## sipea2026005

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---

### Overview
- The Philippines is pursuing a renewable energy (RE) transition to meet its Nationally Determined Contribution (NDC) targets and the COP28 pledge to triple global RE capacity.
- Under the Philippine Energy Plan 2023–2050, the government committed to increasing the RE share to 50 percent by 2050.
- Authorities project total investment requirement of PHP 10.7 trillion from 2029-2050—about 2 percent of 2024 GDP per annum.

### Energy capacity, import dependence, and baseline risks
- One of the lowest installed energy capacities in ASEAN in absolute terms, as a percentage of GDP, and on a per capita basis.
- Fossil fuel imports accounted for approximately 6.1 percent of GDP in 2022 and comprised 50.6 percent of total primary energy supply in 2022.
- Baseline projections indicate reliance on fossil fuel imports could increase to 61.1 percent by 2050, exposing the economy to commodity price volatility and trade-balance risks.

### Renewable energy potential and government targets
- Combined potential of open-field solar, rooftop solar, offshore, and onshore wind could generate approximately 1,200 gigawatts (Climate Analytics 2023).
- Untapped hydropower potential estimated at 13.097 GW (Department of Energy).
- Geothermal estimated potential capacity of 4.064 GW (Energy Tracker Asia).
- Installed RE capacity around 9.5 gigawatts (2024).
- Government RE targets under the Clean Energy Scenario 2: 30.5 gigawatts by 2030 and 115.2 gigawatts by 2050.

### Electricity demand, generation mix, and emissions
- Peak electricity demand projected to increase from 16.6 GW in 2022 to 68.5 GW by 2050.
- As of 2024, fossil fuels comprise 78 percent of total power generation; renewable energy contributes 22 percent.
- Coal makes up 63 percent of power generation; natural gas makes up 14.2 percent.
- Electricity generation accounted for 89 percent of the country’s total greenhouse gas emissions (GHG) in 2023.
- NDC 2020-30 targets: 2.71 percent unconditional and 72.29 percent conditional reduction of business-as-usual (BAU) total emissions.

### Scenarios and projected fuel trends
- PEP Reference Scenario (REF) projects RE share to reach 35.5 percent by 2050.
- Clean Energy Scenario 1 (CES1) projects RE share to 50 percent by 2050 (adoption of offshore wind, nuclear, improved efficiency).
- Clean Energy Scenario 2 (CES2) scales offshore wind capacity from 19 GW to 50 GW, increasing RE share to more than 50 percent.
- Fossil fuels supply expected to increase by an estimated 110 percent by 2050 under REF, 54 percent under CES1, and 43 percent under CES2.

### Emissions trajectory and NDC alignment
- Biennial Transparency Report (BTR) 2025 and PEP 2023–2050 estimates show substantial declines in energy-sector GHG emissions relative to NDC BAU scenarios.
- NDC accumulated target reduction between 2020 and 2030 is estimated at 587 mtCO2e.
- Sector expected to reach this target as early as 2033 under CES2 and by 2037 under CES1; REF does not fully achieve this but projects to reduce energy emissions by more than half.

### Recent policy reforms and market-enabling measures
- 2022 law allowing 100 percent foreign ownership of renewable energy projects led to awarding of 65 RE contracts totaling 17.84 GW to fully foreign-owned companies (offshore and onshore wind, and solar).
- Green Energy Auction Program (GEAP) comprises (i) Green Energy Auction (GEA) and (ii) Green Energy Tariff (GET); three rounds provided a combined total of 12 GW RE capacities expected to provide RE generation from 2025-2035.
- Under revised omnibus guidelines, developers may commence permit processing, surveys, and feasibility activities before the official 25-year contract term begins.
- As of May 2025, the DOE has issued 104 certificates of authority (COA) with a total potential capacity of 20.42 GW.
- Energy Virtual One-Stop Shop (EVOSS) is being strengthened to ensure faster permit approval.
- Bloomberg's 2024 Climatescope ranked the Philippines second most attractive market for clean power investments among Emerging Markets and within Asia and the Pacific (improved from 30th in 2021).

