Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, June 17) — The Energy Regulatory Commission (ERC) has announced the final price ceiling on renewable energy sources for the Department of Energy’s (DOE) second round of the Green Energy Auction Program (GEA-2) after conducting consultations with stakeholders.
From the preliminary prices released in April, the adjusted price caps reflected an increase for ground-mounted solar, rooftop solar, floating solar, and biomass, and a decrease for wind.
Industry stakeholders have been asking the ERC for higher green energy auction reserve (GEAR) prices, especially for floating solar technology, citing construction and operation costs.
The commission held public consultations in May across Luzon, the Visayas, and Mindanao.
Published on Friday, the list of final GEAR prices are as follows:
– Ground-mounted solar: ₱4.4043 per kilowatt hour (kWh)
– Rooftop solar: ₱4.8738 per kWh
– Floating solar: ₱5.3948 per kWh
– Onshore wind: ₱5.8481 per kWh
– Biomass: ₱5.4024 per kWh
– Waste-to-energy (only announced on Friday): ₱6.2638 per kWh
The GEA was created as a mechanism to facilitate the selection of renewable energy plants as the government aims to promote the growth of clean energy as one of the country’s main power sources to achieve energy security and self-reliance.
During the GEA’s first round in June last year, the DOE said it awarded 19 contracts to renewable energy developers, generating a volume of almost 2,000 megawatts (MW) to be delivered by 2023 to 2025.
The GEA-2 is targeting a total of 11,600 megawatts (MW) for renewable energy capacity installed in the next three years, specifically 3,600 MW in 2024, 3,600 MW in 2025, and 4,400 in 2026.
The Department of Energy has yet to announce a new date of the auction proper after it issued an advisory postponing the supposed bidding event on June 19.
