MANILA, Philippines — Vice presidential bet and Senate President Vicente "Tito" Sotto III said Tuesday that the Philippines should hike the share of solar power in the country's energy mix by over 50%, after noting that the Philippines is geographically well-positioned to harness power from the sun.
In an interview over DZRH's "Bakit Ikaw" on Tuesday, he also said that the next administration should look at generating power from alternative fuel sources other than conventional fossil fuels.
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"We are located in the equator. We are exposed to the sun everyday... I think solar energy only comprises of less than one percent [in our power generation mix]. Solar should account for more than 50% of our energy source," Sotto said in Filipino.
He did not, however, give specific details on what the government or private sector should do to ramp up investments in solar power.
In 2020, solar power contributed a 0.4% share as a primary energy source, according to the Philippine Energy Plan (PEP) 2020 to 2040, the comprehensive energy blueprint of the Energy department.
Through the PEP, the government said it wants renewable energy to make up 35% of the country's power generation mix by 2030 and 50% by 2040.
Sotto added that the next administration should focus on sourcing power from alternative fuel sources.
"They should not just focus on fossil fuels. There is solar, hydro and geothermal," he said in Filipino, pertaining to indigenous sources of power.
Sotto earlier expressed his support for nuclear power shortly after President Rodrigo Duterte signed an executive order which commits the Philippines to developing a nuclear energy program and orders the Department of Energy to conduct more studies on the possible use of the mothballed $2.2-billion Bataan Nuclear Power Plant (BNPP).
Sotto is vying for the vice presidency, and is running alongside Sen. Panfilo "Ping" Lacson, who is now gunning for the presidency as an independent candidate. — Angelica Y. Yang