### Financing, green finance, and investment trends
- Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) increased the Single Borrower’s Limit (SBL) for financing green or sustainable projects by 15 percent.
- BSP is gradually reducing the applicable reserve requirement for sustainable bonds from 3 percent to 0 percent over a two-year period.
- BSP adopted the Philippine Sustainable Finance Taxonomy Guidelines (SFTG).
- As of end-July 2025, the Philippines ranked as the second-largest issuer of ASEAN-labelled Green, Social, Sustainability and Sustainability-Linked (GSS+) Bonds, with majority issuers from the banking sector and publicly listed companies (SEC 2025).
- Multilateral institutions are supporting RE and grid-related infrastructure through concessional lending and project development assistance.
- Global green FDI inflows rose from approximately USD 40 billion in 2014 to USD 200 billion in 2022 (IMF 2024).

### Recent RE deployment and major projects
- Wind power provided 427 megawatts of installed capacity consistently from 2015 through 2024.
- Solar power overtook geothermal as the second-largest source of RE by 2024.
- Terra Solar Park in Central Luzon—described as the world’s largest solar project—is scheduled for completion in 2026.

### Investment trends, Green Lane, and aggregate figures
- From 2022 to 2024, average annual growth rate of total investments in RE was 163 percent.
- RE investments grew by 225 percent from 2021 to 2022.
- RE investments in 2023 reached PHP 987.12 billion (4.1 percent of GDP) or 231 percent growth; wind farm investments in 2023 totaled PHP 804 billion (3.3 percent of GDP).
- In 2024, total RE investments reached PHP 1.38 trillion.
- Domestic investors in 2023 accounted for PHP 651 billion (2.7 percent of GDP); by 2024 domestic investments expanded to 3.7 percent of GDP.
- Foreign investments in wind farms reached PHP 330 billion in 2023 and PHP 314 billion in 2024.
- Investments in solar farms reached PHP 462 million in 2024 and are projected to reach PHP 905 million in 2025.
- Green Lane for Strategic Investments (launched February 2023) facilitated total investments amounting to PHP 5.93 trillion (22.4 percent of GDP); RE accounted for PHP 5.07 trillion (85.5 percent of the total).
- Under Green Lane, domestic RE investments totaled PHP 3.43 trillion (71.7 percent); foreign investments represented 28.2 percent, equivalent to PHP 1.35 trillion.

### Employment impacts and workforce projections
- DOE estimates every USD 1 million invested in renewables leads to an average of 4,862 job-years from development to construction (ILS-DOLE 2024).
- From 2009 to 2022 the RE sector generated approximately 357,000 jobs: solar 203,378; hydropower 94,835; wind 27,340; biomass 21,495; geothermal 10,261.
- Based on RE targets and investments by 2050, projected workforce: solar up to 388,600 jobs; wind 767,300; hydropower 13,300; geothermal 6,100; biomass 8,700 (ILS-DOLE 2024).

### Public investment, PPP pipeline, and international public investment
- Under the updated Public Investment Program (PIP) 2023-2028, medium-term budget for RE projects increased, with a substantial rise in allocation for small-scale renewable energy projects aligned with the DOE’s Missionary Electrification Development Plan (MEDP) 2024–2028.
- DENR Integrated Water Resources Management Plan 2024 enabled development of bulk water supply and hydropower projects using existing NIA facilities.
- As of October 2025, there are 251 PPP projects in the pipeline with an estimated total cost of approximately PHP 2.61 trillion (9.9 percent of GDP).
- PPPs for RE projects account for PHP 98.5 billion, or 3.8 percent of the total cost for projects under development and under implementation.
- Most RE PPP projects are brownfield: redevelopment of public land for RE use or rehabilitation and maintenance of existing RE plants.
- Priority PPP-financed project: Smart and Green Grid Plan (SGGP) under the PEP 2023–2050 to anchor rollout of transmission facilities by TransCo for RE projects.
- DOE collaboration with the Philippine Ports Authority and the PPP Center to repurpose and modernize port infrastructure for offshore wind projects through PPPs.
- International public investments in RE from within Asia to selected ASEAN destinations increased by an average of 15 percent per year (Zero Analytics 2025).
- China recorded the highest total public investment—USD 2.7 billion.
- Between 2013 and 2023, Indonesia received USD 3.54 billion in public bilateral investment (largest share), followed by Thailand, Vietnam, and the Philippines.
- Japan is the region’s largest public investor in geothermal energy; China leads in hydro and wind power.

