Following the implementation by the Department of Energy of renewable energy (RE) of centric policies, international think tanks said the government can do more in taking advantage of clean energy investments.
A study released by Ernst and Young Global Ltd. (EY) placed the Philippines at the 28th spot in the 59th Renewable Energy Country Attractiveness Index (RECAI).
The RECAI recognized the United States and China as the top two markets based on the attractiveness of their RE investments, with the United Kingdom trailing at the third place.
The latest RECAI also highlighted that the Philippines, despite slipping a spot lower, is seeking to add 2 gigawatts of renewables capacity to meet the 35 percent RE target by 2030 set out in the proposed National Renewable Energy Program.
The report sees further opportunities for RE investments globally in offshore wind projects as well as with floating solar facilities.
“The trends supporting the deployment of renewables in Southeast Asia are similar to what is seen globally, i.e., the need to decarbonize the electricity sector and meet reductions in carbon emissions as well as to safeguard the security and stability of supply. Across the region, we have seen that renewable energy can provide competitive tariffs, ensuring a fair transition for society,” Gilles Pascual, EY Asean Power & Utilities leader, said in the report.
“However, many Southeast Asian countries are still experiencing strong growth in electricity demand, which makes it more challenging for regulators and utilities providers to decide on the best energy mix, the optimum weight of renewables in the energy mix and the supporting investments in the grid to accommodate a higher share of intermittent renewable energy,” Pascual added.
REN21’s Renewables 2022 Global Status Report has warned that if the global clean energy transition is not happening as efficiently as planned, the world may not be able to meet critical climate goals this decade.
“Although many more governments committed to net zero greenhouse gas emissions in 2021, the reality is that, in response to the energy crisis, most countries have gone back to seeking out new sources of fossil fuels and to burning even more coal, oil and natural gas,” Rana Adib, REN21 executive director, said in a statement.
Russia’s invasion of Ukraine that aggravated unprecedented global commodity shocks can be considered as the biggest energy crisis in modern history, the group added.
“Instead of putting renewables on the back burner and relying on fossil fuel subsidies to reduce people’s energy bills, governments should directly finance the installation of renewable energy technologies in vulnerable households. In the end, the renewable energy path will come out cheaper, despite the upfront investment,” Adib said.
REN21 is a global community of RE actors from science, academe, governments, non-governmental organizations and industry across all RE sectors.
A report made by Bain & Company and Temasek, with contributions from Microsoft, released earlier this month said stakeholders in Southeast Asia (SEA) must overcome gaps in investment and emission reduction while balancing attention on energy and food security and widespread inflationary concerns.
The report warned for the decade ahead, it is crucial to focus on directing investment flows to drive the most impact and delivery of carbon savings sooner.
“We remain bullish on the $1- trillion economic opportunities in SEA but we need to step up as a region to strengthen the investable market and increase green capital flows. To capture these opportunities, businesses must lead with innovative breakthroughs and collaborations across stakeholders and regulatory and market players need to focus transition efforts on deployment of ready solutions,” said Dale Hardcastle, partner and director of the Global Sustainability Innovation Center at Bain & Company, a global consultancy group that has presence in 63 offices in 38 countries.
The Philippines RE ambition lags behind Asean peers due to few concrete plans or policies despite a growing capital flow into the green economy, with focus on solar and wind projects, according to the study.
However, the study mentioned that the Philippines remains to have an attractive renewables sector driven by strong government support and large power potential.
As of end-2021, the country’s total installed on-grid capacity of RE from hydro, geothermal, solar, biomass and wind sources was at 7,913 megawatts (MW) equivalent to 29.5 percent of the energy mix.
The Philippines’ total installed off-grid capacity of RE for the similar period was at 51.89 MW equivalent to 8.2 percent of the mix. – Jed Macapagal
