DoE solicits green energy bids for 2,000 MW

THE Department of Energy (DoE) said it is inviting companies to supply 2,000 megawatts (MW) of renewable energy (RE) in the first round of its Green Energy Auction Program (GEAP).

In a Notice of Auction released on Tuesday, the DoE said the power will be supplied to Luzon, the Visayas, and Mindanao at the following volumes: 1,400 MW, 400 MW, and 200 MW respectively.

For Luzon bidders, the total capacity for auction is 900 MW of solar energy, 360 MW wind, 80 MW hydro power and 60 MW biomass.

The breakdown for the Visayas is 120 MW biomass, 260 MW solar, and 20 MW wind. For Mindanao, the target volumes are 100 MW solar, 50 MW biomass, and 50 MW hydro.

The GEAP aims to boost RE as a source of energy, with RE generators participating in an auction for their output.

The auction will be administered by the DoE’s Green Energy Auction Committee.

RE facilities are deemed eligible if they have been in operation and were built in compliance with the RE law. They must have no legal issues and have no power purchase agreements or power supply agreements with any distribution utility (DU) that may conflict with the agreed delivery dates.

The GEAP features the Green Energy Tariff, which influences the commercial value of power generated from qualified RE facilities, and sets a benchmark price for DUs under an Opt-in Mechanism.

With the Opt-in mechanism, the DU can procure power from the GEAP pool of winning bidders to reduce Feed-in Tariff-All charges to the end-users.

The rules also require the DoE to design an auction specific to geothermal and impounding hydropower facilities participating in the bid.

“The DoE has determined that the competitive bidding process under the GEAP is one of the best ways to accelerate the development of renewable energy systems and the promotion and commercialization of its applications, encourage free and active private sector participation and investment in all energy activities, and provide adequate capacity to meet demand, including reserve requirements,” according to the guidelines.

The government is targeting a 35% RE share of the energy mix by 2030.