### Investment requirements and scenarios to 2050
- Total investment requirements to achieve the energy transformation are estimated at PHP 10.67 trillion (40 percent of 2024 GDP) during 2029-2050.
- Under PEP scenarios for 2029-2050:
  - CES1: investment requirements reach PHP 7.39 trillion (28 percent of GDP).
  - CES2: investment requirements reach PHP 10.67 trillion (40 percent of 2024 GDP), driven largely by offshore wind, followed by solar, hydropower and emerging technologies.
- Meeting targets requires strong public and private participation and prompt solutions to barriers impeding project implementation and investor confidence.

### Grid infrastructure, market structure, and technology dependence
- National transmission and distribution capacity and coverage are limited; NGCP-managed grid not fully equipped to integrate intermittent generation or transmit electricity from remote renewable resource areas to demand centers.
- Energy sector requires a transmission system with automated control to quickly respond to grid condition changes and maintain integrity and reliability.
- Upgrading the national transmission and distribution network must consider locating abundant resources in remote or protected areas not covered by existing transmission networks.
- RE development entails extensive exploration and site-specific assessments, contributing to high upfront capital costs and longer investment horizons that challenge private financing.
- Financial system’s current state and weak investor confidence contribute to underutilization of the capital market and continued reliance on debt to bridge the RE financing gap.
- Sustainable bonds and blended financing remain nascent with limited uptake by most small and local players.
- Power generation markets are viewed as oligopolistic with approximately 53 percent of the market share dominated by three private firms (PIDS 2023).
- Lack of RE manufacturing exposes the sector to price volatility of imported technologies (solar panels, batteries, inverters, turbine blades, subsea cables, specialized installation vessels).
- Offtake mechanisms remain limited; while GEAP and GEOP are implemented, ceiling prices under GEAP are considered too low by some developers for solar and offshore wind, complicating viable long-term PPAs.

### Land acquisition, regulatory, and legal barriers
- Land acquisition processes are slow, complex, and contentious, causing delays and constraining scale for large RE projects.
- Land use is fragmented with multiple systems and authorities; local government units control land zoning, reclassification, and conversion under the Local Government Code of 1991 (PIDS 2023).
- National Land Use Committee (NLUC) lacks enforcement power to impose sanctions or penalties (PIDS 2023).
- Republic Act (RA) 12289, Accelerated and Reformed Right-of-Way Act (ARROW), aims to expedite property acquisition for infrastructure via streamlined procedures; the impact on mitigating delays is yet to be observed.
- DOE and DENR signed a Memorandum of Agreement granting rights to use offshore areas covered by offshore wind energy service contracts, including auxiliary areas, to accelerate offshore wind development.

### Skills, workforce constraints, and government responses
- Substantial gap exists in the skilled RE workforce despite the Philippines having the largest RE development pipeline in the region (ILO 2025).
- DOLE ILS survey: 75 percent of RE company representatives find it difficult to hire qualified candidates for vacant technical positions, especially higher-skilled categories, followed by technicians and associate professionals.
- Managers face shortages linked to demand for technical knowledge and soft skills (leadership, project management) (DOLE ILS 2024).
- ILO flagged absence of formal apprenticeships and forecasting systems for future skill needs as constraints affecting project quality.
- Government initiatives to address workforce gaps include:
  - UNFCCC Just Transition Work Program.
  - DOE-ILO collaboration on Green Jobs and Just Transition Framework for the Philippines.
  - DOE and DOLE "Right-Skilling the Philippine Workforce" initiative providing global certifications for local RE workers.
  - DOE Affiliated Renewable Energy Centers (ARECs) program with SUCs to develop specialized hubs aligned with local resources and academic strengths.

