Investors seek nod for fresh 7,500 MW of renewables capacity
The third round of the government’s green energy auction saw strong participation from investors as the offered capacity reached 7,500 megawatts (MW), substantially higher than the goal of 4,650 MW.
The Department of Energy (DOE) said this latest round of bidding dubbed Green Energy Auction-3, which is meant to accelerate the deployment of clean energy facilities in the country, showed “an overwhelming response from industry stakeholders.”
“The aggregate capacity of accepted bids underscores the growing confidence of investors and developers in the Philippine RE (renewable energy) sector,” it added.
The agency said 14 projects were offered at the auction, with a delivery period committed from 2025 to 2035.
Developers were more keen on pumped storage hydropower projects as they got the largest capacity at 6,700 MW for Luzon.
For the Visayas, the pumped storage hydropower capacity submitted stood at 250 MW.
Pumped storage hydropower facilities use two reservoirs, one higher than the other, and can release the stored water to complement generation from variable or intermittent renewable sources like those based on wind and solar. Thus, these facilities can supply electricity to the grid as needed.
Traditional hydropower facilities, those that rely on rivers to fill the lone reservoir, also received an offered capacity of 550 MW. This was higher than the 300 installation target.
Pumped hydro storage is mainly deployed when electricity demand peaks. Meanwhile, traditional hydro is used for base load needs, meeting minimum demand and running round-the-clock.
Further, investors also offered just 30.887 MW of capacity for geothermal energy, a small fraction of the 100-MW target.
The DOE said it would disclose the winning bidders once the Energy Regulatory Commission completed its review of the price offers.
But earlier, the DOE identified 12 qualified bidders for the GEA-3.
The department reiterated that launching green energy auctions will help the Philippines reach its target of increasing the share of renewable energy in the power generation mix to at least 35 percent by 2030 from the current 22 percent.
Just last Tuesday, the DOE said the country recorded a historic capacity expansion in terms of renewables, hitting 794.34 megawatts (MW), exceeding the combined 759.82 MW fired up in 2021, 2022 and 2023.
