Govt awards renewables service contracts with 9.2-GW capacity

THE government has awarded 41 renewable energy (RE) service contracts with a potential capacity of 9.2 gigawatts (GW) in the last six months in its “aggressive” bid to reduce the country’s carbon emissions, according to Malacañang.

Citing the year-end report of the Department of Energy (DOE), the Office of the Press Secretary (OPS) disclosed the contracts were awarded between July and December last year.

The bulk or 6.2 GW of the said power will come from offshore wind (OSW) service contracts.

More RE contracts are expected to be signed this year after the DOE increased the annual percentage of Renewable Portfolio Standards (Rps)—the share of RE in the electricity sold by power utilities—for on-grid areas from 1 percent to 2.52 percent beginning 2023.

Other measures, which are meant to mainstream the use of renewable energy in the country are DOE’S preferential dispatch of all Re-generating units in the Wholesale Electricity Spot Market (WESM) and the increase in the percentage share of foreign capital in RE projects from 40 percent to 100 percent.

According to Malacañang, the DOE was also able to issue 18 Certificates of Award to the winning bidders of the first Green Energy Auction Program (GEAP), with an aggregate capacity of 1,866.93 megawatts (MW).

It is scheduled to hold a second GEAP, which is meant to promote investments in renewables, in June.

In a collaboration with the Energy Regulatory Commission (ERC), the DOE will also come out with a new policy and framework for emerging RE technologies, including OSW, waste-to-energy, expanded rooftop solar program, as well as ocean and tidal stream energy.

Likewise, it partnered with the RE development program of the National Power Corp. (NPC) such as the hybridization of diesel generating facilities.

According to Malacañang, the DOE is also eyeing the use of nuclear energy to reduce the country’s use of traditional sources of power such as coal and oil.

The said measures are meant to help the government reach its goal of increasing the percentage of RE in the country’s power generation mix to 35 percent by 2030 and 50 percent by 2040.