What is an organization’s most valuable resource? For Aboitiz Power Corporation (AboitizPower), it’s people.
According to outgoing AboitizPower President and CEO Emmanuel Rubio, the success of the electric power industry lies in its talent pool of analysts, project managers, business developers, modelers, etc.
The topic of manpower was discussed at the 2024 Indo-Pacific Business Forum held in Manila last month.
Noting that talent is limited, the panelists at the forum encourage collaboration within the Indo-Pacific region.
“If we really would like to move forward, one of the things that we can consider is developing centers of excellence in different countries,” Rubio explained. “Maybe Thailand can specialize in one area (and so can) the Philippines, Indonesia, (and so on and so forth). Maybe that’s something we can actually consider in terms of regional cooperation. Talent is critical.”
As an example of this collaboration, AboitizPower and JERA Company Inc., the largest power generation company in Japan, are working on talent exchange and sharing manpower.
Transitioning to renewable energy
At the forum, Rubio also brought up the problem of grid stability with the use of solar and wind power. Unlike traditional fossil fuels, solar and wind generation is intermittent. Transmission connection is also an issue with hydro and wind energy.
“We need to accept the constraints of variable renewable energy (RE) but we also need to be creative in tapping solutions to make sure we are actually addressing the targets,” Rubio said.
While AboitizPower fully supports the national government’s push for 35% RE and 65% fossil fuel mix by 2030, and 50% RE by 2040, the power company recognizes the need for a transition plan to address intermittencies. The use of liquified natural gas could fill that need.
AboitizPower is committed to building 3,700 megawatts of new renewable energy capacity that will be expanded to 4,600 megawatts by 2030 through solar, wind, geothermal, hydro projects and energy storage systems.
Source: Regional cooperation can address limited energy transition workforce (aboitizpower.com)
