Dumaguete City on its way to Net Zero by 2050 through the Renewable Energy Strategic Roadmap

RENDER’s work in Dumaguete last September created significant progress in both establishing the coastal city as one of its places of work and supporting the local government unit (LGU) in implementing enduring energy transformation strategies. The Dumaguete LGU was presented with a strategic roadmap under the USAID Energy Secure Philippines (ESP) hosted by the Manila Observatory and implemented by Verne Energy Solutions.

An Energy Service Company (ESCO) is an entity offering services and products to design and develop energy efficiency projects such as energy saving strategies and optimization of energy utilization. Brought to Dumaguete City, the ESCO model enables its LGU to overcome the barriers such as technical capacity and access to funds in its transition to renewable energy (RE).

John Altomonte of Verne Energy Solutions, Dumaguete’s ESCO partner, emphasized capital saving through the energy projects. Traditionally, LGUs and business owners, as partners, do not prioritize investing in energy efficiency due to the low returns and program apprehensions. Hence, the ESCO acts as the project developer that provides the technical know-how and capacity for the transition. The projects do not require any capital outflow from the LGU since the ESCO only profits after the installation of the energy infrastructure. In other words, the partner’s savings become the ESCO’s revenue creating a mutually beneficial partnership between the parties.

Dumaguete is in the momentum of becoming more proactive in this transition towards renewable energy to align with Negros Oriental’s goal of being powered with 100% renewable energy and having net zero emissions by 2050. Negros Oriental is the first province in the country to enact a clean and renewable energy ordinance which is not only geared towards RE-oriented policymaking but also towards provisions of incentives and regulations for clean energy investors.

As the provincial capital and the most-populated city in Negros Oriental, Dumaguete City exudes so much potential in terms of financial growth and sustainability. In 2007, it embraced the use of electric vehicles (EV) in its vow to innovation and clean energy. The coastal city is endowed with natural resources enough to sustain the needs of its residents and extends to cater its growing tourism market. It is populated by middle class citizens with good buying power which attracts more businesses and investments. This abundance of resources and opportunities show that the city is ready to transition to a climate-resilient economy.

Through the Manila Observatory, the Dumaguete City LGU was granted the ESCO Energy Efficiency Conservation Innovations Grants under Contract Mechanism from Energy Secure Philippines, a project of the United States Agency for International Development. Through this, the LGU is expected to better comply with the Government Energy Management Program (GEMP) and win an Energy Efficiency Excellence (EEE) award along with various incentives.

In partnership with Verne Energy Solutions, the project has five phases namely (1) Multi-level Policy Integration and Analysis, (2) Energy Transition Roadmap, (3) Energy Baselining and Monitoring, (4) ESCO Model Pilot Project, and (5) Communications and Capacity Development.

At present, Dumaguete is rolling out the Energy Transition Roadmap which aims to achieve reliability and security needed for the transitioning in the aspects of energy, transportation, waste management, and buildings. Verne Energy Solution has provided the LGU strategy matrices for the four aspects. These strategies include reducing red tape for sustainable energy projects and processes, installation of solar panels, promotion and support to modernization and utilization of electric vehicles, and investing in sustainable waste-to-energy systems.

The promise of this energy transitioning to Dumaguete City ranges from improved human welfare to city productivity. The transition requires investments in sustainable materials, hence, increasing employment and the demand across economic sectors, especially in the construction and manufacturing, and thus, creating a positive impact on the city’s income. The energy transition aims to minimize air pollution caused primarily by fossil fuels and other unsustainable energy sources. Through improved air quality, the citizens would have better health conditions. Both of these in addition to the guaranteed savings await the LGU in the long run in its expenses on energy consumption. This saving can be used in other social projects to address the needs of its constituents.

Cities outside metropolitan areas like Dumaguete City have trouble accessing funds for energy transitioning projects as most are funded by private partnerships and a few public funds. Hence, the Manila Observatory, through RENDER, highlights the use of the ESCO model in Dumaguete’s strategic roadmap since it is not capital-intensive and is intended to account for only a little portion of the LGU’s budget.

At large, the United States (US) is a good example of a country that is making significant progress in its transitions as seen in the Inflation Reduction Act of 2022 (IRA) which directs new federal spending toward boosting clean energy and reducing carbon emissions. “The transition is systemic and needs a whole-of-nation approach. Levers for transition have been top-down national policy incentives,” Altomonte underscored. Other nations such as Australia and China have also been performing productively with their national policies and incentives.

As a benchmark city, Dumaguete’s approaching success story of becoming the first LGU to transition to purely renewable energy despite the challenges in terms of policy making and implementation would pave the way for more LGUs to follow the same path. Through this convening, the Philippines, as a country, can transition to renewable energy by showing that it can transform one locale at a time.

[1] Anj Cayabyab is an Applied Mathematics senior from the Ateneo de Manila University. Her interests revolve around transport science, climate finance, data science, and children’s literature. 

[2] Ari Tanglao is a climate advocate who has been actively pursuing ways to mitigate climate change since 2020. She lives on a fully plant-based diet as her personal action to reduce emissions. Since she majors in Management Engineering, Ari believes she can bring about sustainable transformation in the private sector.