Philippines set to become top tier renewable energy market

Reuters:

The Philippines is set to leapfrog Vietnam as the main renewable energy producer in Southeast Asia, thanks to an aggressive project development pipeline that will result in a 15-fold boost in combined solar and wind power by 2030.

The Philippines currently ranks a distant second in the region in combined solar and wind power generation, with 1,766 megawatts (MW) of installed capacity, compared with 12,379 MW in Vietnam, data from Global Energy Monitor (GEM) shows.

By 2030, however, the Philippines will have added 17,809 MW of solar capacity and 7,856 MW of wind power to emerge as the top green power producer in Southeast Asia, one of the world's fastest-growing economic regions.

The rapid expansion in renewable energy supplies comes at a potentially critical time for the country's energy sector.

Philippine power producers relied on coal for nearly 60% of their electricity generation in 2022 and have increased coal-fired power emissions by more than 40% since 2017 to fuel the country's rapidly growing economy, which expanded by more than 7% in 2022.

[Gavin Maguire]

More: Column: Philippines set to go from renewable laggard to leader in SE Asia