### Selected government initiatives and planned outcomes (2023–2025)
- Missionary Electrification Development Plan (MEDP) 2024 (DOE): Objective—universal, sustainable, and inclusive energy access in off-grid and underserved areas; outcome—Increase in small-scale RE projects in missionary areas.
- Integrated Water Resources Management Plan 2024 (DENR): Guides efficient utilization of funds and investments for water supply and resources; outcome—Increase in RE projects (hydropower, floating solar) lined up with NIA water rights.
- Transmission Development Plan (TDP) 2025-2050 (NGCP; for publication): Realign targets with updated RES targets and integration of smart grid technologies; planned outcome—Approx. 5,145 km of transmission lines and 63,625 MVA of transformation capacity.
- Smart and Green Grid Plan (SGGP) (DOE): Enhance grid reliability and resilience and enable seamless integration of large-scale RE, including up to 50 gigawatts of offshore wind; outcome—Modernize the grid to meet the 2050 peak demand, enable over 50% RE share by 2040.
- PPP Code of the Philippines (RA 11966) (PPP Center): Streamline evaluation, approval, and monitoring of RE and energy efficiency PPP projects; outcome—New RE projects and related infrastructure projects in the PPP pipeline.
- DOE and Philippine Ports Authority collaboration: Repurpose and modernize port infrastructure to handle installation, commissioning, and operations of offshore wind projects; outcome—Support high-potential offshore wind energy service contracts totaling 56 as of 2024.

*Source: sipea2026005 - References and Chapter 14 (IMF Selected Issues Paper, November 6, 2025).*

### References ____________________________________________________________________________ 17

### sipea2026005 - References

### Overview
- The Philippines is pursuing a renewable energy (RE) transition to meet its Nationally Determined Contribution (NDC) targets and the COP28 pledge to triple global RE capacity.
- Under the Philippine Energy Plan 2023–2050, the government has committed to increasing the RE share to 50 percent by 2050.
- Authorities project a total investment requirement of PHP 10.7 trillion from 2029-2050—about 2 percent of 2024 GDP per annum.

### Background: energy capacity and import dependence
- The Philippines has one of the lowest installed energy capacities in ASEAN in absolute terms, as a percentage of GDP, and on a per capita basis.
- Fossil fuel imports accounted for approximately 6.1 percent of GDP in 2022 and comprised 50.6 percent of total primary energy supply in 2022.
- Baseline projections indicate reliance on fossil fuel imports could increase to 61.1 percent by 2050, exposing the economy to commodity price volatility and trade-balance risks.

### Renewable energy potential and targets
- Combined potential of open-field solar, rooftop solar, offshore, and onshore wind in the Philippines could generate approximately 1,200 gigawatts of power (Climate Analytics 2023).
- Untapped hydropower potential estimated at 13.097 GW (Department of Energy).
- Geothermal estimated potential capacity of 4.064 GW (Energy Tracker Asia).
- Installed renewable energy capacity around 9.5 gigawatts (2024).
- Government RE targets under the Clean Energy Scenario 2: 30.5 gigawatts by 2030 and 115.2 gigawatts by 2050.

### Electricity demand, generation mix, and emissions
- Peak electricity demand projected to increase from 16.6 GW in 2022 to 68.5 GW by 2050.
- As of 2024, fossil fuels comprise 78 percent of total power generation; renewable energy contributes 22 percent.
- Coal makes up 63 percent of power generation; natural gas makes up 14.2 percent.
- Electricity generation accounted for 89 percent of the country’s total greenhouse gas emissions (GHG) in 2023.
- The NDC 2020-30 targets: 2.71 percent unconditional and 72.29 percent conditional reduction of business-as-usual (BAU) total emissions.

### Scenarios and projected fuel trends
- Philippine Energy Plan (PEP) Reference Scenario (REF) projects RE share to reach 35.5 percent by 2050.
- Clean Energy Scenario 1 (CES1) projects RE share to 50 percent by 2050 (adoption of offshore wind, nuclear, improved efficiency).
- Clean Energy Scenario 2 (CES2) scales offshore wind capacity from 19 GW to 50 GW, increasing RE share to more than 50 percent.
- Fossil fuels supply expected to increase by an estimated 110 percent by 2050 under REF, 54 percent under CES1, and 43 percent under CES2.

