Philippines needs 20 GW in new renewables to meet clean energy target by 2040

THE PHILIPPINES will need an additional 20 gigawatts (GW) of renewable energy (RE) capacity to meet its goal of sourcing half of its power supply from renewables, a gap that upcoming auctions are expected to help address.

- By Sheldeen Joy Talavera

“According to our projections, the Philippines will need roughly 20 GW to reach 50% (share) by 2040,” Energy Secretary Sharon S. Garin told reporters in mixed Filipino and English last week.

The Philippines, which currently relies on coal for power generation, is targeting to increase the share of RE in the national power mix to 35% by 2030, and eventually to 50% by 2040.

To move towards this goal, Ms. Garin said the country needs to deliver several rounds of green energy auction (GEA), a government program where renewable energy developers bid for contracts to supply electricity at the lowest possible price.

Since the first round of GEA was launched in 2022, the Department of Energy (DoE) has so far completed four auctions, which are expected to deliver more than 20 GW of capacity through 2035.