THE renewables outlook to 2025 for the Philippines and some of its neighbors is for growth in the solar and wind-energy industries, with regulation seen as the main source of uncertainty, the International Energy Agency (IEA) said in a report issued Tuesday.
“PV (photovoltaic) expansion in Indonesia, the Philippines and Thailand will gain momentum, but regulatory and administrative challenges hamper faster growth,” the IEA said in its 2020 Renewables report made available to BusinessWorld.
The report did not outline the specific challenges faced by solar projects.
As part of the Philippine renewable portfolio standards (RPS) scheme, the government will conduct auctions for the supply of green energy, but implementation remains a “forecast uncertainty” for wind-powered projects, the IEA said.
In July, the Department of Energy announced that it would open its first-ever green energy auction to help electricity providers reach their RPS goals. It is scheduled to be held next year.
“Renewables are resilient to the COVID crisis but not to policy uncertainties. Governments can tackle these issues to help bring about a sustainable recovery and accelerate clean energy transitions,” IEA Executive Director Fatih Birol said in a separate statement.
According to the IEA report, the auctions are expected to “drive up PV growth, with annual deployment reaching almost 0.5 GW (gigawatts) through 2022 and a further increase to 0.8 GW during 2023-25.”
The scheme is also expected to increase the Philippines’ wind power capacity from 2022 onwards.
The IEA said investor appetite for renewables remains strong. Between January and October, it estimated that global auctioned renewable capacity rose 15% year on year.
It also noted that shares of publicly-listed renewable equipment manufacturers and project developers have been “outperforming in most major stock market indices and the overall energy sector.” In October, shares of solar companies worldwide were more than double their year-earlier levels, the IEA said.
According to Mr. Birol, renewables are set to become the largest source of electricity generation worldwide, supplying one-third of the world’s power in 2025.
The IEA examines the impacts of energy issues across the globe. Although the Philippines is not an IEA member, it was included in this year’s global report. — Angelica Y. Yang
