Energy Secretary Sharon S. Garin
The Department of Energy (DOE) is confident it will meet its renewable energy (RE) generation targets of 35 percent by 2030 and 50 percent by 2040, as outlined in the Power Development Plan (PDP).
On the sidelines of the Philippine Energy Transition Dialogue 2025, Energy Secretary Sharon Garin noted that the private sector and even households are showing strong support for this goal.
“I’m very confident with that… It’s not just the government that wants it,” she said. “I think the private sector really wants it. More people, not just businesses but households, want their energy to come from clean energy.”
“Because this is a private-government endeavor, and I think we should be confident that we’ll have a greener energy source by 2030.”
Following a recent budget hearing at the House of Representatives, the government reiterated its commitment to the PDP goals, highlighting various financing mechanisms and encouraging more RE investments.
According to Garin, there’s ample funding for clean energy projects. “Our local banks, our international banks want to fund green energy projects,” she said. “Now, what we’re trying to figure out is to transition our fossil-based power plants into green power plants. It will cost the developer to transition to a new power plant.”
The Energy chief also mentioned ongoing initiatives, such as drafting a carbon credit policy to enable the trading of carbon credits as a financing tool, and pursuing multilateral and bilateral agreements with other countries.
Energy Undersecretary Rowena Guevara shared additional strategies to increase the RE share, including resolving infrastructure gaps and policy reforms to attract more renewable projects.
However, the DOE recently delayed the fifth Green Energy Auction (GEA-5), which was set to feature offshore wind (OSW) projects for the first time. The auction has been rescheduled for the fourth quarter as the agency reviews new provisions in the terms of reference and addresses concerns over the proposed non-price criteria.
Last week, Energy Undersecretary Mylene Capongcol stated that the target for offshore wind is around 3.3 gigawatts (GW), which is expected to be completed within three years.