WHEN the late Benigno Aquino III chastised proponents of renewable energies like solar power and wind power on their reliability, asking them, “Paano kung walang araw, paano kung walang hangin (What if there is no sun or wind?),” he was not actually joking. To me at least.
Even before he became president, there was already a surge in local demand for renewable energy, especially solar power, as we were then anticipating an energy supply shortage in the coming years.
At that time, former representative Mark Cojuangco was already advocating the resuscitation of the mothballed Bataan Nuclear Power Plant. Around that time, I also attended a Power Summit in Mindanao, which was convened in anticipation of power outages from the May 2010 elections.
At that time, I was already asking around if power generated from solar power cells could be stored for future use and even transmitted to other areas where energy generation is lacking. But during that time, all I got were vague answers. Although technological developments slowly paved the way for more reliable renewable energy generation and transmission, the inequality of power generation across the regions still poses the biggest problem facing the country. Especially now with the projected effect of the super El Niño hovering over us.
As it is, with practically zero to little rains expected for the coming months, El Niño would create reduced hydroelectric output, particularly in areas where generation depends heavily on rainfall and reservoir levels. Are we doomed then?
No, says the Big Boy.
Last week, I was invited along with a select group of media to a lunch with Henry “Big Boy” Sy Jr., where he presented his proposed solution on how to maximize power generation through a systematic power transmission.
Enter Project Airbag, a transmission-side initiative of the National Grid Corp. of the Philippines (NGCP) aimed at deploying battery energy storage systems to provide fast-response storage and greater operating flexibility across the Philippine grid.
Sy said the project was intended to help address immediate system pressures, prepare the grid for tighter supply conditions associated with the 2027 El Niño weather phenomenon and provide longer-term flexibility as the country’s generation mix continues to evolve.
Sy explained that batteries can capture available electricity during periods of surplus, including daytime solar output and release that stored energy during evening peaks, periods of reduced hydro output or other tight system conditions.
As such, early deployment is therefore intended as a proactive resilience measure rather than a reaction after supply conditions have already deteriorated.
He stressed, however, that batteries do not create electricity and cannot substitute for adequate generation over prolonged periods.
“The underlying structural requirement remains sufficient dependable generation capacity,” said Sy.
However, new generation projects take significantly longer to develop, finance, approve, construct and commission. Sy’s Project Airbag can only provide a bridge during that development period by reducing immediate system vulnerability.
The proper framing is therefore short-term transmission relief supporting — not replacing — long-term generation investment.
Sy took note of the situation in the Visayas, saying its current supply problem is driven by tight supply conditions and simultaneous generator outages. But instead of creating new power plants, Sy said battery storage can respond much faster which would then give NGCP an additional transmission-side tool to support the system during short-duration shortages and disturbances by storing available electricity and releasing it when the system is under greater pressure.
Project Airbag is a practical intervention, which Sy said the NGCP would willingly pursue within its own sphere while longer-term supply solutions are still being developed.
The value of battery storage is not limited to the current situation in the Visayas or to one El Niño cycle.
Big Boy avers the Philippine grid will continue to need greater flexibility as demand grows and the generation mix becomes more diverse and variable, adding that strategically located storage can provide fast-response support during disturbances, improve the use of existing transmission assets and strengthen overall grid resilience.
“As more solar and other variable renewable generation enters the system, storage can also help shift available energy from periods of high production to periods of higher demand,” the NGCP vice chairman said, adding that properly regulated battery storage can therefore form part of the country’s long-term transmission infrastructure and flexibility tool kit.
“The current supply challenge is acute and pervasive. Additional supply must therefore come from as many viable sources as possible, including those made possible by technological advances,” he said.
He, however, clarified the objective is not to concentrate or monopolize participation in the energy sector, but to disperse the burden of addressing the country’s supply requirements by enabling more participants and more sources to contribute.
On the other hand, it’s more of democratizing access to energy as a more flexible transmission system can accommodate energy from a wider range of sources regardless of scale, location or configuration — including large-scale generation, embedded generation, distributed energy resources, net-metered facilities, rooftop solar and other emerging sources.
With Project Airbag providing the storage and system flexibility needed to integrate these diverse and dispersed sources into the grid more effectively and reliably, households, businesses, distribution utilities, communities, agricultural users and other qualified participants can increasingly contribute to the country’s energy supply where technically and commercially feasible.
Over the longer term, Sy said enabling greater use of domestic and renewable energy resources can also help reduce the country’s exposure to price-volatile imported fuels and strengthen national energy security.
Well, with the batteries in place under Big Boy’s Airbag, ready access to energy all over the country is now within reach.