### Emissions trajectory and NDC alignment
- Biennial Transparency Report (BTR) 2025 and PEP 2023–2050 estimates show substantial declines in energy-sector GHG emissions relative to NDC BAU scenarios.
- NDC accumulated target reduction between 2020 and 2030 is estimated at 587 mtCO2e.
- Sector expected to reach this target as early as 2033 under CES2 and by 2037 under CES1; REF does not fully achieve this but projects to reduce energy emissions by more than half.

### Recent policy reforms and measures supporting RE expansion
- 2022 law allowing 100 percent foreign ownership of renewable energy projects led to the awarding of 65 RE contracts totaling 17.84 GW to fully foreign-owned companies (offshore and onshore wind, and solar).
- Green Energy Auction Program (GEAP) comprises (i) Green Energy Auction (GEA) and (ii) Green Energy Tariff (GET); three rounds provided a combined total of 12 GW RE capacities expected to provide RE generation from 2025-2035.
- Under revised omnibus guidelines, developers may commence permit processing, surveys, and feasibility activities before the official 25-year contract term begins.
- As of May 2025, the DOE has issued 104 certificates of authority (COA) with a total potential capacity of 20.42 GW.
- Energy Virtual One-Stop Shop (EVOSS) is being strengthened to ensure faster permit approval.
- Bloomberg's 2024 Climatescope ranked the Philippines second most attractive market for clean power investments among Emerging Markets and within Asia and the Pacific (improved from 30th in 2021).

### Financing, green finance, and regulatory measures
- Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) increased the Single Borrower’s Limit (SBL) for financing green or sustainable projects by 15 percent.
- BSP is gradually reducing the applicable reserve requirement for sustainable bonds from 3 percent to 0 percent over a two-year period.
- BSP adopted the Philippine Sustainable Finance Taxonomy Guidelines (SFTG).
- As of end-July 2025, the Philippines ranked as the second-largest issuer of ASEAN-labelled Green, Social, Sustainability and Sustainability-Linked (GSS+) Bonds, with majority issuers from the banking sector and publicly listed companies (SEC 2025).
- Multilateral institutions are supporting RE and grid-related infrastructure through concessional lending and project development assistance.

### Global drivers and cost competitiveness
- Decline in cost of RE technologies, particularly solar PV, onshore and offshore wind, has been a decisive enabler.
- Levelized cost of energy (LCOE) estimates (2023 USD/kWh): solar PV at 0.044; onshore wind at 0.033; offshore wind at 0.075; oil-fired power at 0.3568.
- Utility-scale solar PV and onshore wind are now more cost-competitive than fossil fuels in many countries in Asia and the Pacific.
- Global green FDI inflows rose from approximately USD 40 billion in 2014 to USD 200 billion in 2022 (IMF 2024).

### Recent RE deployment and projects
- Wind power provided 427 megawatts of installed capacity consistently from 2015 through 2024.
- Solar power overtook geothermal as the second-largest source of RE by 2024.
- Terra Solar Park in Central Luzon—described as the world’s largest solar project—is scheduled for completion in 2026.

### Investment trends and Green Lane initiative
- From 2022 to 2024, average annual growth rate of total investments in RE was 163 percent.
- RE investments grew by 225 percent from 2021 to 2022.
- RE investments in 2023 reached PHP 987.12 billion (4.1 percent of GDP) or 231 percent growth; wind farm investments in 2023 totaled PHP 804 billion (3.3 percent of GDP).
- In 2024, total RE investments reached PHP 1.38 trillion.
- Domestic investors in 2023 accounted for PHP 651 billion (2.7 percent of GDP); by 2024 domestic investments expanded to 3.7 percent of GDP.
- Foreign investments in wind farms reached PHP 330 billion in 2023 and PHP 314 billion in 2024.
- Investments in solar farms reached PHP 462 million in 2024 and are projected to reach PHP 905 million in 2025.
- Green Lane for Strategic Investments (launched February 2023) facilitated total investments amounting to PHP 5.93 trillion (22.4 percent of GDP); RE accounted for PHP 5.07 trillion (85.5 percent of the total).
- Under Green Lane, domestic RE investments totaled PHP 3.43 trillion (71.7 percent); foreign investments represented 28.2 percent, equivalent to PHP 1.35 trillion.

