The Global Wind Energy Council (GWEC) has published a new report saying that the Philippines is one of the emerging wind power markets in Asia, with a solid pipeline and possibilities for wind power projects.
According to the Global Wind Report 2022, new wind capacity is likely to come from Japan, Pakistan, and rising Southeast Asian markets such as the Philippines, Laos, Thailand, and Indonesia, as well as Central Asian countries such as Uzbekistan and Kazakhstan.
Under existing regulations, GWEC predicts that 557 GW of new capacity will be installed globally over the next five years, or more over 110 GW of new installations each year through 2026.
Southeast Asia and Central Asia are expected to account for 16% and 8% of the additional capacity projected for this region over the next five years, said the report.
While wind energy development in the Philippines has stopped in the last four years due to a lack of ambitious targets or projects and weak policy coordination, GWEC believes the country’s energy transition will be a critical driving force for large-scale renewable energy deployment.
According to data from the country’s Department of Energy (DOE), renewable energy accounts for only 21% of the country’s overall power generation mix as of end-2020, while coal accounts for 57.2%.
Yet, the situation is likely to change as the DOE’s current Philippine Energy Plan (PEP) calls for a 35% renewable share of the power mix by 2030, rising to 50% by 2040. Over the following two decades, this would necessitate an extra 73.9 GW of renewable capacity.
The Philippines has implemented various pro-renewable measures as part of its energy transition toward energy self-sufficiency, said GWEC. This includes the upcoming Green Energy Auction Program (GEAP), which is considered as an opportunity to reactivate the dormant wind and solar markets.
According to National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) conservative assumptions for 2020, the Philippines has an onshore wind technological potential of 76 GW, mainly in northern and central Batanes and Luzon areas.
GWEC also stated that by 2040, the country has the capacity to develop 3 GW of offshore wind in a low-growth scenario and up to 21 GW in a high-growth scenario. It may have up to 40 GW of offshore wind projects by 2050.
