The Philippines has over 1,800 megawatts (MW) of rooftop solar potential, according to the Institute for Climate and Sustainable Cities (ICSC), which launched a new mapping tool on July 15.
The SPECTRUM platform –– short for Solar Power Estimation of Capacities and Tracking Using Machine Learning –– detected 1,309.64MW in Luzon, 472.48MW in the Visayas, and 61.08MW in Mindanao, for a nationwide total of 1,846.08MW across 174 cities and municipalities.
“Solar energy is not just about sustainability. It is about economic empowerment, especially for those in underserved and last-mile communities,” said ICSC Executive Director Angelo Kairos dela Cruz. “Through initiatives like SPECTRUM, we turn research into evidence-based policies that guide national planning and empower local governments.”
The tool uses machine learning and satellite data to identify installations, categorized as residential (below 100kW), commercial and industrial (above 100kW), and utility-scale (above 1MW). Of the total capacity, 1,398.25MW are utility-scale, 245.8MW residential, and 202.03MW commercial and industrial.
“Despite being unregistered, these growing capacities could still contribute significantly to renewable energy generation targets,” said ICSC Chief Data Scientist Jephraim Manansala. “That’s why we need a clearer, more granular view of what’s already on the ground.”
SPECTRUM’s current detection precision is 98.47% for utility-scale, 87.6% for residential, and 87.1% for commercial installations.
Energy officials welcomed the tool. DOE Assistant Secretary Mylene Capongcol said it would help identify projects and support new business models, while Undersecretary Felix William Fuentebella stressed the importance of consistent metrics to “unite people and leaders… around a shared vision.”
Former Maldives President Mohamed Nasheed, now CVF-V20 Secretary General, praised the tool’s potential in climate-vulnerable countries: “In the climate fight, data-informed knowledge is transformative power.”
ICSC said SPECTRUM will continue to evolve to improve accuracy, expand coverage, and track solar growth nationwide.
