EXPLAINER: Is going solar affordable now?

Electricity prices in the Philippines keep skyrocketing for all sorts of reasons beyond the control of ordinary Filipino consumers. Volatile price changes have led to a surge in demand for solar installation, with the Philippines becoming the largest market for solar panels after the Netherlands in 2026. It’s clear that more and more Filipinos are recognizing that rooftop solar is the path forward for anyone who fears mounting electricity bills and frequent power outages. But the main question for anyone considering switching to solar is this: Can an ordinary Filipino household really afford it? Solar panel prices have been falling dramatically over the past 15 years, making it the world’s “cheapest electricity in history” since 2020, according to the International Energy Agency. In the Philippines, estimates for how much a full solar setup can cost differ depending on the energy capacity, equipment used, and where the equipment is sourced. One such estimate from Let’s Go Renewable, a Philippine advocacy platform campaign for more affordable solar energy, said that a basic solar system for a typical Filipino household may range from P80,000 to P200,000, while larger systems for bigger homes can exceed P500,000. Aside from lower prices, financing options have come a long way in the last year when it comes to easing the burden on a Filipino household’s monthly expenses. “When [the government’s rooftop solar program] was first rolled out [in 2014 or 2015], households that wanted to put up solar panels really had to have enough cash saved to pay for the panels up front,” said Mona Dimalanta, senior advisor for energy literacy and democracy at the Institute for Climate and Sustainable Cities (ICSC). “But today, 2026, there are so many financing options already available.” But for Philline Donggay, project lead for the Mindanao Goes Solar movement, the country’s roster of existing options still has a long way to go before we can say that solar financing in the Philippines is truly accessible. According to her, options for residential solar financing in Mindanao and other provinces outside the Greater Manila Area remain limited, while the currently available options from government financing institutions are subject to extremely tedious processes and requirements. Confused about how to navigate all the new possibilities — and remaining constraints — in getting a rooftop solar setup? Here’s what you need to know about the current solar financing landscape and where it may be headed. What are the financing options? Financing for solar installations most often come in the form of loans. The most common and accessible of these are from government bodies. Government employees can avail themselves of a solar loan from the Government Service Insurance System (GSIS). Pag-IBIG has a home improvement loan that can be used to acquire a solar setup. Private employees will soon be able to get a loan from the Social Security System (SSS). The rollout for the loan is eyed for early 2027. The GSIS and SSS loans were announced just this year, in the wake of the Middle East oil crisis and the solar boom that ensued in the Philippines. Some commercial and rural banks have since followed suit with solar loan options of their own. For households that cannot put up collateral or have other difficulties meeting the requirements of these institutions, Donggay and Dimalanta said that some solar installers also provide an option called in-house financing. Compared to loans from financial institutions, however, this option usually has a shorter time period — therefore, higher monthly payments — and a higher interest rate. Some installers also offer lease or lease-to-own arrangements. While Donggay said a wide array of financing options is always welcome, she still strongly advises households to be the full owner of their own solar setups. “To me, the promise of solar goes beyond just getting clean electricity; it’s also being able to be a prosumer — a producer and consumer of clean electricity,” she said. When is it a good idea to go solar? For both Donggay and Dimalanta, a rooftop solar setup is worth it regardless of your household’s current income level or electricity consumption. To them, there is no better time than now to start going solar. According to Donggay, going solar should be a consideration for anyone who feels the burden of rising electricity rates. She said if a household can save for a vacation, they may as well consider using that amount to invest in solar technology. Savings from that investment will add up in the long run, after all. Dimalanta shares a similar view. “We need to look at how much of a household’s income goes toward paying for their electricity bill,” she said. “Most of the time, we want to consider these options (rooftop solar) because we want to keep more of our income for our other needs.” In the end, it’s a question of where you want your household’s monthly income to go. Staying connected to a traditional distribution utility means endlessly paying a monthly electric bill, with no control over whether those services improve, deteriorate, or get more expensive. With solar financing options, your endless electricity bills may be replaced with finite monthly amortizations. And because rooftop solar setups have an estimated lifespan of 20 to 25 years, you would basically be free from monthly payments after the loan period is over. Tips and tricks There are other ways to make your solar setup more affordable. Dimalanta shared two tips. First, she said installing batteries right away is not really a necessity — especially since these components are usually the most expensive part of a rooftop solar setup. “If you are, for example, in the Meralco franchise area or in a franchise area where the distribution utility is relatively reliable — and blackouts don’t frequently happen — maybe you don’t need the battery yet,” she said. Instead, she advises consumers to ask their installer to set up a battery-ready system. Since battery prices are expected to go down as the technology develops, consumers can buy them later to get even more savings out of their solar system. Her second tip is for households to apply for net-metering, which is a program that allows qualified consumers with renewable energy systems to sell the excess power they generate in exchange for credits on their electricity bills. This means that if there are months in the year or times in the day when no one is home or electricity consumption is low, electricity generated during that time could be sold. As a result, the cost recovery on a household’s solar system becomes faster. “So, a project that would have been projected to take 10 years before you got a return on investment may instead take only five years,” she said. Long way to go While solar financing options have come a long way since rooftop solar technologies were first pushed in the country a decade ago, Donggay said the reality is that existing options remain limited — especially outside highly urbanized areas. That’s not the only way rural areas are disadvantaged when it comes to getting value for their solar setups. Net-metering is a big draw for many prospective solar buyers, but the reality is that off-grid and geographically isolated areas simply do not have that option available. “But even without net-metering, solar installations can still be worthwhile and can be beneficial to households located in off-grid areas for energy security,” she said. “And then you manage your costs, because [almost all of the power] supply to our off-grid areas comes from diesel plants. And that’s why — while diesel costs continue to increase — your bills will also continue to increase,” she said. But beyond all that, the fact remains that there are communities where individual solar home systems are still considered too expensive even with the current financing options. Dimalanta acknowledged this. “And my answer to that is: then let’s make it available to ordinary Filipinos,” she said. For both Dimalanta and Donggay, one of the key solutions lies in our communities — especially in community solar projects where residents only use the power for their own consumption, without needing to sell it. “For example, if this entire barangay or this sitio cannot afford individual solar home systems, is there idle land there or is there a rooftop in all these multipurpose halls that will be built?” she said. “Can they host solar facilities that can supply the immediate vicinity [with power]?” Donggay’s own suggestion is similar: rooftop solar being pre-installed in government housing projects for the urban poor. “We need to be more creative in how we incorporate solar in other projects that are addressing rural and urban development — especially for the people we know would never be approved for a loan by commercial banks,” she added. Solar may be relatively more affordable now than a decade ago, but there’s still a long way to go to make it truly accessible to the households that need it the most. “The answer shouldn’t be: let’s set aside or dismiss solar because it’s only for the rich,” Dimalanta said. “No. I think it poses a real challenge for all of us — government of course included — to make solar affordable to all.” – Rappler.com Quotes were translated to English for brevity.