Affordable solar energy by 2030 seen

Renewable energy (RE) professionals and business leaders expect solar energy to be affordable to most Filipinos within the next five to 10 years.

HSBC Philippines head of sustainability Ceejay Hernandez said the fastest period for solar energy adoption will be driven by growing investments in renewable power and heightened consumer awareness of the dangers from climate change.

“My fearless forecast is that we’ll have widely accessible solar power by 2030. We’ve seen a lot of signals,” he said during the recent Solar and Storage Live Philippines 2025, a two-day exhibit of solar equipment from over 300 companies, held on 19 to 20 May at SMX Convention Center in Pasay City.

Hernandez said an increasing number of HSBC clients have integrated solar panels into their homes or office buildings due to their durability.

“Solar panels are very strong compared to the traditional corrugated metal roofing. These can be used for housing projects of the government,” he said.

With proper maintenance, Ayala Property Management Corp. president Tony Martin shared that solar panels can last 25 to 40 years.

Hernandez said solar panels inevitably lose their efficiency capabilities to some extent over a long period of time. However, he stressed the panels can still function to augment power capacities of developing areas in the country.

“A lot of solar panels that have been decommissioned are being donated to those who do not have them. They’re being given a second life,” he said.

“Although it’s not the perfect solution, it gives underserved communities access to electricity,” Hernandez continued.

NEO co-managing director and chief sustainability officer Gie Garcia said the country now has four recycling facilities dedicated to solar panels.

According to the Philippine Statistics Authority, the country lost P24.4 billion in agricultural and infrastructure damage in 2023 when the global temperature increased by 1.48 degrees Celsius due to massive carbon emissions.

This level was near the 1.5 limit set by state signatories to the United Nations’ Paris Agreement.

Amid growing concerns about climate change, the Department of Trade and Industry reported more businesses investing in RE as of 27 May 2025.

The government agency said RE projects in the country increased to 62, representing 78 percent of the total 208 projects which received Green Lane Certifications or priority statuses during this period. The RE investments amounted to P5.2 trillion.

Areas for improvement

However, Mindanao Development Authority deputy executive director Romeo Montenegro said widespread solar power adoption might take a longer time of 10 years due to storage and distribution costs.

Market data show a setup of multiple solar panels with solar batteries just for a typical home costs at least P250,000.

“We’ve seen rooftop solar panels in malls, warehouses, and establishments of small and medium enterprises in Mindanao but storage is challenging due to expensive upfront costs,” Montenegro said.

He added that reserves for coal remain substantial which discourages some companies to quickly shift to RE.

“If you have 800 megawatt of excess coal power, of course, many of the industries will prefer that to get reliable electricity,” Montenegro said.

However, he said several large companies like Holcim Cement in Davao and Nestle’s Nescafe in Cagayan De Oro have led the way to a greener future by adopting geothermal and solar power, respectively.

Montenegro added that French company Hydrogen de France already expressed plans to build a 45-megawatt hydrogen power plant on Zamboanga’s Olutanga Island.

“The Zamboanga Peninsula draws most of its energy all the way from Davao Occidental because it does not have many power plants,” he said.