### Employment impacts and workforce projections
- DOE estimates every USD 1 million invested in renewables leads to an average of 4,862 job-years from development to construction (ILS-DOLE 2024).
- From 2009 to 2022 the RE sector generated approximately 357,000 jobs: solar 203,378; hydropower 94,835; wind 27,340; biomass 21,495; geothermal 10,261.
- Based on RE targets and investments by 2050, projected workforce: solar up to 388,600 jobs; wind 767,300; hydropower 13,300; geothermal 6,100; biomass 8,700 (ILS-DOLE 2024).

*Source: sipea2026005 - References (IMF Selected Issues Paper, November 6, 2025).*

### 14. In terms of public investments, the government has significantly increased its

### sipea2026005 - 14. In terms of public investments, the government has significantly increased its

### Expanded public investment and program alignment
- Under the updated Public Investment Program (PIP) 2023-2028, the medium-term budget for RE projects increased, with a substantial rise in allocation for small-scale renewable energy projects to implement more RE projects in missionary and underserved areas, aligned with the Department of Energy’s (DOE) Missionary Electrification Development Plan (MEDP) 2024–2028.
- Under the Department of Environment and Natural Resources’ (DENR) Integrated Water Resources Management Plan 2024, National Irrigation Administration’s (NIA) water rights were converted to multipurpose use, enabling development of bulk water supply and hydropower projects using existing NIA facilities.
- Annex Table 2 summarizes recent measures supporting RE expansion through government-financed projects.

### Public-Private Partnerships (PPPs) momentum and pipeline
- As of October 2025, there are 251 PPP projects in the pipeline with an estimated total cost of approximately PHP 2.61 trillion (9.9 percent of GDP).
- PPPs for RE projects account for PHP 98.5 billion, or 3.8 percent of the total cost for projects under development and under implementation.
- Most RE PPP projects are brownfield: redevelopment of public land for RE use or rehabilitation and maintenance of existing RE plants.
- Priority PPP-financed project: Smart and Green Grid Plan (SGGP) under the Philippine Energy Plan (PEP) 2023–2050 to anchor rollout of transmission facilities by the National Transmission Corporation (TransCo) for RE projects.
- DOE is collaborating with the Philippine Ports Authority and the PPP Center to repurpose and modernize port infrastructure for installation, commissioning, and operations of offshore wind projects through PPPs.

### International public investments and regional context
- International public investments in RE from within Asia to selected ASEAN destinations increased by an average of 15 percent per year (Zero Analytics 2025).
- China recorded the highest total public investment—USD 2.7 billion.
- Between 2013 and 2023, Indonesia received the largest share of public bilateral investment at USD 3.54 billion, followed by Thailand, Vietnam, and the Philippines.
- Japan is the region’s largest public investor in geothermal energy; China leads in hydro and wind power.

### Investment requirements and scenarios to 2050
- Total investment requirements to achieve the energy transformation are estimated at PHP 10.67 trillion (40 percent of 2024 GDP) during 2029-2050.
- Under PEP scenarios for 2029-2050:
  - CES1: investment requirements reach PHP 7.39 trillion (28 percent of GDP).
  - CES2: investment requirements reach PHP 10.67 trillion (40 percent of 2024 GDP), driven largely by offshore wind, followed by solar, hydropower and emerging technologies.
- Meeting targets requires strong public and private participation and prompt solutions to barriers impeding project implementation and investor confidence.

### Grid infrastructure constraints
- National transmission and distribution capacity and coverage are limited; the grid (managed primarily by the National Grid Corporation of the Philippines, NGCP) is not yet fully equipped to integrate intermittent generation or transmit electricity from remote renewable resource areas to demand centers.
- The energy sector requires a transmission system with automated control to quickly respond to grid condition changes and maintain integrity and reliability.
- Upgrading the national transmission and distribution network must consider locating abundant resources in remote or protected areas not covered by existing transmission networks.

