Pax Silica’s requirement of up to 3 gigawatts (GW) of electricity at full development could catalyse a Philippine clean energy industrial hub, provided that its growth is planned responsibly, according to clean energy industry representatives, who spoke at the annual sustainable finance forum Unlocking capital for sustainability 2026 in Manila on 19 August.
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Pax Silica, the United States-led coalition to strengthen artificial intelligence (AI) supply chains involves the Philippines and partners including Singapore, South Korea, Japan and India. The proposed 4,000-acre hub in New Clark City, Pampanga is intended to support allied manufacturing in critical minerals, semiconductors and electronics, drawing on the Philippines’ nickel, copper, chromite and cobalt reserves.
President Ferdinand Marcos, Jr has cast the project as an economic bet that could create quality jobs and strengthen industrial competitiveness. But its planned power requirement has heightened concerns that it could strain the Luzon grid and compete with other consumers for electricity unless new generation, transmission and storage are developed alongside it.
Critics also warn that the hub’s data centres could worsen water insecurity and that diversion of land and resources could harm farmers and Aeta communities.
Ann Margret Francisco, Asia Pacific Director at Belgium-based trade association Global Wind Energy Council (GWEC), said any development of the scale of Pax Silica should prioritise renewable energy.
“We see this as an opportunity to really build more renewable energy, and also understand the potential to build more industries within this corridor. We’re talking about additional supply chain, manufacturing hubs that we can co-locate within that area,” Francisco said in a panel titled Accelerating the clean energy transition in the Philippines and Association of Southeast Asian Nations (Asean).
However, Francisco said developments of Pax Silica’s scale must be pursued responsibly, with attention to their wider environmental and social impacts. Ensuring adequate renewable supply is essential, she said, but developers must go beyond regulatory compliance by addressing risks such as the displacement of existing facilities and communities.
“Even if we have much support coming from the government, and enough solar, wind, geometric, hydro, but if it is without the proper optics and support from the public, then it’s not going to happen,” she said.
“A huge part of this is ensuring that we have the proper ecosystem and infrastructures in place. But on one hand, we need to do this in a just and a sustainable environment.”
Edmund Martinez, Chief Executive of Manila-based rooftop solar company Helios, said the hub could attract substantial investment, generate employment and support efforts to reduce reliance on Chinese solar supply chains especially amid the Middle East conflict.
The country’s rooftop solar boom has exposed that dependence, with China supplying 98 per cent of Philippine solar panel imports in 2025. Average weekly rooftop installations rose 170 percent after the conflict began, but smaller installers have reported supply bottlenecks, volatile equipment prices and limited installation capacity as demand outstrips what the local market can deliver.
“I’m excited about what [Pax Silica] could bring. We are talking about 3 GW of production, which could help diversify supply chains away from China. The manufacturing requirements alone represent significant investment per megawatt of a project, which is money that could flow into the Philippine economy and bring jobs to a million people,” said Martinez.
However, he flagged pressure on the labour market as the project expands, underscoring the need to build an adequate skilled workforce alongside new energy and manufacturing capacity.
Keiju Mitsuhashi, Principal Energy Specialist at the Asian Development Bank, said large power-demand projects must be planned as integrated infrastructure developments, rather than assessed only on how they will secure electricity.
Such facilities require water, labour and other services alongside power, he said, and should be assessed against the Philippine Energy Plan, which sets out the country’s energy development pathway to 2050. New investment proposals should be integrated into that plan through extensive planning and stakeholder consultation.
“You can’t have the energy transition without transmission,” Mitsuhashi said. “All the grids are connected. You can’t supply power from just one place.”
The scale of demand strengthens the case for reinforcing the national grid, expanding energy storage capacity to accommodate more variable renewable energy, and attracting private-sector investment into supporting infrastructure, he said.
Pushing the regional energy agenda
The challenge of meeting new demand from AI and advanced manufacturing without deepening fossil fuel dependence is also shaping the Philippines’ agenda as Asean chair this year. At the same forum, industry representatives said the country is using its chairship to link energy security with renewable deployment, electric mobility and regional power interconnection.
Carla Buencamino, Group Head for mobility infrastructure ACMobility, automotive division of the Ayala Group, said the Philippines is translating regional sustainability commitments through faster electric vehicle (EV) adoption and the charging infrastructure needed to support it. EVs cannot be treated separately from the broader mobility ecosystem, she said, citing AC Mobility’s public charging network, mobile assistance, digital platforms and home-charging services.
The Middle East conflict has accelerated that shift by driving up fuel prices and sharpening the cost advantage of EVs. The low carbon transport accounted for 21 percent of new vehicle sales from January to May, up from 12 per cent in 2025 and 4 per cent in 2024, Buencamino said. Industry data similarly show that EV sales rose 36.2 per cent year on year in the first quarter, even as overall vehicle sales fell amid higher fuel costs.
GWEC’s Francisco said the chairship’s central contribution was to recast renewable energy as an energy security and industrial-development imperative, rather than solely a decarbonisation tool.
With electricity demand rising from AI, new industries and electric vehicles, Asean must decide how to power that growth without prolonging dependence on fossil fuels, she said.
Francisco pointed to renewable energy auctions and power purchase agreements in the Philippines, alongside efforts to advance the Asean Power Grid, cross-border rules and a regional power-coordination framework. The Philippines has made implementation of the enhanced Asean Power Grid a 2026 priority, including guidelines for submarine power cables and multilateral electricity trade.
