Can renewables hit the 35% power target?

The renewable energy (RE) landscape is becoming increasingly competitive, as both the public and private sectors pursue technologies that could scale up efforts to reach a 35-percent clean energy share in the generation mix over the next five years.

- BY GABRIELL CHRISTEL GALANG

How is it shaping up so far, and is this goal still achievable?

During the first half of 2025, the Department of Energy (DOE) finally kicked off the third round of the Green Energy Auction (GEA-3), a program specifically intended for impounding hydropower, pumped-storage hydropower, and geothermal technologies.

GEA-3, which was initially scheduled to run in 2024, was pushed to the first quarter of 2025. The planned installation capacity eventually stood at 7,530 megawatts (MW) from 14 submitted projects.

Four months later, the DOE awarded multiple projects scheduled to begin generating power between 2025 and 2035—a 10-year leeway to accommodate larger developments, as these technologies typically require years of preparation before starting operations.

Even before the third RE bidding concluded, the agency saw no signs of slowing down its auction programs, as it unveiled GEA-4 to bid out ground-mounted, rooftop, and floating solar projects, as well as onshore wind and integrated RE and storage systems (IRESS).

While the latest round bore similarities to GEA-1 and GEA-2, the DOE awarded more winners by the second half of the year, eventually reaching a total subscribed capacity of around 10 gigawatts (GW). Most of these developers focused on ground-mounted solar projects.

Beyond government auctions, 2025 also saw massive private-sector RE ventures, with Meralco PowerGen Corp. (MGen) pioneering what could be the country's—and possibly the world's—largest solar and battery energy storage project, covering 3,500 hectares (ha) of land. The 2,500-megawatt-peak (MWp) solar facility continued development throughout the year and remains on track to begin commercial operations for its first phase by 2026.