Foreign firms corner 20 GW of RE projects

MANILA, Philippines — Around 20 gigawatts (GW) of renewable power projects in the Philippines are now in the hands of fully foreign-owned companies, according to the Department of Energy (DOE).

Speaking at a recent energy and grid summit, Energy Undersecretary Rowena Cristina Guevara said the potential capacity is expected to come from 75 contracts secured by foreign entities to date.

Of the total, 53 are for onshore wind contracts totaling 13,183.95 megawatts, while nine are offshore wind projects with a combined capacity of 5,510 MW.

The remaining 13 contracts are for solar projects with a total capacity of 1,297.52 MW.

The entry of fully foreign-owned firms follows the government’s lifting of the 40-percent ownership cap in the renewable energy (RE) sector. The move covers solar, wind, biomass, ocean and tidal energy projects.

“We recognize that private sector investment is central in achieving our targets. Hence, we are creating an enabling business environment to make RE more appealing to investors,” Guevara said.

According to Guevara, the liberalized foreign ownership rule has sent a “clear signal” to foreign investors that the “Philippines is open for clean energy business.”

Under the Philippine Energy Plan, the government wants to scale up the renewable electricity share in the power mix to 35 percent by 2030 and 50 percent by 2040.

To achieve these targets, Guevara earlier said around P20 trillion to P31 trillion in clean energy investments would be needed through 2040.

In a bid to facilitate investments in new and additional RE capacities, the DOE has launched the green energy auction (GEA) program.

This year alone, the DOE awarded over 6,600 MW of contracts under GEA-3 and attracted more than 9,400 MW of bids under GEA-4.

“Our energy mix tells a story. In 2008, renewables made up 35 percent. Today, only 22 percent… This is not failure — it is a call to action,” Guevara said.