GEAP wind power projects near completion—acen

AC Energy Corp. (ACEN), the Ayala Group’s listed energy platform, is expecting its P17-billion wind power projects that were included in the first green energy auction will be completed soon.

The 70megawatt (MW) Caparispisan II wind power project of Amihan Renewable Energy Corp. and the 160MW Balaoi and Caunayan wind of Bayog Wind Power Corp. were among the 24 bidders that participated in the Green Energy Auction Program (GEAP) of the Department of Energy (DOE).

Amihan Renewable is 80 percent owned by ACEN while Bayog Wind Power is a whollyowned subsidiary of ACEN.

ACEN President Eric Francia said construction of the 160MW Balaoi and Caunayan wind power project started in 2021. It will be finished in the first quarter of 2023, he added. The project cost is estimated at P11.8 billion.

For the P5.2-billion Caparispisan II wind power expansion project, construction will start this year. This will be completed in 2024.

“Those are the two projects that we’re confident will be completed soon. We have other projects but the expected completion would be beyond 2025. We don’t want to risk it. So, we’ll be interested to participate in future GEAP with our other projects. Hopefully, there will be,” said Francia.

The DOE said the GEAP will be conducted on a yearly basis to encourage renewable energy (RE) developers that were not able to win in the first round, and those that were not able to submit offer, to participate in subsequent auction rounds.

Francia said the succeeding rounds of GEAP would help the country attain its goal of hitting the 35 percent (RE) share in the country’s energy mix by 2030.

“By our estimation, the Philippines needs to build more than two gigawatts (GW) of RE every year for the next decade because we need close to 20GW of RE if we are to achieve the 35 percent share and also address the demand growth. That’s the math that we came up with. Most of that will be driven by solar and wind. It also makes sense to continue the GEAP to support the 35 percent goal.”

In its proposed 2021-2040 National Renewable Energy Program, the National Renewable Energy Board recommended an increase in the Annual Percentage Increment (Km) from the initial 1 percent to 2.52 percent starting 2023, to meet the country’s aspirational RE share of at least 35 percent in the country’s energy mix by 2030 and achieve an even higher RE share by 2040.

NREB is the advisory body tasked to effectively implement RE projects in the country.

The DOE had said that the success of this competitive process will set the benchmark for the future auction rounds, as the resulting Green Energy Tariff will reflect the value of electricity.

The Energy Regulatory Commission (ERC) has already set the ceiling rate for the first round of GEAP, with the Green Energy Auction Reserve (GEAR) price for solar at P3.6779 per kilowatthour (kwh), wind at P6.0584 per kwh, biomass at P5.0797 per kwh, and runof-river hydro at P5.4913 per kwh.