Solar boom: Pakistan and Philippines turn to rooftops as power costs soar

Philippines and Pakistan are leading a rooftop-solar surge, with millions turning roofs into electricity-generating assets.

China dominates solar manufacturing, producing about 80% of the world’s panels.

The Philippines installed five times more rooftop solar in one year than during the previous 10 years combined, according to the figures cited by the BBC.

Pakistan added enough rooftop solar capacity in just two years to match its entire fossil-fuel power-plant fleet, according to energy think-tank Ember.

Philippine households spend about 12% of monthly income on electricity, according to a Reuters figure cited in the interview.

The Philippines’ power prices were described as “the highest in Southeast Asia” in June, according to the country’s Department of Energy, as cited by Enano.

Pakistan’s electricity prices increased about 150% over three years, according to Ashfaq.

In the Philippines, concerns over fuel shortages and possible blackouts linked to the Middle East conflict helped push rooftop solar into the mainstream.

Philippine solar installers reported demand jumping from roughly 100 inquiries a month to 1,000–2,000 after the Strait of Hormuz crisis.

In Pakistan, solar is also reaching people beyond the conventional grid. One example cited was a fisher who used rooftop/personal solar to charge his phone and power lights after previously travelling 4–5 kilometres to access electricity.