Nine Chinese companies have committed to jointly invest US$13.76 billion in the Philippines' renewable energy sector to develop solar, wind and energy storage projects.
Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. met last week with the chief executives of a number of Chinese companies, both those that already have operations in the Philippines and those that wish to establish a foothold in the country.
The companies that pledged to invest include Chinese state-owned conglomerate China Energy Corporation, China Power International Development Corporation, SPIC Guangxi Power Corporation, a subsidiary of State Power Investment Group, China Machinery Engineering Corporation, China Guanghuang Nuclear Corporation, China Huadian Engineering Corporation, environmental engineering services company China Tianying, Daikin Heavy Industries and Mingyang Smart Energy Group.
We are very pleased with the enthusiasm shown by these Chinese companies during the roundtable," said Raphael Lotilla, Secretary of Energy of the Philippines. They are optimistic about our policy reforms and direction [in the renewable energy sector], especially the opening up of 100 per cent foreign ownership in wind and solar projects."
Solar Philippines plans to build a 4GW solar project in the Philippines as the country's renewable energy sector continues to grow
At the conference, Lotilla reportedly pledged to address issues facing the Philippine energy sector to ensure the safety of investors. One of these issues, grid connection, was seen as a critical one. The State Grid Corporation of China holds a 40% stake in the Philippines' national grid operator.
President Marcos also expressed his desire to build a solar, wind and storage manufacturing site in the Philippines with the support of investors.
The US is one of the world's largest importers of solar modules. A recent US investigation of solar manufacturers in Cambodia, Thailand, Vietnam and Malaysia found that a large number of photovoltaic devices produced in these regions violated US anti-dumping and countervailing tariff provisions.
The Philippines is aiming for 35% renewable energy by 2030 and 50% by 2040, the latter requiring the country to add 52GW of renewable energy capacity over the next 17 years.
In its September analysis, think tank Ember noted that the Philippines is one of Asia's preeminent economies. Its solar development is expected to grow at an average annual rate of 22% until 2030. In fact, solar PV projects in the Philippines grew tenfold from 2021-22, from 1.3GW in March 2021 to 13GW of planned projects a year later.
PV project developer Solar Philippines announced plans in August 2022 to build the "world's largest" 4GW of solar projects.