The Philippines can save $200m a year and build a more reliable energy supply for millions of residents on its small islands by replacing diesel generators with renewable sources such as wind and solar, said a report.
The switch would require at least $1bn in private investment in the short term, but the sum would be offset by savings of $200m each year - an expense currently borne by users, the report said.
Many of the archipelago nation’s small islands cannot access larger electricity grids.
Mini-grids powered by generators that use imported diesel and oil serve approximately 800,000 households, but there are frequent blackouts, said the report by the US-based Institute for Energy Economics and Financial Analysis (IEEFA) and Manila-based Institute for Climate and Sustainable Cities (ICSC).
