Philippines approves $164mn geothermal de-risking fund

: Electricity
26/07/13

The Philippines has approved a 10.1bn peso ($163.5mn) Philippine Geothermal Resource Derisking Facility (PGRDF), aiming to incentivise private investment, accelerate geothermal development and strengthen long-term energy security.

The PGRDF was approved during the Philippines' Economy and Development Council's tenth meeting chaired by President Ferdinand Marcos last week, said the Philippines' Department of Energy (DOE).

The initiative establishes a government-backed cost-sharing mechanism that reduces the financial risks of geothermal exploration — the most capital-intensive stage of project development — to encourage increased investment, said the DOE. De-risking the exploration stage will also allow viable prospects to move more quickly to project development, added the Philippines' energy secretary Sharon Garin.

The de-risking fund also supports the Philippines' long-term energy security by exploiting a reliable, indigenous and weather-independent source of power, said the DOE.

"We are widening the pipeline of investible geothermal opportunities, strengthening the resilience of our power system, and reducing our exposure to volatile imported fuel prices," Garin said about the PGRDF.

The PGRDF supports the Philippines' aim to expand its renewable energy share to 35pc by 2030 and 50pc by 2040, said the DOE.

The Philippines generated 117.9TWh of electricity in 2025, 24.5pc of which was generated from renewable sources, according to data from independent electricity market operator IEMOP. Geothermal output came in at 9.8TWh in 2025, accounting for 8.3pc of the country's generation mix, IEMOP data show.

The PGRDF builds on previous efforts from the DOE, which partnered with the Asian Development Bank (ADB) in 2022 to develop a geothermal de-risking roadmap for the Philippines.

The Philippines had the third-largest installed geothermal power capacity in the world in 2024, data from renewable energy watchdog the International Renewable Energy Agency (Irena) show.

By Ishika Gupta

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26/07/10

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26/07/10

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26/07/08

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Philippines approves $164mn geothermal de-risking fund

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