The Philippines avoided $78 million (P4.53 billion) in fossil fuel spending in the first half of 2022 despite the fact solar energy accounted for only 1.7 percent of generation in the country, according to a study released yesterday by Ember, the Centre for Research on Energy and Clean Air (CREA) and the Institute for Energy Economics and Financial Analysis (IEEFA).
The study highlighted that $34 billion worth of fuel savings were generated due to solar energy in China, India, Japan, South Korea, Vietnam and Thailand.
The report found majority of the estimated savings are in China, where solar power met 5 percent of the total electricity demand and avoided approximately $21 billion in additional coal and gas imports, followed by Japan with $5.6 billion and India with $4.2 billion.
It added meeting the current targets for solar capacity in 2030 could enable the seven countries to further avoid at least $44 billion in fuel costs annually but will require grid stabilization, innovative policy reforms to unlock investments and collaboration with the private sector.
“Asian countries need to tap into their massive solar potential to rapidly transition away from costly and highly-polluting fossil fuels. The potential savings from existing solar alone are enormous, and expediting their deployment alongside other clean energy sources such as wind, will be crucial for energy security in the region. While ambitious targets are important, follow through will be the key thing to watch moving forward,” said Isabella Suarez, CREA analyst for Southeast Asia, in a statement.
The study also said growth in solar power capacities will be most pronounced in China where solar capacity installations are expected to reach 1,200 gigawatts by 2030 but significant growth in India, Indonesia and the Philippines are also expected.
However, the study emphasized it will require a “tailored” national policy innovation, investments in energy storage as well as flexibility and collective economic and technological cooperation “on a grand scale” to be achieved.
Based on data from the Department of Energy, as of end-August 2022, the total installed capacity of solar power plants for both on-grid and off-grid in the Philippines is at 1,491 megawatts or 5.4 percent of the mix.
