Shift to renewable energy fostering new investments

Increasing support for renewable energy in the Philippines is encouraging more investments in the industry, with nonhydropower technology expected to spur growth in the next nine years, according to a Fitch Solutions study.

The think tank noted that the private sector was reducing its stakes in coal power, which accounts for the majority of the country’s power source at 57 percent.

“Private sector companies in the power sector have also made commitments to expand their portfolio of renewable power projects, and we believe that it reflects the growing sentiment by the power companies to expand the market’s renewable power capacity over the coming years,” Fitch Solutions said.

The Ayala-led ACEN Corp. is among the power industry leaders that have committed to increasing clean energy generation and capacity.

The company recently said it sought to raise its renewable power capacity from 4 gigawatt-hours (GWh) to 20 GWh by 2030, following its divestment from the coal-fired plant of South Luzon Thermal Energy Corp. last year.

Meanwhile, Aboitiz Power Corp. will be spending P190 billion to increase its clean energy capacity over the coming years.

Fitch Solutions said this growing interest in clean energy could increase the Philippines’ net installed capacity to 45.4 GW by 2032.

At present, the country has 29.5 GW of installed capacity.

It also expects that the majority of this growth would come from the nonhydropower renewables sector. INQ