DOE eyes three more green energy auctions this year
By Alena Mae S. Flores – March 9, 2025, 8:20 pm
from manilastandard.net
The Department of Energy (DOE) plans to hold three more Green Energy Auctions (GEA) this year while issuing the notice of award for the third round (GEA-3) by April.
The planned new auctions include the GEA-4 involving ground-mounted solar, roof-mounted solar, floating solar, onshore wind and solar plus energy storage system, GEA-4.1 for waste-to-energy and biomass projects and GEA-5 for offshore wind projects.
DOE assistant secretary Mylene Capongcol said they were waiting for the confirmation of the price offers from the Energy Regulatory Commission (ERC) that will pave the way for the award of contracts under GEA-3.
“Once the ERC confirmed the offered prices, that’s around 60 days. Most likely April,” Capongcol said.
The DOE accepted 14 bids totaling 7,500 MW on Feb. 19, 2025 for GEA-3 with committed delivery dates from 2025 to 2032. The bids were endorsed to the ERC for evaluation of the price offers.
Pumped storage hydro (PSH) had the biggest offered capacity at 6,950 MW, followed by impounding hydro at 550 MW and geothermal at 30.887 MW.
Capongcol said they were also waiting for the approval by Energy Secretary Raphael Lotilla for GEA-4, but they were planning to issue the notice of auction (NOA) and terms of reference (TOR) within the month.
The DOE aims to auction ground-mounted solar, roof-mounted solar, floating solar, onshore wind and solar plus energy storage system under GEA-4. The proposed capacity under GEA-4 is expected to be delivered between 2026 to 2029.
The DOE will also hold GEA-4.1 for waste-to-energy and biomass projects. It said the study on pricing is ongoing, with the auction targeted within the year.
“Because, based on our consultation, the price or the levelized cost of producing biomass and waste to energy are quite high. So, we’re looking at options on how to find out the cost of this technology. So there’s a study that is now being done by our biomass group,” Capongcol said.
Capongcol said the issuance of the NOA and TOR for GEA-5, intended for offshore wind projects is targeted by the second quarter this year and the conduct of auction in July.
“For the offshore wind, which is quite challenging as well, because of the huge investment and the capacity that will be built. We’re now doing a study, we’re seeking advice from the various experts on how to develop the terms of reference for the offshore wind projects,” Capongcol said.
“For GEA-5, what we’re doing is the front runners. Those that have advanced activities as the first possible participants to the auction, which we hope to do it within the year,” she said.
The GEA underscores the department’s commitment to creating a fair and competitive environment for RE development, ensuring transparency, innovation and deployment of cost-effective RE technologies across the country.
The DOE said the auction is part of a broader strategy to encourage market-driven investments and efforts to diversify the country’s energy mix to achieve the target of 35 percent RE share in the power generation mix by 2030.
