Makati city: The need to maximize opportunities to boost domestic renewable energy (RE) supply is now a must as demand growth surpasses the expansion of supply, Energy Secretary Sharon Garin said.

According to Philippines News Agency, in a video shared by the Department of Energy (DOE) on Tuesday, Garin, in her speech during the opening of the three-day Foundational Infrastructure for Responsible Use of Small Modular Reactor Technology (FIRST) Conference on SMR Deployment for the Philippines at a hotel in Makati City on Monday, said the Marcos administration is committed to boosting RE supply, such as nuclear energy.

'In his State of the Nation Address in July, President Ferdinand R. Marcos, Jr. declared that it is time to revisit nuclear energy production to strengthen our energy security and bring down the cost of electricity,' she said.

Garin said the Philippines' nuclear energy program is now taking shape as policies, legal frameworks, and institutions like the Philippine Atomic Energy Regulatory Authority (PhilATOM) have been put in place to ensure safe and sustainable nuclear power in the country.

'Our target is to have nuclear energy in the Philippines within the next 10 years. This direction is likewise being shaped by the realities of our energy sector. The Philippines' electricity demand is outpacing supply growth,' she said.

Garin said demand growth is driven by the continued expansion of the economy, industrialization, digitalization, and development of communities.

'At the same time, we are reducing our vulnerability to external fuel and price shocks, and continuing to build a cleaner, more diversified energy mix. We want to be independent, but we also want the transition to clean energy," she said.

"Renewable energy will remain at the center of this transition," she added.

The DOE targets to increase the share of RE in the country's power mix to around 35 percent by 2030, 50 percent by 2040, and more in the succeeding years.

As of 2025, RE accounts for around 25 percent of the country's power mix.

Garin noted that 'as more variable renewable energy enters the system, we must also strengthen the broader ecosystem needed to keep electricity available when and where consumers need it.'

'It is within this broader energy landscape that nuclear energy will play a role in our future power mix, whether through small modular reactors or the potential development of new conventional nuclear power plants. We are open to both,' she said.

The DOE chief said they intend to have the Integrated Nuclear Infrastructure Review, which is being formulated with the help of the International Atomic Energy Agency, by end of 2027 'so that we can start licensing and constructing already.