DOE: Third green energy auction finished by end-2024

The third leg of the Philippine government's initiative to facilitate investments in renewable energy will be completed by the end of 2024, according to the Department of Energy (DOE).

At the Senate's hearing on the DOE's proposed P2.127-billion 2025 budget, the Energy Department told lawmakers that the third Green Energy Auction (GEA-3) is eyed for conclusion within the remaining months of 2024.

"Our target for the Green Energy Auction 3 is to finish it before the end of the year such that the pumped storage hydro, [more than] 3,000 megawatts (MW), will be able to come in five years from now," Energy Undersecretary Rowena Guevara told the Senate.

The GEA is being undertaken by the DOE to facilitate investments in renewable energy in a bid to achieve the target of 35% renewable energy in the energy mix by 2035 and 50% by 2040.

The program seeks to ensure competitive selection of firms to obtain rights to develop renewable energy capacity.

Senator Pia Cayetano, for her part, said many investors are waiting for the next GEA.

"I understand we have investors who are ready to get it done. And we need it because this will address Sen. Risa's (Hontiveros) and my concern, and all the other renewable energy advocates' concerns because we'll have the storage," Cayetano said.

"We keep on saying that is the problem why we cannot fully embrace renewables as fast as we want to," she said.

The GEA-3 covers non-feed-in-tariff (Non-FIT) eligible renewable energy technologies like geothermal, impounding hydro and pumped-storage hydro.

The next auction program will also cover run-of-river (ROR) Hydro, which is a FIT-eligible renewable energy (RE) technology.

The estimated capacities for non-FIT eligible RE technologies include 699 MW from impounding hydro; 3,120 MW from pumped storage hydro; and 380 MW from geothermal.

The DOE said the target start of deliveries for impounding hydro and pumped storage hydro is 2028 to 2030 and 2024 to 2030 for geothermal.

Meanwhile, an estimated 200 MW of RE capacity from ROR hydro is expected to be auctioned, with a target delivery starting in 2026 to 2028. — VDV, GMA Integrated News