Universal access to electricity is beneficial for the socio-economic development of a country and the development of smart communities. Unfortunately, the electrification of remote off-grid areas, especially in developing countries, is rather slow due to geographic and economic barriers. In the Philippines, specifically, many electrified off-grid areas are underserved, with access to electricity being limited to only a few hours a day. This is mainly due to the high dependence on diesel power plants (DPPs) for electrifying these areas. To address these problems, hybrid renewable energy systems (HRESs) have been considered good electrification alternatives and have been extensively studied for their techno-economic and financial feasibility for Philippine off-grid islands. In this work, articles published from 2012 to 2023 focusing on off-grid Philippine rural electrification were reviewed and classified based on their topic. The taxonomical analysis of collected studies shows that there is a saturation of works focusing on the technical and economic aspects of off-grid electrification. Meanwhile, studies focusing on environmental and socio-political factors affecting HRES off-grid electrification are lagging. A bibliographic analysis of the reviewed articles also showed that there is still a lack of a holistic approach in studying off-grid electrification in the Philippines. There are only a few works that extend beyond the typical techno-economic study. Research works focusing on environmental and socio-political factors are also mainly isolated and do not cross over with technical papers. The gap between topic clusters should be addressed in future works on off-grid electrification.

Poverty has been linked to the reality of the world’s developing countries, especially in far-flung rural areas where the lack of energy access plays a significant role in the misery of the poor and disadvantaged people. To achieve universal access to energy, the role of rural electrification was emphasized, and off-grid small-scale electricity generation from renewable sources was expected to be a promising solution. However, in the Philippines, where off-grid island communities are scattered along its archipelago, the deployment of such systems in rural areas is still a challenge among stakeholders due to the consideration of various conflicting factors that may put the potential economic gains and other social and environmental benefits at risk. To better understand the multifaceted nature of off-grid energy system sustainability through the perspective of its stakeholders, the Fuzzy Analytical Hierarchy Process (FAHP) was used to determine their most prioritized factors in determining the viability and sustainability of such systems following the GPESTLE framework. This provides a comprehensive and more relevant approach to performing sustainability analysis by looking into the geographical (G), political (P), economic (E), social (S), technological (T), legal (L), and environmental (E) dimensions of these assemblies. The prioritization of 74 expert stakeholders, coming from the industry, academy, and government institutions, has been elucidated by having them perform pairwise comparisons among the various GPESTLE criteria through a survey. Using FAHP, prioritization or weights were already generated per G-PESTLE criterion and sub-criterion. It was found out that among the three institutions, the industry players have the lowest environmental prioritization and can be increased by developing them with cost-efficient renewable technologies. The availability of technology manufacturers and transportation accessibility has been the main consideration in ensuring the reliability of the system’s operation. Minimizing LCOE and increasing the people’s capacity to pay should also be a priority to secure the project’s financial viability. The presence of a community comprehensive land use plan has also been highly favored among developers, which can allow faster processing of permits on the use of indigenous resources and agricultural lands. With these findings, this framework aims to guide policymakers to properly address the challenges of islands lying low in prioritization due to problems on certain sustainability factors. These insights can be relevant in the drafting of a transitional framework on the renewable electrification of off-grid islands, which were usually left out or minimally given attention in the national electrification plans of governments.Poverty has been linked to the reality of the world’s developing countries, especially in far-flung rural areas where the lack of energy access plays a significant role in the misery of the poor and disadvantaged people. To achieve universal access to energy, the role of rural electrification was emphasized, and off-grid small-scale electricity generation from renewable sources was expected to be a promising solution. However, in the Philippines, where off-grid island communities are scattered along its archipelago, the deployment of such systems in rural areas is still a challenge among stakeholders due to the consideration of various conflicting factors that may put the potential economic gains and other social and environmental benefits at risk. To better understand the multifaceted nature of off-grid energy system sustainability through the perspective of its stakeholders, the Fuzzy Analytical Hierarchy Process (FAHP) was used to determine their most prioritized factors in determining the viability and sustainability of such systems following the GPESTLE framework. This provides a comprehensive and more relevant approach to performing sustainability analysis by looking into the geographical (G), political (P), economic (E), social (S), technological (T), legal (L), and environmental (E) dimensions of these assemblies. The prioritization of 74 expert stakeholders, coming from the industry, academy, and government institutions, has been elucidated by having them perform pairwise comparisons among the various GPESTLE criteria through a survey. Using FAHP, prioritization or weights were already generated per G-PESTLE criterion and sub-criterion. It was found out that among the three institutions, the industry players have the lowest environmental prioritization and can be increased by developing them with cost-efficient renewable technologies. The availability of technology manufacturers and transportation accessibility has been the main consideration in ensuring the reliability of the system’s operation. Minimizing LCOE and increasing the people’s capacity to pay should also be a priority to secure the project’s financial viability. The presence of a community comprehensive land use plan has also been highly favored among developers, which can allow faster processing of permits on the use of indigenous resources and agricultural lands. With these findings, this framework aims to guide policymakers to properly address the challenges of islands lying low in prioritization due to problems on certain sustainability factors. These insights can be relevant in the drafting of a transitional framework on the renewable electrification of off-grid islands, which were usually left out or minimally given attention in the national electrification plans of governments.

