THE GOVERNMENT is intensifying efforts to ensure the country will source half of its power generation from renewables by 2040, with new auction rounds eyed to secure 20 gigawatts (GW) of additional capacity.
Energy Secretary Sharon Garin said the Department of Energy (DOE) has so far awarded 20 GW worth of contracts from the previous waves of green energy auction (GEA).
“We project that we will need to conduct additional GEAs for around 20 gigawatts more capacity… to reach 50 percent by 2040,” she told reporters in a recent briefing.
At present, the share of renewables in the electricity mix is at 25 percent, still short of the 35 percent goal in five years.
To accelerate the deployment of clean power assets, the DOE has been conducting green power biddings to entice the private sector to increase its investments in this space.
One of the initiatives is the GEA program, which promises winning bidders with fixed rates.
For this year alone, the DOE is preparing for several bidding rounds, including for offshore wind, a special round for waste-to-energy facilities, and biomass.
The seventh round of the GEA would also focus on Mindanao to address the increasing electricity demand, as well as promote a more balanced power system nationwide.
A fresh batch intended for the Visayas and Mindanao will also be launched.
To complement the expanding solar and wind farms in the Philippines, the DOE earlier mandated developers to equip them with battery energy storage systems. This technology enables operators to store excess generated electricity and only release it when the demand peaks.
DOE undersecretary Rowena Cristina Guevara said the agency and the National Grid Corp. of the Philippines (NGCP) are in close coordination to ensure the grid network is ready. (Lisbet K. Esmael © Philippine Daily Inquirer)
