Philippine President Ferdinand Romulus Marcos recently announced that the amendment to the 2008 Renewable Energy Act allows foreign investors to fully own renewable energy power generation projects, which will significantly accelerate the Philippines' pursuit of clean energy goals.

In his second State of the Nation Address (SONA), Marcos revealed that since last year, the Philippine Department of Energy (DOE) has awarded 126 renewable energy contracts with a total installed capacity of 31GW.

He emphasized the strong commitment of the Philippine government to promote the development of renewable energy, and set a clean energy target to increase the share of renewable energy generation in the power mix to 35% by 2030 and further increase to 50% by 2040.

To accelerate progress toward clean energy goals, the Philippine government has facilitated foreign investment in renewable energy projects. Recent opinions from the Philippine Department of Justice (DOJ) have led to amendments to the implementing rules and regulations of the Renewable Energy Act, enabling foreign investors to take full ownership of renewable energy projects in the Philippines.

Marcos highlighted the wide-ranging impact of these initiatives, with more than 1,000 renewable energy projects under construction across the country, including photovoltaics, wind, hydro, biomass, geothermal and ocean energy.