Filipino energy secretary Alfonso Cusi has euphemistically admitted that the suspension of four commissioners of the Energy Regulatory Commission (ERC) may cause delays in power projects, while the already inert solar industry has seen conditions go from bad to worse.
Philippines-based commercial bank, BDO Unibank, has issued its first green bond investment for US$150 million to sole investor the International Finance Cooperation (IFC), to expand finance for private sector investments and to tackle climate change.
Utility-scale solar projects and hundreds of other power projects in the Philippines are being held up by pending approvals at the Energy Regulatory Commission (ERC), a problem compounded by last week’s dismissal of ERC chairman Jose Vicente Salazar for grave misconduct related to allegations of corruption.
MRC Allied, a property and mining firm that is diversifying into the energy market, has acquired a stake in an operational PV project in the Philippines.
Filipino president Rodrigo Duterte today inaugurated the Philippines first solar module manufacturing facility with an expanded capacity of 800MW at Santo Tomas, Batangas, owned by renewable energy firm Solar Philippines.
The Philippines had 903MW of installed solar PV capacity under its Renewable Energy Law at the end of 2016, according to Department of Energy (DOE) figures.
