The Department of Energy (DOE) on Wednesday said it has awarded 1,267 projects with renewable service contracts with a total potential capacity of around 129,000 megawatts covering various technologies as of January 2024.
The DOE said in a statement the Philippines has abundant potential indigenous RE sources and the full development of the RE service contracts would benefit from partnerships among various private businesses.
The DOE shall conduct a business-to-business matching event on February 22 to assist foreign investors in finding local partners to support the country’s energy transition program.
“There is a heightened enthusiasm from international investors for unlocking the country’s RE potential, and we are linking them with financing institutions, development organizations, concerned government institutions, and engineering, procurements, and construction (EPC) companies for potential partnerships and access to financing,” Energy Secretary Raphael Lotilla said.
“This activity will also guide potential RE investors and developers in doing business in the country as we realize our goal of achieving a 35 percent share of RE in the power generation mix by 2030 and 50 percent by 2040,” he said.
Under the 2023-2050 Philippine Energy Plan, the DOE targets 35 percent RE share in power generation by 2030 and 50 percent by 2040.
DOE said this is expected to progress towards a clean energy scenario with increasing RE share coupled with the development of offshore wind energy (OSW), together with the expansion of the necessary port infrastructure for OSW, development of the smart and green grid plan, voluntary retirement or re-purposing of coal plants, implementation of energy efficiency and conservation measures and the use of electric vehicles.
“To meet our energy transition goal, we are utilizing this platform where participants can identify potential business partners, investors, expertise, technologies or business strengths,” the energy chief said.
“Our main objective for this event is to assist investors, listen and understand the challenges in implementing RE projects, and facilitate addressing their concerns,” Lotilla said.
The government has taken strategies and milestones crucial to the country’s green energy future and these efforts have been recognized in the 2023 BloombergNEF’s Climatescope Report, which ranks the Philippines fourth globally after India, China, and Chile as one of the most attractive emerging markets for RE investments.
The Philippines stands out as one of the few economies that have implemented auctions, feed-in-tariffs, net metering schemes, tax incentives, and a strong target for RE.