEF, Ateneo De Davao University (ADDU), and the Mindanao Development Authority (MINDA) to make Mindanao REACH a platform for a multi-stakeholder, grassroots-based strategies in promoting renewable energy in poor communities that are underserved and unserved by traditional grid-based electricity.
Since its inception, the Mindanao REACH has conducted capacity-building initiatives with electric cooperatives and the local government units on project proposal development and local energy planning and management.
The advocacy hub also supported the implementation of the Productive Uses of Renewable Energy or PURE programs in the region. In Region XII alone, the Mindanao REACH convenor, PEF, has provided technology and equipment for coffee-producing communities for their post-processing activities, thereby increasing the economic activities and incomes of the farmers.
