DoE hopes to kick off RE auction by mid-2021

By Jordeene B. Lagare – September 7, 2020
from The Manila Times

THE Department of Energy (DoE) is targeting to commence the country’s first renewable energy auction by the middle of 2021.

In particular, the agency is looking at auctioning electricity from solar and biomass plants that did not qualify for the feed-in tariff (FiT) program, a scheme that incentivizes renewable energy developers.

“So with the GEAP (green energy auction program), what we’re now doing is preparing for the eventual auction which we hope to conduct by mid next year,” said Mylene Capongcol, director of DoE’s Renewable Energy Management Bureau.

Earlier, the department issued in July a circular governing the conduct of green energy auction in the country.

Capongcol said the Energy department is initially targeting 2,000 megawatts (MW) of renewables for bidding.

“For the first auction, we are looking at including the plants or the capacities that were not able to make it to the feed-in tariff program,” said Monalisa Dimalanta, chairperson of National Renewable Energy Board (NREB), a bureau guiding the Energy department in implementing RE policies.

“Because the deadline already lapsed and there are still plants that are looking to qualify if they’re not able to qualify, then the green energy auction program is the alternative available to them,” Dimalanta said during a webinar titled “REady, Set, Go: Gaining Competitive Advantage in Business through Renewable Energy.”

Dimalanta said there are “stranded FiT capacities,” comprising of solar power plants with an aggregate capacity of around 360 to 280 MW, as well as biomass plants with a capacity of about 100 MW.

Energy Secretary Alfonso Cusi had long expressed his opposition to the extension of the FIT scheme, arguing it would further burden consumers and go against his department’s mission to reduce electricity rates.

FiT program is outlined in Republic Act 9513, or the “Renewable Energy Act of 2008,” aimed at hastening the development of emerging RE sources including wind, solar, ocean, run-of-river hydropower and biomass.

Hence, the Energy chief tasked NREB to craft the policy for the sell-off of renewables with the hopes of enticing more entities to develop non-conventional energy sources.

Capongcol said: “we hope to really enhance and fast-track [the implementation of both mandatory and voluntary RE mechanisms], give more proactive attention in promoting and promoting the implementation of that programs.”