A government official said on August 31 that the Philippines will seek bids from renewable energy developers to install about 8 GW of geothermal and hydropower supply, in a new round of auctions for green power projects.
The 8 GW target capacity represents the unsubscribed portion of the 11,600 MW of additional supply from solar, onshore wind, biomass and waste-to-energy resources, for which the Department of Energy had sought bids at an auction two months ago.
At that time, the developers had subscribed to about a third, totaling 3,580.76 MW, citing the tight timeframe for installation and concerns about power transmission issues. The government had wanted the additional supply to be available within the next three years.
The DoE is looking to issue the notice of auction and guidelines in November. It will be the third bidding round under its Green Energy Auction program, said the assistant secretary, Mylene Capongcol.
In 2022, a number of renewable energy developers were awarded contracts to install a total of 2,000 MW in the first tariffs-based auction under the program.
The Philippines allowed full foreign ownership in the renewable energy sector. The country aims to increase the share of renewables in its fossil fuel-dominated energy mix to 35% by 2030 and to 50% by 2040, up from 22.8% last year.
Foreign and local investors, including some of the nation’s largest conglomerates that currently operate coal-based power plants, have expressed an interest in investing in the country's alternative energy sectors.
