The Philippines is experiencing a surge in rooftop solar demand as households and businesses seek protection from rising electricity prices and fuel price volatility, but the industry is struggling to translate that interest into actual installations, according to New Energy Nexus Philippines.

Speaking during a webinar organized by Global Energy Monitor, New Energy Nexus Philippines Director Brenda Valerio said customer inquiries among the organization’s network of around 300 solar installers jumped by approximately 582% following the onset of the fuel crisis.

Valerio said the trend reflects a growing shift in consumer behavior, with Filipinos increasingly viewing rooftop solar as a way to protect themselves from volatile electricity prices, fuel dependency, and grid instability.

“People are in panic mode, making them come to us installers instead of us coming to them,” Valerio said, describing the sudden increase in consumer interest.

Despite the surge in demand, actual deployments have not kept pace. According to Valerio, solar installations increased by only 170%, significantly lower than the rise in customer inquiries.

“The Philippines is not failing to generate demand for renewable energy. We are failing to convert that demand into deployment,” she said.

Valerio attributed the gap to several industry bottlenecks. These include shortages of solar components, rising logistics costs, workforce constraints, financing challenges, and slow permitting processes.

She said the findings suggest demand is no longer the primary barrier to solar adoption in the country.

The growing interest in rooftop solar comes amid a broader acceleration in solar imports. Valerio cited data showing that the Philippines imported more than 5 gigawatts (GW) worth of solar panels in 2025, with another 4 GW arriving during the first four months of 2026.

These import levels have made the Philippines China’s second-largest export market for solar panels, indicating that consumers and businesses are increasingly investing in solar energy despite persistent deployment challenges.

Valerio said the country also possesses significant untapped renewable energy resources. Current rooftop solar capacity is estimated at around 1,800 megawatts (MW), compared to a technical potential of approximately 106 GW.

Beyond rooftop solar, the Philippines also has substantial offshore wind, geothermal, hydro, and ocean energy resources that could help strengthen energy security and reduce dependence on imported fuels.

To support further growth, Valerio said policymakers should focus on improving access to financing, streamlining permitting processes, strengthening supply chains, expanding workforce training programs, and improving implementation of existing policies such as net metering.

“If there’s anything the last 100 days taught us, it’s that energy security can no longer be treated as a fuel procurement problem. It has become a resilience problem,” she concluded.

How can the Philippines accelerate rooftop solar deployment while ensuring consumers have affordable access to clean energy technologies?

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