December 2014: The International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA) has released a ‘Solar, Wind and Bioenergy Resource Assessment’ for the Philippines, drawing data from the Global Atlas for Renewable Energy.

The document is a starting point for identifying renewable resource “hotspots” and improving resource mapping in promising locations. The paper is the first in a series of “business cases” that IRENA intends to develop, which provide preliminary analysis of hotspots and opportunities for donors.

The Assessment reports that there are many good-to-excellent spots for wind availability throughout the Philippines, and that the Global Atlas assisted in identifying 14 additional spots, prompting the installation of wind measurement stations. On solar resources, the Assessment draws on a US National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) study that finds the country’s solar potential averages 5.1 kilowatt hours per square meter per day. On bioenergy potential, the Assessment finds that there is particular opportunity to capitalize on agricultural and forestry residues, which are underutilized or even wasted.

A free online tool, the Global Atlas, informed the Assessment. It was built with data and information from over 60 partner countries and many partner instituions, including NREL. IRENA is developing the series of business cases to further apply the information that can be derived from the Global Atlas. [IRENA Publication Webpage] [Publication: The Philippines: Solar, Wind and Bioenergy Resource Assessment]