PH INVESTED $1B IN RENEWABLES IN 2016

THE Philippines has significantly increased its investment in renewable energy ( RE) sources, specifically in solar projects, in 2016, a study has shown.

The country invested $1 billion in renewables last year, with solar power making up almost all of the capacity investment, Perry Stoneman, Capgemini’s executive vice president and global head of energy and utilities, told attendees of the 3rd Meralco (Manila Electric Co.) Technology and Innovation summit (MTECH) on Friday.

Stoneman said that, based on the World Energy Markets Observatory ( WEMO) research released by the multinational company earlier this month, the Philippines invested more in RE than its Southeast Asian counterparts last year.

“In fact, [it’s] 30 percent more than any of the countries in the region,” he added.

The WEMO study said the Philippines remains an active RE market, with a “5- gigawatt pipeline of wind, solar, geothermal, biomass and small hydro projects under development.”

Developers are scrambling “to take advantage of a feed-in-tariff [FiT] before it ran out of quota,” it added.

As outlined in Republic Act (RA) 9513, or the Renewable Energy Act of 2008, the FiT system is a scheme aimed at accelerating the development of emerging RE sources. It includes electricity produced from wind, solar, ocean, run-of-river hydropower and biomass.