Solar energy in the Philippines, from the Department of Energy’s figures
At the end of 2024 the Philippines had 2,710 MW of solar generating capacity, and solar made 3,811 GWh of electricity that year. That is 3.0 percent of all the electricity generated in the country, from 9.1 percent of the installed capacity.
Every figure on this page is from the Department of Energy, Key Energy Statistics 2024 unless it says otherwise, read on 9 October 2026 and checked twice: once from the report’s text and once from the printed tables. Page numbers are the ones printed in the report.
Five years of solar, installed and generated
Installed capacity is the nameplate total. Dependable capacity is what the DOE counts on the plants to deliver. Generation is the electricity actually made in the year.
| Year | Installed, MW | Dependable, MW | Generation, GWh | Installed capacity, drawn to scale |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2020 | 1,019 | 817 | 1,373 | |
| 2021 | 1,317 | 1,034 | 1,470 | |
| 2022 | 1,530 | 1,150 | 1,822 | |
| 2023 | 1,653 | 1,249 | 2,544 | |
| 2024 | 2,710 | 2,154 | 3,811 |
Installed capacity grew 2.7 times over the five years, and 63.9 percent in 2024 alone, from 1,653 MW to 2,710 MW. Generation grew 50 percent in 2024. Generation grew less than capacity partly because a plant finished late in a year only generates for the months it was running.
Where solar sits in the whole mix
- Share of installed capacity, 2024
- 9.1 percent: 2,710 MW of 29,706 MW. Coal was 13,006 MW. Page 41.
- Share of generation, 2024
- 3.0 percent: 3,811 GWh of 126,941 GWh, on and off grid. Coal made 79,359 GWh. Page 45.
- Share of renewable generation, 2024
- 14 percent of the 28,193 GWh from all renewables. Page 45.
Solar’s share of capacity is three times its share of generation because a solar plant only produces while the sun is up, and a coal plant can run day and night. The DOE’s stated target, as reported by Malaya Business Insight on 12 February 2025, is a renewable share of generation of 35 percent by 2030 and 50 percent by 2040.
Most of it is on Luzon
| Grid | 2023 | 2024 |
|---|---|---|
| Luzon | 1,678 | 2,905 |
| Visayas | 727 | 720 |
| Mindanao | 139 | 186 |
| Philippines | 2,544 | 3,811 |
Luzon made 76 percent of the country’s solar electricity in 2024, and almost all of the growth: Visayas was flat and Mindanao added 47 GWh. Central Luzon, where we work, is on the Luzon grid. The sun here is measured rather than assumed: the Global Solar Atlas gives San Fernando 1,911 kWh per square metre a year, which the peak sun hours page sets beside four other points around the region.
Rooftops are counted somewhere else
The tables above count generating capacity in the DOE’s records. Solar on house roofs is harder to count, and the two figures we could trace come from different methods:
- 141 MW under net metering, 2015 to 2024
- The DOE, as reported by Malaya Business Insight on 12 February 2025. These are systems connected under the net metering programme, mostly residential.
- 712 MW of rooftop solar, to January 2025
- Measured from satellite images by the Institute for Climate and Sustainable Cities, as reported by Ember on 28 May 2026.
They come from different methods and cover different periods. Neither figure should be added to the DOE’s 2,710 MW, because nobody has published how much of either is already inside it. For what net metering is and how a house applies, how net metering works has the rules with their dates, and the regulation page covers the rest of the law.
What the national figures do not tell a house
A national total says nothing about one roof. The questions for a house are its own: what solar energy is and how panels turn it into electricity, how big a system the bill needs, which the solar panel calculator works out from your monthly kilowatt-hours, and whether to add a battery. GSIS members can also read the GSIS solar loan terms.
What people ask about solar energy in the Philippines
How much solar power does the Philippines have?
2,710 MW of installed solar generating capacity at the end of 2024, according to the Department of Energy’s Key Energy Statistics 2024. That is 9.1 percent of the 29,706 MW of all installed capacity in the same table.
What share of the Philippines’ electricity comes from solar?
3.0 percent in 2024: 3,811 GWh of solar out of 126,941 GWh generated in total, on and off grid, by the Department of Energy’s figures. Coal made 79,359 GWh in the same year.
Is solar growing in the Philippines?
Yes, quickly on the DOE’s figures. Installed solar capacity went from 1,019 MW in 2020 to 2,710 MW in 2024, and grew 63.9 percent in 2024 alone. Solar generation grew 50 percent in 2024.
How much rooftop solar is there in the Philippines?
There is no single official count on a page we could read. The DOE, as reported by Malaya Business Insight on 12 February 2025, said net metering contributed 141 MW from 2015 to 2024. A satellite count by the Institute for Climate and Sustainable Cities, reported by Ember on 28 May 2026, put rooftop solar at 712 MW using images up to January 2025. The two measure different things and should not be added together.
Is the Philippines good for solar panels?
The sun is there. The Global Solar Atlas gives San Fernando, Pampanga 1,911 kWh of sunlight per square metre a year, about 5.23 peak sun hours a day. Whether panels suit a particular house depends on its roof, its bill and how much it uses in daylight.
From the national figure to your roof
Tell us the property and your monthly kilowatt-hours through the form. You will get a written answer with a system size for that roof. If the form is too much, the Message us button at the bottom of the screen asks for less.
Tell us the property and what you are trying to cut, and you will get a written answer with a size and a next step. No visit is booked and nothing is charged for asking.
Sources: Department of Energy, Key Energy Statistics 2024, pages 39, 41, 42 to 45, read 9 October 2026 from the text layer and again from the page images; Malaya Business Insight, “Renewable energy capacity hits record growth, DOE”, 12 February 2025, for the net metering total and the 2030 and 2040 targets; Ember, “How the Philippines’ rooftop solar surge can flip the energy emergency script”, 28 May 2026, for the ICSC rooftop measurement; Global Solar Atlas, read 23 September 2026, for San Fernando. Shares and growth rates are this page’s arithmetic on the DOE’s figures.