Government policies that support the installation of more renewable energy (RE) projects make the Philippines attractive to foreign investors, an official of the British Embassy Manila said.
British businesses are willing to place their funds in the Philippines and are just looking for opportunities, Lloyd Cameron, the British Embassy’s economic and climate counsellor, said in an interview on September 18 night after the forum on clean energy transmission hosted by the British Chamber of Commerce Philippines in Makati City.
Cameron said the government has given a strong market signal and “you’ve got really concrete action from the government, whether that’s the green lanes or recent developments, the extension of leases, exploring, making right-of-way, facilitating right-of-way issues, and anti-red tape.”
“I think it starts with, there's a government in place that sent a really strong signal to the market that it wants to grow renewable energy capacity in the country, and that the Philippines is open for business and open for investment,” he told journalists.
With the Philippines being the second among emerging markets in the world for RE, according to market reports, Cameron said it is not impossible for investors to take a good look into investing in the country.
“It's a whole-of-government approach, and then it's the passion and the ingenuity of Philippine businesses, as well, who can be partners in that,” he said.
RE accounts for about 22 percent of the country’s total energy mix, which the Department of Energy (DOE) targets to increase to 35 percent by 2030 and 50 percent by 2040.
DOE Solar Energy Management Division chief Edward Neri, said during the event that this goal is backed by several measures, such as easing the foreign ownership limit on RE investments, giving preferential dispatch for all RE resources in the Wholesale Electricity Spot Market (WESM), instituting policy framework for offshore wind, and establishing the Energy Virtual One-Stop Shop (EVOSS) through Republic Act (RA) 11234, or the Energy Virtual One-Stop Shop Act, to streamline the processes.
Neri said the DOE has also put in place the Green Energy Auction program since 2022, and the final winners for the fifth auction will be announced in October.
These efforts, he said, show the government’s bid not only to ensure the increase in RE capacity, "but also includes energy efficiency, adoption of emerging technologies and advance market technologies and a resilient grid for the energy sector.”
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