PRESIDENT Ferdinand Marcos Jr.’s promotion of nuclear power, waste-to-energy, and more natural gas in his 2026 State of the Nation Address (SONA) was strongly criticized by Greenpeace Southeast Asia-Philippines and other environmental organizations. These energy sources are “costly and hazardous false solutions that deepen Filipinos’ exposure to volatile global markets, health hazards, and environmental degradation,” Greenpeace said in an official statement. Rather, the Philippines should invest “in local solar, wind and modern renewable infrastructure [that] shields consumers from unpredictable global fuel prices, generates sustainable green jobs, and builds a truly resilient economy from the ground up.”
Easy and simple on paper but not necessarily in reality. Take the Daanbantayan Solar Project in Northern Cebu; 150 megawatts of clean solar energy to be added to the struggling Visayas grid should make everybody happy. However, the 187-hectare property on which the project will be developed appears to be primarily agricultural. The Department of Agrarian Reform has approved the conversion of an initial batch of 80 lots from agricultural to industrial use (Sunstar Cebu, July 17, 2026).
Moreover, an unknown but likely significant number of trees will be cut. Finally, many of the landowners have cried foul, alleging that the provincial government “took” the land after the parties failed to agree on a price. The matter is still pending in court.
Is the net effect on the environment and the welfare of people still going to be positive? While the rate of electricity to be produced by the Daanbantayan Solar Project reportedly will be much lower than current electricity rates, what we need more is lower food prices. Food inflation for the bottom 30 percent income households in Central Visayas was 20.1 percent and 18.8 percent in May and June, respectively (PSA 7, July 10, 2026). Yet, here we are converting agricultural land. According to an article published on the Aboitiz Power website, “[as] a rule of thumb, a hectare of land can be used to build a megawatt of solar energy capacity or produce about 4 metric tons of rice each year.”
In Cadiz City, Negros Occidental, Aboitiz Renewable is developing a 239-megawatt (peak) solar farm on a 200-hectare property acquired from a local sugar planter. The Luna Solar Power Plant is the first integrated solar and battery storage facility in Negros and Aboitiz Renewable’s third and biggest solar project in the province.
This is neither the first nor will it be the last solar project in Negros Occidental developed on what used to be sugarcane fields. One might argue that Negros’ sugar industry is a sunset industry that has barely managed to stay afloat. The current red-striped soft scale insect (RSSI) infestation has reportedly already affected more than 61,000 hectares of agricultural and sugarcane land in 335 of the province’s 601 barangays (PNA, July 29, 30, 2026). Converting sugarcane fields to solar farms sounds like good business for landowners and host LGUs and injects additional capacity into the struggling Visayas grid. But, as pointed out by Jeark Principe and colleagues in their study of cropland conversion for solar projects in Tarlac, we must “[balance] renewable energy expansion with sustainable land use planning” (Principe et al., 2024). The study showed that in Tarlac from 2017 to 2022, solar power plant “areas grew by 333.3 percent, primarily replacing cropland, raising food security concerns.”
As for waste-to-energy, a false solution or not, it is a solution too convenient for our decision-makers to resist. But as with nuclear energy, while most people may support adopting the technology, few would want to live next to it. The government is now dangling the possibility of free electricity to communities that will host nuclear plants. This should make us suspicious rather than thrilled.
It is the power system itself, not just the energy sources or technologies, that needs modernization, argues the Institute for Climate and Sustainable Cities in its reaction to the SONA. “The Philippines cannot rely solely on a centralized grid built around large power plants.” ICSC makes the case for decentralized, flexible systems and is actually helping LGUs embrace rooftop solar systems and other climate-friendly and -resilient energy solutions. They laud President Marcos for endorsing legislation that would “make rooftop solar and battery storage systems accessible and affordable for Filipino households.” More and more households are investing in solar rooftop systems, and more would do so if the cost would be more reasonable.
The Visayas grid is experiencing yellow and red alerts. Residential electricity rates have risen about 20 percent from March to July. How do we transition from fossil fuel dependence to cleaner yet affordable energy sources without compromising food security and the welfare of host communities? “The future of energy security requires transforming how electricity is generated, managed, and delivered,” says ICSC. Extreme weather and disruptions in international trade are now the new normal affecting our daily lives. We must transform and adapt, individually, as a community, and — hopefully — as a nation as well.
