PH emerges as hot spot for RE investments

More foreign players are seen joining the local renewable market as the Philippines has been deemed the second most attractive emerging market for clean power investments, even beating economic powerhouse China.

This is according to the 2024 Climatescope Report by BloombergNEF, with the Philippines climbing by two notches from 4th place last year and a big jump from 20th spot in 2021.

BloombergNEF said the Philippines has been “on a growth path since 2021,” even noting “significant progress” as the government doubles down on its efforts to have more funds pour into the renewable sector amid its energy transition goals.

READ: PH’s renewable energy market seen to go fully online by December

“For the first time [it] has entered second place in the ranking, knocking mainland China down a slot,” it said.

India secured the top spot, followed by Chile, China and Brazil.

The report added that the Philippines was the only emerging market in the Asia-Pacific region to have all the renewable energy (RE) policies included in the survey that are in effect: auctions, net-metering schemes, tax incentives and a clean energy target.

The government has set an ambitious target of scaling up the contribution of clean energy in the power generation mix to 35 percent by 2030 from the 22 percent at present.

It also has the Green Energy Auction Program to further pump up investments in the industry.

“With power demand increasing and the market still heavily reliant on fossil fuels, however, the Philippines has room to grow its renewable energy capacity,” it said.

For the past five years, the report stated that the local renewable market welcomed $5.2 billion, 7 percent of which was invested by foreign players.

But with the opening of the industry to full foreign ownership, the Department of Energy (DOE) expects more investors from abroad to participate in the buildup of renewable capacity.

“While most of the renewable energy investment is domestic, we look forward to realizing the potential of increased foreign participation through recent reforms that allow 100 percent foreign equity in renewable energy projects. These measures aim to unlock greater investments in solar, wind, and hydro projects, fortifying the Philippines as a prime destination for clean energy ventures,” the DOE said in a statement Monday.

The DOE said that while it welcomed this recent recognition, more works need to be done.

“The journey, however, is far from over. With the peak demand growth assumptions of around 5.3 percent annually from 2024 to 2028, the need to further accelerate renewable energy development is still crucial to address the energy needs of the country’s expanding economy,” it said.

(2024/12/10-02:11)