Trump’s ‘drill, baby, drill’ not scaring off clean energy movers in the Philippines

Energy Undersecretary Rowena Guevara says good things continue to happen in the Philippines despite US President Donald Trump’s pronouncements. (File photo)

MANILA, Philippines — The Philippines and other countries in the region can still maintain their current momentum in clean energy expansion. However, a potential slowdown is in sight amid US President Donald Trump’s controversial moves affecting clean power efforts.

According to Energy Undersecretary Rowena Cristina Guevara, nations in Asia can still find strong backing among themselves.

“I look at it as an opportunity for the region to flourish in renewable energy. We can have partnerships among us,” Guevara said at the recently held Asia CEO Renewable Energy Forum.

“And we do have leaders in Asia, like China, Japan, Korea and India, [already] leading the renewable energy market,” she added.

Guevara said that despite all the noise from the recent pronouncements of Trump, the government may welcome a fresh investment from the US. This is so, particularly for the local renewable energy sector.

READ: PH aspires to be next green power paradise

“So while all of these things are happening on the other side of the world, good things continue to happen in our little part of the country,” Guevara said. She did not reveal detail on the investment.

Shortly after his return to the White House in January, Trump had decided to exit from the Paris climate agreement. It is an international treaty that seeks to reduce greenhouse emissions. On top of this, Trump had repeatedly criticized clean energy sources, such as solar and wind.

While attacking renewables, Trump expressed support for fossil fuel production with his famous line: “We will drill, baby, drill.”

Energy worries linger

An executive from the private sector, however, said Trump’s policies were “affecting the sentiment and creating headwind to energy transition.”

According to ACEN president and chief executive Eric Francia, elevated interest rates, which lead to more expensive borrowing costs, could put pressure on companies’ financing for renewable energy projects.

Francia also told Inquirer earlier that more capital was flowing into fossil fuel. Some major firms are abandoning or halting their clean energy targets.

But Francia remains bullish, citing the “need to add energy sources with the rising demand under the economic growth.”

ACEN has about 7,000 megawatts (MW) of power generation capacity. It is pushing for the early retirement of its coal operations in the country.

Francia said ACEN was committed to pursuing this in a “responsible manner.” He was referring to the replacement of coal-based output with “reliable and affordable clean energy.”

“You can call that very idealistic and so forth. But now is not the time to give up on energy transition,” he said.

Energy shift is ‘irreversible’

Maria Theresa Capellan, founder and chair of the Philippine Solar and Storage Energy Alliance (PSSEA), said it would be impossible to “reverse” the efforts initiated for energy transition. PSSEA consists of stakeholders, including manufacturers and developers, in the solar industry.

However, a slowdown, especially in funding, is anticipated, Capellan said.

“It will only be a slowdown, but not a reversal of a transition,” she said. She added that “what is important in the manufacturing sector, I believe, is the costs. Economics will dictate the momentum of this transition. It is not politics.”

Capellan said industry players can find comfort in the aggressiveness of China. Beijing is the major rival of the United States’ trade war.

“I think we cannot ignore that China’s effort…is significant… It has resulted in the very significant and phenomenal reduction of prices of value,” she said.

China has been leading the world in renewable energy development, aggressively installing wind and solar power plants. 

In 2024 alone, China was able to exceed its target of deploying at least 1.2 million MW from clean power sources. This was six years ahead of the deadline set by its president, Xi Jinping.

This was echoed by Oliver Tan, president and chief executive of Citicore Renewable Energy Corp. The company seeks to build 5,000 MW of renewables capacity by 2028.

“If you look at US investment… related to energy transition, it actually has been flattish even before the second return of President Trump to the White House. It’s primarily led by China,” Tan said in the same forum.

Tan also shrugged off fears that the US’ maneuvers would spoil the capital push for clean energy.

“At the end of the day, smart money will eventually find its way to areas where there’s a compelling investment thesis. And the Philippines today is a very compelling investment thesis for funds that will eventually come,” he added.

The Philippine government has an ambitious target of scaling up renewable energy’s share in the power generation mix to at least 35 percent by 2030. It is currently at 22 percent.