By means of Heroes Joy Talavera Reporter
THE THIRD ROUND of the green energy auction (GEA-3) will be moved to 2025 pending issuance of the price mechanismnism that will set parameters for each technology offered, a Department of Energy (DoE) ofofficial said.
“So, the Green Energy Auction Program, we have GEA-3… It’s January next year,” Under Secretary of Energy Felix William B. Fuentebella said Thursday during the 2024 Energy Investment Forum.
The DoE previously said it plans to implement GEA-3 within a year.
The GEA program aims to promote renewable energy as one of the country’s main energy sources through competitive selection. Renewable energy developers compete for incentivized fixed energy rates by offering their lowest price for a given capacity.
In November, the DoE published the auction notice and terms of reference, inviting qualified energy developers to participate in the bidding.
For GEA-3: the government objectives for auctioning sustainable energy energy capacity worth 4,475 megawatts (MW), which includes both eligible and non-eligible technologies for the feed-in-tariff (FIT) program.
The DoE will offer 4,000 MW of pumped storage hydropower capacity, with a target delivery between 2028 and 2032.
It will also provide 300 MW of impounded hydropower capacity for delivery in the period 2028-2030, and 100 MW of geothermal capacity planned for the period 2025 to 2027.
The DoE will also auction approximately 75 MW of run-of-river hydropower capacity, a FIT assetsustainable energy technology, which must be delivered between 2027 and 2029.
“These projects will play a critical role in meeting the country’s growing electricity demand while ensuring that future energy generation becomes increasingly sustainable,” the DoE said in a statement in November.
On the sidelines of the forum, Assistant Secretary of Energy Mylene C. Capongcol said the Energy Regulatory Commission’s (ERC) issuance of the Price Determination Methodology (PDM) for the auction would coincide with the holiday season.
Asked for comment, ERC chairman and general manager ofFicer Monalisa C. Dimalanta said the committee is about to discuss comments on the PDM from stakeholders. She said they are still aiming to issue the PDM within a month.
“Most of the comments are about details of the methodology and pricing formula. There are also comments about the fact that for hydropower plants the asset will most likely provide additional services rather than supply or energy.” Ms. Dimalanta said in a Viber message.
The ERC is responsible for determining the PDM that bidders will adopt under the GEA program. The PDM is used to it evaluate the price offered by bidders.
In October, the ERC published its draft pricing rules, which would include two sets of evaluations to assess the “reasonableness and prudence” of each prize offer.
“The PDM is for GEA-3, which has a different pricing mechanism than GEA-1, GEA-2 and GEA-4. We fully understand the need for the issuance of PDM to enable GEA-3 bidders to assess and study the feasibility of the bids they will submit,” said Jose M. Layug, Jr., president of the Developers of Renewable Energy for Advancement, Inc. , when asked for comment.
The DoE organized GEA-1 in 2022 and attracted 1,966.93 MW of renewables bids, while GEA-2 was held last year, where 3,440.76 MW of service contracts were awarded.
The GEA program is designed to help the Philippines achieve its renewable energy target, increasing its share of energy generationratio mix to 35% in 2030 and 50% in 2040.
The DoE also plans to hold two more rounds: GEA-4 will focus on integrated renewable energy and energy storage systems, while GEA-5 will focus on offshore wind technologies.
Ms Capongcol said the agency hopes to release the auction announcement and terms of reference for GEA-4 within a month.