More households are expected to utilize renewable energy once the Energy Regulatory Commission (ERC) releases the rules on rooftop solar projects, likely in the third quarter, a Department of Energy (DOE) official said Wednesday.

“Once ERC releases rules on rooftop solar, the investments are expected to increase,” Energy Undersecretary Dr. Rowena Cristina Guevara said in a briefing.

In an interview, Guevara said a check using satellite shows that a very small portion of buildings in the Philippines have solar rooftop power sources.

“Our dream is to be like Australia,” she said, citing the Philippines has a bigger population, estimated at around 118 million in 2024, compared to Australia, which is placed to be around 27.4 million as of last year.

Guevara said applications to set up solar rooftop facilities for households in Australia number to around 450,000 on an annual basis.

She said that to date, rooftop solar units are like a big power generator in Australia.

With the expected release of the ERC policies on solar rooftop by the third quarter of the year, the DOE official said applications for its utilization are expected to rise further.

“We have received a lot of applications. There are already those that have put up rooftop solar projects, but we are waiting for those with big capacity, those in the industrial zones,” she added. (PNA)