Philippines

Through the procurement exercise, the power utility is seeking proposals to deploy around 600MW of capacity that will have to start providing power in February 2026, and another 250MW to begin commercial operations in February 2027.

The list of the eligible renewable energy producers also includes 36 hydropower facilities totaling 412.8MW, 36 biomass schemes with an aggregate capacity of 264.8MW, seven wind farms with a total power of 409.9MW, and six geothermal power plants totaling 218.5MW.

Solar Philippines is currently seeking off-takers for a project that could also sell power on the spot market. The project is part of a 1 GW pipeline that the company announced in December.

Australia’s Star Scientific has signed a deal with the Department of Energy in the Philippines to use its hydrogen tech. The partnership could see Star Scientific transform every coal-fired power plant in the nation to green hydrogen, while also using the tech to provide desalinated water.

Solar Philippines is planning to deploy several unsubsidized solar plants in the provinces of Batangas, Cavite, Nueva Ecija, and Tarlac.

There are at least three PV projects exceeding 1 GW in size that are now under review in the Philippines, according to data from the country’s Department of Energy

The country’s National Irrigation Administration will bet on floating PV and solar-powered irrigation to improve water and energy supply. The Pantabangan and Casecnan dams, in the province of Nueva Ecija in the Central Luzon region, have been identified as ideal locations for floating solar.

PV systems have helped farmers in the Philippines become less dependent on rain. Projects in Camarines Sur have shown pumping water with solar is not only cheap but can also raise rice yield.

The power company has launched three procurement auctions for a total of 2.9 GW of power generation capacity. Renewable energy companies are among the bidders to have expressed interest in providing electricity.

Two reports have concluded rooftop solar may replace PV parks as the main growth driver in the two big Asian markets over the next decade. Support programs for utility scale PV in both countries no longer seem attractive enough.