Achieving net-zero energy systems requires deep sector coupling to exploit cross-sectoral flexibility and cost synergies. However, most existing sector-coupled studies adopt case-specific representations of energy carriers and conversion technologies, often optimized for particular applications. While methodologically robust, such tailored approaches limit transferability, constrain system-wide opportunities, and risk overlooking emerging conversion pathways. This study develops a systematic and reproducible framework to map and classify energy conversion technologies. The framework integrates input–output carrier relationships, techno-economic parameters (efficiency, capital expenditure, operating costs), and technology readiness levels into a harmonized database structure. 122 technologies are organized into seven sector-oriented clusters to explicitly reveal inter-dependencies, substitution potentials, and requirements for coupling. Results indicate that mature electrification technologies exhibit high efficiencies and relatively narrow cost ranges, supporting their dominant role in the near term. In contrast, hydrogen- and CO$_2$-based conversion pathways show wider performance uncertainties and more fragmented data availability, reflecting their lower technology readiness and evolving supply chains. Pathway screening highlights that direct electrification is structurally favored in the heat and transport sectors, while hydrogen and synthetic fuels remain essential for hard-to-electrify applications and long-duration storage. The results suggest that future net-zero systems will be predominantly electrified yet strategically complemented by synthetic energy carriers. By providing a transparent and transferable technology mapping framework, this work supports integrated energy system modeling, bottleneck identification, and robust decarbonization pathway assessment.

This study presents a market-based optimization framework for modeling localized hydrogen economies, explicitly capturing interactions between grid-connected hydrogen producers and off-grid energy consumers. Unlike traditional least-cost energy system planning, the framework integrates producer profitability and consumer affordability to identify mutually beneficial market conditions. It combines spatially resolved capacity expansion modeling, scenario-based sensitivity analysis, and social welfare maximization to determine optimal hydrogen pricing and deployment strategies. A two-stage modeling approach is employed: one simulates grid-based hydrogen production under varying carbon reduction targets and electrolyzer investment costs, while the other evaluates off-grid microgrid configurations under different diesel prices and renewable technology costs. The framework is discussed through a case study of off-grid Philippine islands using Python for Power Systems Analysis (PyPSA) and publicly available data. Results indicate that hydrogen can become a competitive and scalable solution for clean energy access when market signals, technology costs, and supportive policy mechanisms are properly aligned. The approach provides a flexible, replicable tool for policymakers and planners to assess the economic viability of localized hydrogen deployment across diverse energy system contexts.