The Philippines’ renewable energy (RE) capacity target by 2030 reflects the highest growth rate in Southeast Asia, according to a study released by the International Energy Agency (IEA).
The IEA report titled Southeast Asia Energy Outlook 2024, however, said the Philippines RE capacity by 2030 is only the third highest among the countries in the region.
The report said based on 2022 installed RE capacity compared to policy targets for 2030, the Philippines’s RE production is set to surge by 3.7 percent which is partly due to low base effect.
This is compared to 3.6 percent RE growth rate by 2030 of Indonesia, 1.9 percent of Thailand and 1.8 percent of Vietnam.
The rest of Southeast Asia’s RE addition by 2030 is pegged at a growth rate of 1.7 percent.
The report said full implementation of planned capacity additions by these countries would see RE capacity increasing from about 110 gigawatts (GW) in 2022 to 225 GW by 2030.
Of that, 33 percent will be in Vietnam, 27 percent in Indonesia and 18 percent in the Philippines.
“In November 2022, the government updated the National Renewable Energy Program 2020-2040 to target a 35 percent share of renewable energy in the generation mix by 2030. The Green Energy Auction (GEA) Program and renewable portfolio standards (RPS) are the main policy tools to achieve these goals,” the report released this week said.
Under GEA, RE producers compete for incentivized fixed power rates by offering their lowest price for a certain capacity from a specific RE technology.
RPS mandates electricity suppliers to source a portion of their requirements from RE currently set at 2.52 percent per annum.
“Also, higher foreign ownership of renewable energy assets was allowed in November 2022, which should encourage international investment. Increasing investments in grid infrastructure and streamlining permitting would allow the Philippines to accelerate renewables deployment,” the IEA study added.