### Financing, market structure, and technology dependence
- RE development entails extensive exploration and site-specific assessments, contributing to high upfront capital costs and longer investment horizons that challenge private financing.
- The financial system’s current state and weak investor confidence contribute to underutilization of the capital market and continued reliance on debt to bridge the RE financing gap.
- Sustainable bonds and blended financing remain nascent with limited uptake by most small and local players.
- Power generation markets are viewed as oligopolistic with approximately 53 percent of the market share dominated by three private firms (PIDS 2023).
- Lack of RE manufacturing exposes the sector to price volatility of imported technologies (solar panels, batteries, inverters, turbine blades, subsea cables, specialized installation vessels).
- Offtake mechanisms remain limited; while GEAP and GEOP are implemented, ceiling prices under GEAP are considered too low by some developers for solar and offshore wind, complicating viable long-term PPAs.

### Land acquisition and regulatory barriers
- Land acquisition processes are slow, complex, and contentious, causing delays and constraining scale for large RE projects such as solar farms and onshore wind.
- Land use is fragmented with multiple systems and authorities; local government units control land zoning, reclassification, and conversion under the Local Government Code of 1991 (PIDS 2023).
- The National Land Use Committee (NLUC) lacks enforcement power to impose sanctions or penalties (PIDS 2023).
- Republic Act (RA) 12289, Accelerated and Reformed Right-of-Way Act (ARROW), aims to expedite property acquisition for infrastructure via streamlined procedures; the impact on mitigating delays is yet to be observed.
- DOE and DENR signed a Memorandum of Agreement granting rights to use offshore areas covered by offshore wind energy service contracts, including auxiliary areas, to accelerate offshore wind development.

### Skills and workforce constraints
- A substantial gap exists in the skilled RE workforce despite the Philippines having the largest RE development pipeline in the region (ILO 2025).
- DOLE ILS survey: 75 percent of RE company representatives find it difficult to hire qualified candidates for vacant technical positions, especially higher-skilled categories, followed by technicians and associate professionals.
- Managers face shortages linked to demand for technical knowledge and soft skills (leadership, project management) (DOLE ILS 2024).
- ILO flagged absence of formal apprenticeships and forecasting systems for future skill needs as constraints affecting project quality.
- Government initiatives to address workforce gaps include:
  - UNFCCC Just Transition Work Program.
  - DOE-ILO collaboration on Green Jobs and Just Transition Framework for the Philippines.
  - DOE and DOLE "Right-Skilling the Philippine Workforce" initiative providing global certifications for local RE workers.
  - DOE Affiliated Renewable Energy Centers (ARECs) program with SUCs to develop specialized hubs aligned with local resources and academic strengths.

### Selected government initiatives and outcomes (high-level, 2023–2025)
- Missionary Electrification Development Plan (MEDP) 2024 (DOE): Objective to achieve universal, sustainable, and inclusive energy access in off-grid and underserved areas; outcome—Increase in small-scale RE projects in missionary areas.
- Integrated Water Resources Management Plan 2024 (DENR): Guides efficient utilization of funds and investments for water supply and resources; outcome—Increase in RE projects (hydropower, floating solar) lined up with NIA water rights.
- Transmission Development Plan (TDP) 2025-2050 (NGCP; for publication): Realign targets with updated RES targets and integration of smart grid technologies; planned outcome—Approx. 5,145 km of transmission lines and 63,625 MVA of transformation capacity.
- Smart and Green Grid Plan (SGGP) (DOE): Enhance grid reliability and resilience and enable seamless integration of large-scale RE, including up to 50 gigawatts of offshore wind; outcome—Modernize the grid to meet the 2050 peak demand, enable over 50% RE share by 2040.
- PPP Code of the Philippines (RA 11966) (PPP Center): Streamline evaluation, approval, and monitoring of RE and energy efficiency PPP projects; outcome—New RE projects and related infrastructure projects in the PPP pipeline.
- DOE and Philippine Ports Authority collaboration: Repurpose and modernize port infrastructure to handle installation, commissioning, and operations of offshore wind projects; outcome—Support high-potential offshore wind energy service contracts totaling 56 as of 2024.

*Source: IMF chapter "14. In terms of public investments, the government has significantly increased its" from sipea2026005 PDF.*

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_Source: https://www.imf.org/-/media/files/publications/selected-issues-papers/2026/english/sipea2026005.pdf_