The Philippines is brimming with solar power, but its grid can't take the heat

The country—where the world's largest solar farm is being built—has the potential to become Southeast Asia’s biggest renewable-energy producer. But grid inefficiencies hamper broader usage

The Philippines is on track to become Southeast Asia’s largest green-energy producer, thanks to a 999% growth spurt in solar energy

Recent industry investments allowed the country to make large strides in solar-energy generation, storage, and panel manufacturing

Because of sluggish grid upgrades and weak implementation of customer-incentive schemes, nearly two-thirds of the Philippines’ solar capacity is wasted

Despite these bottlenecks, there’s a way forward for the country’s solar—though it may have to start small

The Philippines’ solar-power sector is about to undergo a seven-year growth spurt that will completely change the playing field. By 2030, the country’s solar capacity will likely increase increase Reuters Column: Philippines set to go from renewable laggard to leader in SE Asia Read more nearly 10X, or 17,809 megawatts (MW), and overtake Vietnam as Southeast Asia’s top renewable-energy producer, given its development pipeline stays on track.

The Philippines plans to implement projects at an unprecedented scale to install rooftop panels in villages, set up charging piles for electric vehicles in major cities, and develop solar farms spanning thousands of hectares.

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Isabel Martinez

Isa is based in Manila. She covers Southeast Asia's and the Philippines' media, employment and work, policy and investments, and other sectors reshaping consumer life.

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