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Saturday-Sunday, April 4-5, 2026 Vol. 21 No. 173
RE-ACHING FOR THE MOON?
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Despite setbacks, government insists ambitious goals for renewable energy can be met
AT dusk, the Bangui Wind Farm stands in silhouette, its turbines quietly feeding the grid as the country pushes toward ambitious renewable energy goals. Even with project delays and recent contract cancellations, the government says a 35% RE share by 2030 remains within reach. JOEL C.PAREDES
T
By Lenie Lectura
HE renewable energy (RE) goals of the Philippines will be achieved, possibly earlier than the targets set, despite significant, ongoing setbacks. When the Renewable Energy Act of 2008 was passed, the National Renewable Energy Program (NREP) 2011-2030 targeted an increase from 5,438 megawatts (MW) in 2010 to over 15,304 MW renewable energy (RE) by 2030. Today, the country’s installed RE capacity is at 10,533 MW and by next year, it will probably exceed the target set in 2010, according to Department of Energy (DOE) Undersecretary Rowena Guevara. But there are new RE goals released under the NREP 20202040, targeting an RE share of 35 percent in the power mix by 2030, which requires an additional installed capacity of roughly 15,304MW—nearly triple the 2010 level. By 2040, the goal is set at 50 percent RE. This means an estimated 52,826MW more to be built on top of the 2030 target. Guevara said this updated target is part of the country’s accelerating clean energy transition. As of 2024, the DOE said RE accounted for about 22 percent of the mix. With four more years to go, is the 2030 target still achievable?
No specific goals in ’70s
Guevara recalled that in the 1970s there were no specific RE goals set. “To the credit of the energy sector at that time until 2008, the Philippines reached 35 percent RE in the energy mix,” driven by massive investments in geothermal and hydroelectric power to combat the oil crisis. So why did the numbers shrink? Since fossil-fueled power
“We will reach our 35-percent target by 2030 and 50 percent by 2040.”—DOE Undersecretary Rowena Guevara, on the Philippines’ renewable energy goals under the updated National Renewable Energy Program 2020-2040
projects—mostly coal generation—were also built from 2008 to the present and were easier and cheaper to build, by 2022, RE share in the generation mix went down to 22 percent, Guevara said. That’s why the current administration formulated an energy transition that accelerates renewables. “Note that we changed the target from power in megawatts to energy in megawatt hours and based on RE projects that are coming online, we will reach our 35-percent target by 2030 and 50 percent by 2040,” Guevara said.
STEAM rises from a geothermal facility on Negros Island, a cornerstone of the Philippines’ renewable energy mix. With current RE capacity at 10,533 MW, the government is accelerating efforts to meet a 35% share by 2030 and 50% by 2040, even as grid constraints and project setbacks challenge progress. ALEXEY KORNYLYEV | DREAMSTIME.COM
Other setbacks
OTHER key setbacks include connection bottlenecks, slow project deliveries, the permitting process, and the list goes on. But notably and very recently was the cancellation of multiple solar power contracts, mostly held
FIRST tranche of Battery Energy Storage System (BESS) now delivers 450MWhr to the grid at night which represents the largest operational BESS available in the Philippines. PHOTO COURTESY OF MERALCO POWERGEN CORP.
by Solar Philippines Power Project Holdings, Inc. (SPPPHI), founded by Leandro Leviste. Terminated and relinquished RE contracts reached 163, equivalent to about 18 gigawatts (GW) or 18,000 MW. The DOE said 64 percent of the terminated contracts are under SPPPHI and these represent more than 11 GW or 11,000 MW. The Center for Energy, Ecology and Development (CEED) said the termination paves the way for the government to closely review why the projects are failing to meet their targets. The group urged the DOE to act on the terminated contracts by awarding them to qualified developers.
This setback has prompted the DOE to craft a catch-up plan, which includes a 10-year GEA (Green Energy Auction) program designed to deliver at least 25GW of capacity. “Solar PH would have set us back if we did not start allowing 100-percent foreign investment in RE in November 2022. It [cancellations] might have been an opportunity cost, but our recent GEA (Green Energy Auction) programs prove that we can still overcome the setback,” said Guevara. The Institute for Climate and Sustainable Cities (ICSC) said prioritizing RE will protect the country from the volatility of global Continued on A2
PESO EXCHANGE RATES n US 60.6780 n JAPAN 0.3824 n UK 80.2709 n HK 7.7402 n CHINA 8.8091 n SINGAPORE 47.1909 n AUSTRALIA 41.8678 n EU 70.1316 n KOREA 0.0404 n SAUDI ARABIA 16.1704 Source: BSP (April 1, 2026)