Philippines now China’s 2nd biggest market for solar panels

MANILA, Philippines — The Philippines is now China’s second-largest export market for solar panels, as more Filipinos turn to solar power to cope with rising electricity costs, according to global energy think tank Ember.

In an analysis released yesterday, Ember said China has, so far this year, exported more solar panels to the Philippines than to any other country except the Netherlands, a key import hub for much of northwest Europe.

The Philippines has also surpassed Pakistan as a key destination for Chinese exports, with solar panel shipments to Manila exceeding 4,000 megawatts (MW) in the first four months of 2026 alone.

Ember noted that China has also begun exporting solar cells – the basic building blocks of solar panels – to the Philippines.

From October 2025 to March 2026, exports of solar cells to the Philippines reached $292 million (about P18 billion), up sharply from almost zero in previous periods, based on the latest China trade data cited.

The surge reflects growing demand in the Philippines, where households and businesses continue to grapple with some of the highest electricity prices in Southeast Asia.

This has prompted more Filipinos to adopt practical ways to cut power costs, including installing solar panels on the rooftops of their homes and offices.

Under the government’s net metering program, consumers with solar panels can even export excess electricity to the grid in exchange for credits on their power bills.

“The economics of rooftop solar are more attractive than ever, and its rapid rise is inevitable,” said David Jones, Ember chief analyst and lead author of the latest report.

Citing the United Nations’ commodity trade statistics database, the Ember report found that solar panel imports into the Philippines grew to $483 million (about P29.8 billion) in 2025 from the previous year’s $365 million (about P22.5 billion).

Notably, 98 percent of last year’s imports came from China.

Ember said the sharp increase points to accelerating rooftop solar adoption in the country.

“The government has an opportunity to carve its own path on rooftop solar, to pull the Philippines out of fossil dependency and onto a path of cheap, abundant electricity,” Jones said.

Amid the ongoing energy emergency, rooftop solar has also become more financially viable, with Ember estimating that households can now recover installation costs in just 3.1 years, down from about four years previously.

“Rooftop solar has two key advantages over wind and utility solar: it is built in days, not years, and with batteries, it reinforces the grid rather than stretching it,” Jones stressed.

The Philippines has about 1,846 MW of rooftop solar capacity, according to the Manila-based think tank Institute for Climate and Sustainable Cities.