ERC announces green energy auction prices
BY LENIE LECTURA – MARCH 24, 2022
from Business Mirror
The Energy Regulatory Commission (ERC) has released the preliminary Green Energy Auction Reserve (GEAR) prices for the upcoming Green Energy Auction for Renewable Energy.
The preliminary GEAR price for solar is P3.6248 per kilowatt hour (kWh), P5.2887 per kWh for wind, P5.5480 per kWh for biomass, and P5.8705 per kWh for run-of-river hydro.
The Department of Energy (DOE), which earlier promulgated the guidelines governing the policy for the conduct of the auction, defines GEAR price as the maximum price offers on a peso-per-kilowatt-hour (PhP/kWh) basis. It shall operate as the cap for the auction conducted for the period during which such tariffs are in effect.
The said rates would still be discussed with industry stakeholders during a public consultation on April 1. “All interested parties are required to submit their comments…on or before March 30,” the ERC notice, which was signed by chairperson Agnes VST Devanadera last March 23, read.
In January this year, the DOE issued bid invites for the bidding of 2,000 megawatts (MW) of renewable energy supply.
The DOE said 1,400MW will be auctioned off in Luzon, 400MW in Visayas and 200MW in Mindanao.
The agency has set an installation target of 900MW of solar in Luzon, 260MW in Visayas, and 100MW in Mindanao.
For wind, the target is set at 360MW for Luzon and 20MW for Visayas.
For hydro, the installation target for Luzon is 80W and 50MW for Mindanao.
The installation target for biomass, meanwhile, is set at 60MW for Luzon, 120MW for Visayas, and 50MW for Mindanao.
Department Circular No. 2021-11-0036 provides for the revised guidelines for the Green Energy Auction Program (GEAP), which refers to the competitive process of procuring renewable energy supply.
It will be conducted for new and existing RE capacities duly registered with the DOE, provided the facilities have no purchase power agreement with distribution utilities at the time of the agreed delivery date.
The GEAP is a new market development support program introduced by the DOE to promote RE as one of the country’s primary sources of energy through the transparent and competitive selection of RE facilities. This supports the government’s goal of attaining energy security through the entry of new capacities in the grid.
The GEAP likewise assists the mandated participants of the Renewable Portfolio Standards (RPS) in complying with their prescribed minimum RPS requirements.
The implementation of GEAP is seen to encourage greater private sector participation in the generation sector through RE. With GEAP, the country’s renewable energy program will be met particularly in targeting attainment of 35 percent RE share in the generation mix by 2030.
