Various entrepreneurs have invested a total P280 billion in renewable energy (RE) facilities since the Renewable Energy Act of 2009 came into effect, according to the Department of Energy.
The DOE said the investments have reduced the equivalent of 4,365 kilotons of carbon dioxide emitted into the environment from 2009 to 2022 while also employing 357,000 people in the sector for the period.
According to the DOE, renewable energy installed capacity increased by 4 percent from 7,914 megawatts in 2021 to 8,255 MW in 2022 due to the entry of new solar, biomass and hydro plants.
The share of renewable energy to the total installed on-grid capacity steadied at 29 percent as coal remained the dominant power source last year generating 12,441 MW equivalent to 44 percent, followed by oil generating 3,931 MW at 14 percent and natural gas with 3,732 MW or 13 percent.
As at end-2022, a total 1,002 projects were awarded renewable energy contracts of which 216 are existing facilities with installed capacity of 5,571 MW while 786 projects with potential capacity of another 80,399 MW are either under pre-development and development stage.
The DOE targets to hit 35 percent as renewable energy share in the power generation mix by 2030 and more than 50 percent by 2040.
